Top 12 Posts of 2016!

Hello! I ended up taking a bit longer of a holiday blogging break than I intended, but we've been having a wonderfully restful and celebratory time with friends and family, so I just kind of went with it! I've also been spending some time thinking about this blog and what I'd like to do with this space in the next year. I was perusing the scintillating analytics when I also happened across one of my favorite blogger's "best posts" from last year and thought it might be fun to share my top posts from this year! I always find it interesting to see what content people really like (and it almost always surprises me -- like, maybe I should turn this into a food blog?!). So without further adieu, here are my top 12 posts from 2016 in no particular order:

Massaged Kale Salad with Cherries, Pistachios, and Grilled Steak + 30 Days of Dinner / 2016 Summer Bucket List: 101+ Ideas of Family Fun for the Summer / Grilled Chicken, Burst Tomato and Artichoke Skewers with Goat Cheese Dip + 30 Days of Dinner / Spring Break 2016 at Bluefields Bay Jamaica / Lemony Chicken Stir Fry + 30 Days of Dinner / Holiday Gift Guide for the Kiddos / 25 More Fave Travel Activities, Games + Toys / Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Pita with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce + 30 Days of Dinner / Slow Cooked Maple Dijon Pot Roast + 30 Days of Dinner / Scotland + Ireland: Edinburgh Days 1 + 2 / Outdoor Art Space for Kids / Spring Break Essentials -- Carry-On for the Girls 

DIY Party Hats!

How are the holiday countdowns going in your neck of the woods!? We celebrate pretty much anything and everything, so this month is verrrrry festive for us. To help the kiddos get ready to party, I decided to try making our very own DIY Party Hats this year. We're saving them for New Year's Eve, but they'd work to celebrate any occasion. Head over to the International Arrivals' blog to see how our party prepping is going! 

Holiday Kiddie Mocktail

Our kids love to celebrate the holidays with us and I feel like I get stuck on repeat making the same kiddie mocktail for every occasion. Not this year. I'm scooping up a festive float that is sweet, bubbly, and all kinds of party. Whether you're looking for a drink your kids can clink for Christmas or New Year's Eve, head over to Honest to Nod to see what we're serving this year.

New Year's Bucket List!

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but if you know our family at all, you know we love to make bucket lists. We've generally restricted our bucket list creating to summer break, but I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of family activities and goals for the New Year and check in quarterly to see how we're doing. Some simple, some ridiculous (the kids added whatever they wanted), some elaborate. 52 good things to strive for in 2015. Here's our collective list -- Happy New Year, all!

New Year's Eve Kiddie Cocktails

As you might have noticed in our recent New Year's Eve Party Animal post, we love to party on in the new year. And what better way to do that than to whip up some festive kiddie cocktails?! From the simple to the more elaborate, we've rounded up fabulous mocktails to celebrate this New Year's Eve!

1 / I'd love to start off a party with a "confetti bar" and let the kids mix up their own sparkly concoction. Obviously not drinkable, but super festive.

2 / Cannot go wrong with a classic Shirley Temple. I finally let our kids try these recently and they are now obsessed!

3 / My guys always love cotton candy + lemonade. Try it with sparkling lemonade for a bubbly twist and make a rainbow of colors!

4 / Super sweet rock candy and gummy bears mixed with sparkling apple juice makes another pretty array of colors.

5 / Round out the night with a fun glass of sprinkled milk!

New Year's Eve Party Animals!

Since we love to celebrate for no reason at all, it probably won't come as a surprise to you that we are all big fans of celebrating New Year's Eve. And nothing says New Year's Eve more than black + gold and glittering confetti. So I was in love with The Land of Nod's Meri Meri New Year's Eve party collection the moment I saw it. It's sophisticated, but still fun and would work equally well for a grown-up party as it did for my little party animals. Our early celebration is up over at Honest to Nod today -- go check it out!