Creative K Kids

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The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Week 226

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Here’s what’s new on Creative K Kids:

  • This week on Tasty Tuesdays, I shared a recipe for easy Chocolate Cake Mix Bars. Get the recipe and come link up your recipes!
  • On  Thoughtful Thursdays, I shared some thoughts from Psalm 118. God is good! Come link up your thoughtful posts.
  • The Christmas Cash giveaway is still going on HERE.

Christmas giveaway! 5 winners -- Enter by Wednesday, November 22, 2018.

 

 Thank you for participating in The Ultimate Pinterest Party!

** Next week, we will NOT run The Ultimate Pinterest Party. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!**

Please share this party with your blogger friends!! If you would like to receive an email reminding you to link up, you can sign up HERE.

Link up 2 pins to The Ultimate Pinterest Party from Friday at 8 am ET - Saturday 8 am ET

HERE WERE THE FAVORITE PINS FROM LAST WEEK’S PARTY:

Favorite pins from The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Week 225

MY FEATURED PINS FROM LAST WEEK’S PARTY:

The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Featured pins from Week 225

There were so many well done pins last week, I had a hard time even narrowing down my favorites to these 5 pins! Good job on making vertical pins with great overlays, pictures, and font choices! There’s a lot that goes into making great pictures for Pinterest.

Here are the MAIN RULES:

  • Rule #1:  Link up only 2 PINS (not blog posts. Pins that are duplicates from a previous week will not be repinned.)
  • Rule #2:  Do NOT re-pin from the linky below.
  • Rule #3:  You must commit to re-pinning from WEEK 226, THE ULTIMATE PINTEREST PARTY on SATURDAY or SUNDAY. (Re-pin from the pins that say “The Ultimate Party, Week 226 pins.”)
  • Rule #4: Please only link up your own original pins that contain your images to this party. Do not link up pictures of other bloggers that you may have included in a round-up. Your collage of pictures for a round-up would be fine.
  • Rule #5: Please do not link up sale posts from your blog or sale posts that go to Etsy or Ebay –only pins that go to actual blog posts on your blog. Thank you.

Details to Observe:

  • Before you link up the pin, click on the pin and make sure it takes you to your post, not your home page.
  • Linking up to this party gives the hosts permission to use a picture and a link to your post if they feature your post on their blogs or social media.
  • Creative K Kids is not responsible for stolen images or the mis-use by others who have found your image through CreativeKKids.com.

Thanks for making this party such a success!!

PLEASE SHARE!    You can share on all the social medias (facebook, google+, etc.) but  here is a Twitter button to make it easy!

NOW LET’S GET TO OUR PARTY!

  • Follow your hosts on Pinterest. (Click “Follow All” and then go back and unfollow individual boards if you don’t want to see some of our pins):

Tammy from Creative K Kids — Click HERE to follow on Pinterest.

host of The Ultimate Pinterest Party

Ali from Home Crafts by Ali — Click HERE to follow on Pinterest.

host -- Ali from Home Crafts by Ali

  • We will have all the pins pinned by 8 am Eastern time Saturday morning.
  • Please re-pin sometime on Saturday or Sunday. If you know that you do not have the time to re-pin pins, then DO NOT LINK UP!
  • I can decide to not pin a pin if it goes against my beliefs or against the rules of this party.
  • Please grab the button to help bring awareness to this party. Put on your party page, sidebar, or post!
Creative K KIds

PLEASE LINK UP ONLY 2 PINS! (THAT ARE NON-ALCOHOLIC!)

Please sign up HERE to receive emails about the party being open on Friday morning! An email will also be sent on Saturday morning to remind you to repin a few links!


Thoughtful Thursdays: Psalm 118 — Give Thanks unto the Lord

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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This month, I am studying Psalm 118 for my devotions. I use a yearly subscription to Mama’s Refill, where the author, Pam Forster, walks us through inductive Bible studies. In Day 3, she had us go read some online commentaries about Psalm 118. I didn’t get very far as I only had about 15 minutes to do my devotions before I went to work, and I was so thrilled in the first commentary I read.

Here are some of the highlights from C. H. Spurgeon’s notes on Psalm 118 found in the Treasury of David:

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 118:1

Psalm 118 is a wonderful Psalm to study especially at Thanksgiving! Give thanks! C. H. Spurgeon has great thoughts to share about this psalm.

The author wants us to praise God with him. I love this quote, “Grateful hearts are greedy of men’s tongues, and would monopolize them all for God’s glory. ”

Here is another wonderful thought:

Have we been of a forgetful or murmuring spirit? Let us hear the lively language of the text, and allow it to speak to our hearts: “Cease your complaining, cease from all self glorification, and give thanks unto the Lord.” “For he is good.” This is reason enough for giving him thanks; goodness is his essence and nature, and therefore he is always to be praised whether we are receiving anything from him or not.

Wow! I know I can have a forgetful or murmuring spirit at times. What a great reminder to thank God when I feel like complaining, because He is always good.

Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
 Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 118:2-4

Here is a wonderful thought about praising God now:

In the three exhortations, to Israel, to the house of Aaron, and to them that fear the Lord, there is a repetition of the exhortation to say, “that his mercy endureth for ever.” We are not only to believe, but to declare the goodness of God; truth is not to be hushed up, but proclaimed. God would have his people act as witnesses, and not stand silent in the day when his honour is impugned. Specially is it our joy to speak out to the honour and glory of God when we think up, in the exaltation of his dear Son. We should shout “Hosannah,” and sing loud “Hallelujahs” when we behold the stone which the builders rejected lifted into its proper place.
In each of the three exhortations notice carefully the word “now.” There is no time like time present for telling out the praises of God.

Are you telling others about the goodness of God. This should be such an exciting truth, that we cannot stay quiet! Every day, when we wake up, that day is the “now”. Every day, God is good and merciful, so every day, we should praise Him!

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
Psalm 118:15

Tabernacles means tents — or dwellings. We who are saved should have homes full of rejoicing. Thankful, joyful homes.

The families of believers are happy, and they should take pains to give their happiness a voice by their family devotion. . . . Let none of us be silent in our households: if we have salvation let us have joy, and if we have joy let us give it a tongue wherewith it may magnify the Lord.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Psalm 118:21

Here we can see God is a personal God to the psalmist. The psalmist address God and praises Him.

How well it is in all our songs of praise to let the heart have direct and distinct communion with God himself!

We should also be specific in our praise.

He praises God by mentioning his favours, weaving his song out of the divine goodness which he had experienced. In these words he gives the reason for his praise,—his answered prayer, and the deliverance which he had received in consequence. 

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 118:29

Let’s start and end our day with praising God for He is good! His mercy endureth forever!

There are many other Thanksgiving printables I have shared over the years. Here is the link to most of them. Last week’s printable can be found HERE, and the four printables from the week before can be found HERE.

13 Thanksgiving printables about how we should give thanks for different attributes of God.

Here are 6 ways that God is good to us -- Give thanks to Him for His goodness! Print it out today!Give thanks to God because He is good! Here are 4 free printable worksheets to help you focus on being thankful for the goodness of God!Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here were a couple of my favorite posts from last week:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

    1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
    2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
    3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
    4. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids

If you would like to receive a weekly email reminder on Thursday parties about linking up to this party, please sign up HERE.


Tasty Tuesdays: Chocolate Cake Mix Bars

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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Want an easy dessert that is inexpensive and yet delicious? These Chocolate Cake Mix Bars can be made quickly but are sure to please all ages!

These easy Chocolate Cake Mix Bars can be made quickly as they just need a cake mix and a few other ingredients. Mix, pour, and bake!

For a few months out of the year, I make part of a meal every other week for about 20-30 senior citizens who come to a Thursday mid-day service at our church. Usually, I  just have to make the main dish, and I have attenders sign up to bring side dishes and dessert. However, one week, I didn’t know that I was to make the meal the next week and didn’t have people sign up to make anything.

Since I needed to make the entire meal plus I teach every morning, I needed easy dessert options that were inexpensive. I had bought yellow and chocolate cake mixes from Aldi, but I didn’t feel like making cakes and then making frosting to frost the cakes. So instead, I googled making bars out of cake mixes.

I found a recipe called Cake Mix Cookie Bars from The Salty Marshmallow, but I couldn’t find a recipe I liked for chocolate cake mix bars. So after looking at a few recipes, I made up my own recipe. It was a hit! My kids liked the chocolate cake mix bars better than the yellow cake mix bars!

Here is how I made our Chocolate Cake Mix Bars:

These easy Chocolate Cake Mix Bars can be made quickly as they just need a cake mix and a few other ingredients. Mix, pour, and bake!

5 from 1 vote
Print
Chocolate Cake Mix Bars
Ingredients
  • 1 chocolate cake mix I used Aldi Devil's Food Cake Mix
  • 1 small chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 3/4 c. canola oil
  • 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 c. white chocolate chips
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

  2. Spray 9" x 13" non-stick cake pan with cooking spray.

  3. Mix together first 5 ingredients.

  4. Add chocolate chips.

  5. Spread batter into the pan.

  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Stick a toothpick into bars close to the middle and remove it. When toothpick comes out clean, remove bars from oven. Let bars cool, and then cut them into squares.

These easy Chocolate Cake Mix Bars can be made quickly as they just need a cake mix and a few other ingredients. Mix, pour, and bake!

You can see a recipe for Chocolate Streusel Bars on last week’s post that includes a Christmas Cash Giveaway — 6 prizes equaling $370!

And here is a wonderful blog hop of Christmas Gift Guides just for kids. Looking for some different gift ideas? Go look at all these posts geared towards different ages and interests of children.

PLEASE LINK UP TO THREE FOOD POSTS TO THE TASTY TUESDAYS’ LINKY PARTY!

Tasty Tuesday's hosts

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  • As a thank-you for linking up, we will pin your recipe to the Tasty Tuesdays at Creative K Kids Pinterest board. Please follow the board to see all the great food recipes!
  • Creative K Kids is not responsible for stolen images or the mis-use by others who have found your image through CreativeKKids.com.
  • By linking up, you agree to let any of the hosts or co-hosts  use your pictures and links if they decide to feature your post. Your photo may also be used for promotion on any of their social media outlets.
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The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Week 225

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

By 1 Comment

Here’s what’s new on Creative K Kids:

 

Here are four ways you can start preparing for the busy holiday season so that you can actually enjoy the holidays and not be stressed! These Chocolate Streusel Bars are a perfect dessert for any time of the year with it's creamy cheesecake layer surrounded by a chocolate bottom and top layer. Christmas giveaway! 5 winners -- Enter by Wednesday, November 22, 2018.

 Thank you for participating in The Ultimate Pinterest Party!

Please share this party with your blogger friends!!

If you would like to receive an email reminding you to link up, you can sign up HERE.

Link up 2 pins to The Ultimate Pinterest Party from Friday at 8 am ET - Saturday 8 am ET

HERE WERE THE FAVORITE PINS FROM LAST WEEK’S PARTY:

Favorite pins from The Ultimate Pinterest Party, Week 224

MY FEATURED PINS FROM LAST WEEK’S PARTY:

The Ultimate Pinterest Party Featured Pins, Week 224

Here are the MAIN RULES:

  • Rule #1:  Link up only 2 PINS (not blog posts. Pins that are duplicates from a previous week will not be repinned.)
  • Rule #2:  Do NOT re-pin from the linky below.
  • Rule #3:  You must commit to re-pinning from WEEK 225, THE ULTIMATE PINTEREST PARTY on SATURDAY or SUNDAY. (Re-pin from the pins that say “The Ultimate Party, Week 225 pins.”)
  • Rule #4: Please only link up your own original pins that contain your images to this party. Do not link up pictures of other bloggers that you may have included in a round-up. Your collage of pictures for a round-up would be fine.
  • Rule #5: Please do not link up sale posts from your blog or sale posts that go to Etsy or Ebay –only pins that go to actual blog posts on your blog. Thank you.

Details to Observe:

  • Before you link up the pin, click on the pin and make sure it takes you to your post, not your home page.
  • Linking up to this party gives the hosts permission to use a picture and a link to your post if they feature your post on their blogs or social media.
  • Creative K Kids is not responsible for stolen images or the mis-use by others who have found your image through CreativeKKids.com.

Thanks for making this party such a success!!

PLEASE SHARE!    You can share on all the social medias (facebook, google+, etc.) but  here is a Twitter button to make it easy!

NOW LET’S GET TO OUR PARTY!

  • Follow your hosts on Pinterest. (Click “Follow All” and then go back and unfollow individual boards if you don’t want to see some of our pins):

Tammy from Creative K Kids — Click HERE to follow on Pinterest.

host of The Ultimate Pinterest Party

Ali from Home Crafts by Ali — Click HERE to follow on Pinterest.

host -- Ali from Home Crafts by Ali

  • We will have all the pins pinned by 8 am Eastern time Saturday morning.
  • Please re-pin sometime on Saturday or Sunday. If you know that you do not have the time to re-pin pins, then DO NOT LINK UP!
  • I can decide to not pin a pin if it goes against my beliefs or against the rules of this party.
  • Please grab the button to help bring awareness to this party. Put on your party page, sidebar, or post!
Creative K KIds

PLEASE LINK UP ONLY 2 PINS! (THAT ARE NON-ALCOHOLIC!)

Please sign up HERE to receive emails about the party being open on Friday morning! An email will also be sent on Saturday morning to remind you to repin a few links!


Gifts for Kids That Will Inspire Creativity

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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For the past few years, I have participate in a Christmas Gift Guide for Kids with other bloggers. Up until this year, I have focused on gifts that can be made for kids. Last year, I couldn’t find many new ideas.

If you like to make gifts for your kids, you can look at these gift guides that I have put together in the past.

That’s over 100 DIY gifts!

20+ DIY Gifts for Kids

DIY gifts you can make for kids! Perfect for Christmas, birthdays. and more!DIY gifts for kids -- perfect for Christmas and birthday presents!Here are 21 gifts you can make for a 4-8 year old child. Plus 7 more DIY gifts for 0-3 year old children! Perfect for Christmas or birthday gifts. Here are 7 gifts you can make for a 0-3 month old child. Perfect for Christmas or birthday gifts.Here are 20 presents you can make for your kids for Christmas -- plus there are links to over 80 more gift ideas that you can make!

This year I thought I would share gifts that you can get on Amazon that will encourage your kids to get off their devices and that will encourage creativity.

Many of these gifts could be put together in a set, so I’ll try to organize these gift ideas in categories. These are gifts my kids would love, and I have bought some of them for my kids! Even if these aren’t the exact gifts your kids will like, maybe this gift list will give you a great idea of something you can get your kids this Christmas season. All of the links below are affiliate links.

Here are over 40 items that could be given as gifts to kids that would encourage them to be creative! Get them off the devices and encourage them to play with toys that help them to learn and do this Christmas!

Gifts that encourage creativityColoring/Crafty Gifts:

  1. ALEX Discover My Giant Busy Box
  2. Creativity for Kids The Big Creativity Can
  3. Arts & Crafts Supply Center Complete with 20 Filled Drawers of Craft Materials
  4. 8-pack Washable Dot Markers
  5. ALEX Toys Young Artist Studio Color Changing Markers
  6. Mod Paint Sticks: Solid Tempura Paint Markers — my kids love these things! I have used them for VBS and school crafts as well.
  7. KLUTZ Watercolor Crush Toy
  8. IQ BUILDER 3D Art Coloring Puzzles
  9. Crafts For Kids (3rd Edition): 99 Fun Packed Projects For Kids Of All Ages! Book (Kindle or paperback)  
  10. ALEX Toys Little Hands Pop Stick Art
  11. Gifts that encourage creativityALEX Toys Little Hands Picture Mosaic
  12. ALEX Toys Craft Rock Pets
  13. Melissa & Doug Stained Glass Made Easy Activity Kit: Butterfly – 140+ Stickers
  14. Bunchems – Creativity Pack 
  15. Melissa & Doug Scratch Art Doodle Pad With 16 Scratch-Art Boards and Wooden Stylus
  16. KidKraft Deluxe Wood Easel, White
  17. 4M Magnetic Mini Tile Art
  18. Homemade Slime Kit
  19. Elmer’s Glue Deluxe Slime Starter Kit

Building toys:

  1. Yard Games Giant Tumbling Timbers
  2. MAGNATON Magnetic Building Blocks Magnet Tiles Set
  3. IMDEN Magnetic Blocks, Magnetic Building Set, Magnetic Tiles
  4. ETI Toys | STEM Learning | Original 101 Piece Educational Construction Engineering Building Blocks Set
  5. Gifts that encourage creativityLEGO Unikitty! Unikitty Cloud Car 41451 Building Kit
  6. LEGO Classic Bricks and Gears 10712 Building Kit 
  7. LEGO Architecture Great Wall of China 
  8. VIAHART Brain Flakes 500 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set

  9. PlayShire Brain Flakes – Large 500 + 100 Extra Pieces STEM Toy Set. Free 30+ Designs Idea Book

  10. LINCOLN LOGS – Centennial Edition Tin
  11. K’NEX Imagine – Power and Play Motorized Building Set

  12. 4-in-1 Transforming Toys & Race Car

Educational Toys/Games:

  1. Gifts that encourage creativityBuself Wooden Tetris Puzzle Brain Teasers Game and Intelligence Toy
  2. ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run Logic Game
  3. SmartLab Toys Smart Circuits Games & Gadgets Electronics Lab
  4. Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! 
  5. BEST LEARNING i-Poster My Learning Board – Interactive Talking Educational Poster for Wall
  6. Write Your Own Book

Other Fun Gifts that Encourage Creativity:

  1. Gifts that encourage creativityTruChef KIDS Cut Resistant Gloves (Ages 4-8)  — perfect for kids who want to help in the kitchen cutting or touching hot pans
  2. MindWare Playful Chef (Baking Kit)
  3. ALEX Toys Craft My First Sewing Kit
  4. The Drawing Book for Kids: 365 Daily Things to Draw, Step by Step 
  5. Fun and Challenging Mazes for Kids 8-12
  6. Hair Chalk Pen Set of 12, Qivange Temporary Hair Color Kids Toys Washable Hair Chalks

If you didn’t find any ideas above, then go check out some of these gift guides below! Then go enter THIS GIVEAWAY to possibly win one of six cash giveaways.

KBN Holiday Gift Guide 2018

24 gift guides of presents for kids

Thoughtful Thursdays: Praise God for Who He is

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

By 2 Comments

Every Thanksgiving season, I like to spend extra time contemplating how much I have for which I can give thanks.

Give thanks to God because He is good! Here are 4 free printable worksheets to help you focus on being thankful for the goodness of God!Last week, I wrote a post on being thankful for God’s goodness. I shared four printables that you or your kids could use to journal what you are thankful for this season. Today, I prepared a printable that includes 6 ways that God is good to us. You can print it out and meditate on these truths. I know I am starting to feel stressed already. If we take just a few minutes each day reflecting on how good God is to us, it will remind us to keep our priorities in check and be thankful for what we already have.

Here are 6 ways that God is good to us -- Give thanks to Him for His goodness! Print it out today!

Click on the picture to print out this sheet!

To get in a true gratitude frame of mind, not only can we focus on the goodness of God, but we can also spend time considering God’s amazing attributes.

Here are ten of God’s attributes. Maybe take time to praise God for a different attribute daily.

  1. God is immutable – He never changes.

    The same God that worked miracles in the Bible can work miracles today! The promises of God that are for all people are for us today.
    Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

  2. God is omnipotent – He is all powerful.

    He is mighty to save and He is greater than anyone or anything else.
    Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Jeremiah 32:17

  3. God is omnipresent – He is everywhere.

    He is here for us in the good and the bad times.
    Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10

  4. God is faithful.

    Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; Deuteronomy 7:9

  5. God is good.

    O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. Psalm 136:1

  6. God is just — He is right and perfect in all He does.

    Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18 ESV

  7. God is merciful.

    For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Psalm 86:5

  8. God is gracious.

    But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:15

  9. God is loving.

    He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:8-10

  10. God is holy.

     There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. I Samuel 2:2

Next week, I’ll share more attributes of God. Praise God for Who He is!

I’ll also try to make more printables for these attributes of God. If I keep these truths before me during the day, I find it much easier to remember to give thanks.

There are many other Thanksgiving printables I have shared over the years. Here is the link to most of them.

13 Thanksgiving printables about how we should give thanks for different attributes of God.

Come link up your thoughtful posts to Thoughtful Thursdays linky party!

Here were a couple of my favorite posts from last week:

The thoughtful topics for your posts could be related to but not limited to the following topics:

* homemaking * homeschooling * devotional or Biblical posts * Christian in nature * family/marriage * inspirational *

    1. Do NOT link up recipes, reviews, giveaways, diy, or crafts.
    2. Link up to three posts that have not been linked up to this linky previously!
    3. We would love it if you visited a couple other posts and left a comment or shared/pinned the post!
    4. If you wish, please follow Creative K Kids by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.

If you link up, we would love if you put this button somewhere on your blog (sidebar, post, or party page) or provide a text link so that others can also find these great posts.

Creative K Kids

If you would like to receive a weekly email reminder on Thursday parties about linking up to this party, please sign up HERE.


Chocolate Streusel Bars + Christmas Cash Giveaway

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

By 2 Comments

Every year, I participate in this Christmas Cash Giveaway. It’s a lot of fun to team up with other bloggers and offer this giveaway just in time for Black Friday.

This year, I wanted to share another one of our family’s favorite desserts, Chocolate Streusel Bars. This recipe would be perfect for one of your Christmas parties. I will many times make a recipe that has red or green candies in it, but this chocolate dessert with its creamy white layer would look gorgeous on a red platter or against a red backdrop.

These Chocolate Streusel Bars are a perfect dessert for any time of the year with it's creamy cheesecake layer surrounded by a chocolate bottom and top layer.

 

I also like this dessert as it has a cheesecake layer without going to all the work of making homemade cheesecake! It cuts nice, stacks nice, and tastes great. Try it this Christmas or any of these other Christmas desserts.Here are 10 delicious desserts I make every Christmas. They are tried and true!

Here’s how you make Chocolate Streusel Bars:

Print
Chocolate Streusel Bars

These Chocolate Streusel Bars are a perfect dessert for any time of the year with its creamy cheesecake layer surrounded by a chocolate bottom and top layer.

Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 c. flour
  • 1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 c. butter, cold
  • 1 pkg. cream cheese, softened 8 oz. package
  • 1 can sweet condensed milk 14 oz. can
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts optional
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and cocoa.

  3. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Mixture will be dry.

  4. Reserving 2 cups of the crumb mixture, press remainder on bottom of an 13" x 9" baking pan. 

  5. Bake 15 minutes. While baking, prepare the next layer.

  6. In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.

  7. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.

  8. Add egg and vanilla, mix well.

  9. Pour over prepared crust (after it has baked for 15 minutes).

  10. Combine nuts with reserved crumb mixture (if desired). Sprinkle mixture evenly over cheese mixture.

  11. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly. 

  12. Cool. Chill. Cut into bars. Store covered in the refrigerator.

These Chocolate Streusel Bars are a perfect dessert for any time of the year with it's creamy cheesecake layer surrounded by a chocolate bottom and top layer.

These Chocolate Streusel Bars are a perfect dessert for any time of the year with it's creamy cheesecake layer surrounded by a chocolate bottom and top layer.

It’s time for a Christmas giveaway! Are you getting geared up for the shopping season? Do you need extra cash for Christmas?? Don’t we all!

Christmas giveaway! 6 winners -- Enter by Wednesday, November 22, 2018.

We are so excited to be giving away $360 (It’s now $370!) in cash prizes for you to use starting this Thanksgiving weekend.

Here are the prizes:

1 – $150 Amazon Gift Card
1 – $100 Target Gift Card
1 – $50 Walmart Gift Card
1 – $50 Kohls Gift Card
2 –  $10 Starbucks gift card as an extra bonus winner!!

There will be 6 winners in this giveaway. Each winner will receive a gift card code to use on the online store or in the actual store.

Now its time to meet our wonderful co-hosts who have made this giveaway possible.

Christmas giveaway! 5 winners -- Enter by Wednesday, November 22, 2018.

Starting at the top row we have:

Teresa – Sweet Farmhouse Dreams | Kristin – White Arrows Home | Audrey – That Recipe & Munofore | Susan – Culinary Envy | Carrie – Curly Crafty Mom | Tammy – Creative K Kids | Linda – A Labour of Life | Kenyatta – My Design Rules | Gladys – Moms To Grandma | Carol – The Red Painted Cottage | Emily – Domestic Deadline | Kara – Phoenix Mom Blog | Sinea – Ducks ‘n a Row | Whitney – Beauty, Baby, and a Budget | Meredith – The Mom of the Year | Gina – Money Savvy Living | Trish – By Trish Sutton | Habiba – Craftify My Love | Marcy – Backyard Patch Herbal Blog | Marilyn – Marilyns Treats | Terri – Christmas Tree Lane | Jamie – As For Me and My Homestead | Debi – Life Currents |Marie – The Inspiration Vault | Donna – Blog By Donna | Tammy – My Life Abundant | Melissa – Our Crafty Mom

Please stop by and say hi to these wonderful ladies and their blogs.

The giveaway will end midnight on Wednesday, November 22nd, the night before Thanksgiving. You will have 48 hours to respond to the email claiming the prize. If you respond right away, we will get you the gift card code promptly so that you can shop with it on Black Friday! If we don’t hear in 48 hours, we will have to choose another winner.

Open to anyone who can receive gift cards from Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohls, and Starbucks

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Four Ways You Can Be Prepared for the Holiday Season

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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If you are anything like me, you might be feeling a little stressed out by all you responsibilities that must happen over the next two months. I’m stressed just about this week! There is so much to do and so little time. How is it possible to get it all done?

I’m not for sure if I will get it all done, but here is how are the four main ways I am trying to get prepared and ready for this year’s holiday season:

Here are four ways you can start preparing for the busy holiday season so that you can actually enjoy the holidays and not be stressed!

  • Stay focused.

Too often, I multi-task, and then I get distracted. I get pulled in 5 different directions, and then I don’t get done the original task and really nothing gets well.

How do you stay focused?

  • Use a calendar or “to-do” app to keep focused on your priorities for each day.

Different strategies work for different people. To-do lists don’t work for me unless I have a million things that need to get done every day. What I like to do is use my Google calendar and write my 3-4 priorities that must get done that day and focus on those 3-4 things. Of course, there are daily things that must be done which for me would be activities such as the kids going to school, teaching every morning, making dinner, starting a laundry, and more. Those items are not on my calendar. It would be my items that are not routine but still must get done that day. Today, I would have included writing this post, taking my daughters to co-op, work, and basketball practice, and preparing my lesson for tomorrow’s Wednesday night kids’ program.

  • Get rest.

When you don’t take time to get enough sleep, eat healthy, and get some exercise, you will get sick. I am a bad example of this. Two weeks ago, I had a slight virus, and I rested one day, but I didn’t take the time to recover. I really couldn’t; I had to drive my oldest 7 hours to go visit a college campus. We are already starting to visit colleges and make sure we are doing the right dual-enrollment classes. So for three days, we were running. When I got back home, I crashed. If I could have rested when I was first sick, I think I would have recovered very quickly. So it’s better to take care of yourself and not get sick then run yourself ragged and then crash — and really be out of commission for a long time.

  • Work ahead when you can.

Some people are last-minute people. They love to wait. I am not; however, the more kids I had and the more responsibilities I added to my life, I became more or a last-minute person with working on my responsibilities. It’s just a necessity at this stage of my life. But there are some things that I am trying to do ahead of December:

⇒ Buy presents all year long. I have been trying to look at the daily Amazon deals and share some on Creative K Kid’s Facebook page. I am always looking for creative kids for gifts. I have bought two of them for my kids. Some of the gift ideas I share are ones my kids already have or ones my kids would have loved when they were young. I don’t want to stress about buying presents in December.

⇒ Get teacher gifts figured out and ready ahead of time if you can. I give gift cards and baked goodies. I can get the gift cards now as I go to stores that I frequent just to buy groceries. Why wait until later?

⇒ Get your cards ready ahead of time. I do the photo cards, and I buy them from Sams Club on Black Friday. I want to get my picture card ready ahead of Black Friday and have it in the cart, so I just have to push the last couple of buttons on Friday.

⇒ Do your baking ahead of time. I bake a lot of cookies and bars before Christmas and give out goodies to shut-ins. The weekend after Christmas I start baking an item daily and freeze the items. I also start buying my grocery items now, so that I have what I need when I am ready to bake.

⇒ Plan your parties ahead of time. I have to do a ladies Christmas party. This week, I need to get my fliers done and figure out what ice breaker game we’ll do as well as if there is any other game or craft we will do.

⇒ Keep your house clean all season. We just started this process. My mom, dad, and sister will be staying at our house for up to a month over the holidays. I know once December comes, I won’t have time to work on my house. Two of my kids are doing winter sports, and we are going to be gone. So since I had guests come over to eat with us on Sunday, that gave us the encouragement to do some deep cleaning. I had my kids all help me for an hour. I gave each kids two walls/baseboards/doors to clean.

I just handed each kid some Mean Green cleaners that I have. I think most of you remember that I am an ambassador of them this year, and they sent me a bunch of cleaners. It’s so helpful, because I can give each kid a spray bottle and a rag and let them go to town! I totally forgot to take pictures of them to the end. I was so focused on getting our mess cleaned up. Some of them used Orange Champ Multi-Purpose Cleaner, and some of them used the Super Strength Multi-Purpose Cleaner. We don’t clean these that often, and they needed to be done. Hopefully, I won’t have to do them again anytime soon.

There is so much to do for the holidays -- relieve some stress by getting some Mean Green cleaners and keep your house clean with minimal effort.

I pulled out some paint to to touch up. That’s this weekend’s project. If I can do those deep cleaning items now, I won’t have to do them in a month. Of course, there will always be bathrooms that need to be cleaned and floors that need to be mopped, but if I keep the cleaning up, I can just do a maintenance clean in December rather than a deep clean.

 

 

Tasty Tuesdays: Favorite Recipes from October

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Go HERE for more disclaimers.

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October’s parties had a lot of fun recipes linked up! I shared which recipes had the most clicks below. Which one is your favorite?

The two favorite recipes from October 2nd’s party were fun fall/Halloween recipes:

Julie’s Creative Lifestyle’s Simple Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe was the favorite recipe from October 9th’s party. What a perfect recipe for those cooler fall days!

There were many more fall & Halloween favorite recipes from October 16th’s party:

Two recipes had the most views from October 23rd’s party:

And getting ready for Thanksgiving, Happily Homegrown’s post, Let’s Talk Turkey, had the most views from October 30th’s party.


PLEASE LINK UP TO THREE FOOD POSTS TO THE TASTY TUESDAYS’ LINKY PARTY!

Tasty Tuesday's hosts

  • PLEASE follow the hosts of this party through one of their social media listed below. They will visit your post and pin it. Just pick one (or more) of the options below and please follow them.

**Tammy from Creative K Kids (Blog)**
Pinterest/Facebook/Google+/Twitter/Instagram

**Audrey from That Recipe (Blog)**
Pinterest/Facebook/Google+/Twitter/Instagram 

**Lisa from Blogghetti (Blog)**
Pinterest/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram

  • Please link up to three food-related posts that have never been linked up here before.  Posts containing alcohol also will not be pinned.
  • Place this button or a link to this post somewhere on your site–either on the actual post or on your sidebar or on your party page.

Creative K Kids

  • As a thank-you for linking up, we will pin your recipe to the Tasty Tuesdays at Creative K Kids Pinterest board. Please follow the board to see all the great food recipes!
  • Creative K Kids is not responsible for stolen images or the mis-use by others who have found your image through CreativeKKids.com.
  • By linking up, you agree to let any of the hosts or co-hosts  use your pictures and links if they decide to feature your post. Your photo may also be used for promotion on any of their social media outlets.
  • If you would like to receive an email reminding you to link up to this party, please click HERE and add your email address to the list! I will only send you an email about linking up to this party.


Websites where I share my giveaways:

Blog Giveaway Directory

Giveaway Monkey

DISCLAIMER
Creative K Kids

Amazon Affiliate:

Tammy Doiel (Creative K Kids) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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