The Gift of Memories.

Have you seen those pictures on Pinterest of all the cutesy projects that some moms have done with their children? And you’re all “where’s the mess? why is that mom still smiling? HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS?!?!?”

No? Just me?

I’m sure it’s not just me.

If you’re a mom, and you have young kids, and those kids in any way shape or form have learned of the magic of glue/noodles/glitter/markers/paints – you’ve been where I’ve been. Wanting to sit down and teach them about the wonders of CREATING something fun together – turning scraps and colors into masterpieces, hanging them on the refrigerator or the wall, sending them to grandma for her to ooooh and aaahhh over.

But the reality is – life gets in the way.

You are too busy driving here or there, cooking dinner after coming home from work, making 203 phone calls to various doctor’s offices/therapists/supply companies, or just cleaning up the messes from the past two hours of having toddlers and preschoolers in your house to sit and plan out a fun craft. Better yet is the times when you HAVE the time to sit down and create something with your darling child/ren, and you’re out of glue sticks. Or the cat knocked over the glitter in the closet. Or you used the noodles for dinner two nights ago. And while no one ever said you HAVE to sit down and do crafty things with your child in order to be a good mom, there’s something innate about sitting and coloring, or showing your child how a glue stick works, or helping them discover that joy of seeing their creations as real works of art that speaks to a mommy’s heart.

This is where I’m at.

I had heard of these things called “Babba Boxes” from a few mommy friends, but have only recently been absolutely enthralled with them. I mean look at that picture above – doesn’t it make you drool with all the fun and possibilities that lie therein? For all the times I spend doing stuff FOR my kids, I’d LOVE to be able to sit down and actually do something fun like this WITH them. My kids cannot get enough of craft time with mommy, and unfortunately I so very often feel like I don’t have nearly enough time for crafts to go around. And that’s where Babba Boxes come in. All the work is done for you! All the supplies are there, waiting for you to create beautiful masterpieces and great childhood memories with your little ones. And it’s not “just crafts”. Babba Boxes has done their research. Their boxes all purposefully contain a very deliberate mix of activities.

BabbaBox includes 5 major components centered around the ways kids engage and learn: CREATE, EXPLORE, STORY TELL, CONNECT.  "Create" are 2 projects they make themselves.  "Explore" is an activity with a provided project or object to engage with the world.  "Story tell" is a bestselling book that best represents the theme through a story.  "Connect" is the digital downloads.

The BabbaBox is also super convenient, because it delivers ALL the materials and content right to your door so parents just need to literally open the box and start spending quality time with their kids.

Check out what will come in January’s box:

Transform all of that post-holiday organization into fun, memorable time with your kids!  Plus teaching kids about organization encourages ownership and independence – important qualities as they develop self-esteem and confidence.

First, you’ll CREATE a way to both organize and showcase all that kid artwork you have piled up in the corner!  The end result is a beautiful clothesline art gallery that both you and your children can proudly display.

Then you’ll help your child CREATE his/her own art supply organizer! We even get them finger-painting with this project!

For the EXPLORE component, we give you an amazing tool for organizing your kids’ clothes and cleaning out that closet. We’ve partnered with a company called thredUP so that you will actually be able to get money in exchange for your kids’ old clothes. We also give you kid-friendly drawer labels to encourage your kids to take out and put away their own clothes.

The book for January features the beloved characters from Max and Ruby. (Max Cleans Up by Rosemary Wells.)

Your kids will love the Toca House app, where they help cute characters clean up their house.

And finally, we’ve included a special something for grown-ups – we partnered with Real Simple to give you a great guide for de-cluttering your life, as well as a little token from Jessica Kim.

 

SOLD!

I’m seriously giddy with excitement over this box because it addresses so many of my own “issues” – organizing the chaos of craft stuff, getting a good start on the post-holiday cleanup/New Year resolution to be organized, I’m a Real Simple junkie, and my kids are Toca Boca addicts! Win-win-win!!!

What better gift for Christmas than the gift of memories, sanity, time together? Why spend more money on plastic toys that will be played with for a few weeks at best and then tossed aside, when you could instead spend the time together making memories together?

So how can you get your own Babba Box? Well boys and girls, let me tell you how!

Click this link to go to their website, and make sure you sign up for BabbaCo’s newsletter which includes super fun DIY projects and sanity-saving ideas [via Link]

Once you have signed up for the newsletter on that link, click from there to go to BabbaCo’s Facebook page and share a holiday pic of your kids or family. There are some pretty awesome prizes for that contest! Like a whole year of BabbaCo Boxes right at your doorstep!

I think that recent events have all of us moms wanting to cherish the moments both big and small with our kiddos. I really can’t think of many better ways for my own craft-loving kids to spend true TIME with them, doing what THEY love, together. Talking, making memories, cherishing those moments of them growing up, seemingly right before my very eyes. But seriously, go sign up for the newsletter and start getting ideas to help you start having more good memories today. Because we are never guaranteed a tomorrow.

I know you all, like me, are already hugging your kids a little more often and a little bit tighter.

Cherish everything.

And keep on keepin’ on.

 

Terra.

 

Sponsored: This post has been sponsored by BabbaCo. I have not received a Babba Box, but will be compensated based on the amount of clicks my post generates to their website.