Source: Shimelle Laine/Flickr

This year I really wanted to give back to our community during the holiday season. I especially wanted my baby girl to be a part of it and understand there are kids and families in need and realize we can help, even if just a bit. I want her to see that she is a very lucky girl and that we should not only be grateful, but also help others when we can.

Luckily, as I was beginning to search for the best way our family could help other families in Central Florida, I was provided two wonderful opportunities to give back through my work on this site. I’ll share one of those opportunities here and the other in a separate post.

Through my partnership with Walmart and the Walmart Moms group, I was offered the chance to shop at Walmart for items to donate to a charity or organization of my choosing. There are so many places that help local families that in turn need help to make it happen; it was really hard to choose just one. In the end, though, we chose to help Harbor House with their Presents of Hope program.

Harbor House is a local organization that helps domestic violence victims and also provides shelter, among other services. I personally have never been affected by domestic violence nor do I have any close friends or family affected by such a horrendous act, but I know this is a serious problem. When I reached out to Harbor House and received information on the current ages of children living in the shelter and overall wish lists and needs for residents, I knew it would be a good cause to support.

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Equipped with their list and the knowledge that most people donate for younger kids so there was a special need for older kids’ items, my baby girl and I went shopping at Walmart to pick out fun gifts for Harbor House residents. She had fun choosing items she thought other kids would like, though she was a tad nervous about choosing for older kids, saying, “I’m not sure what teenagers like, mommy.” Little does she know that a lot of parents struggle with that issue! Here’s what we were able to get (though I wish we could have gotten so much more!):

• Made by Me Weaving Loom craft kit
• Paint Your Own Dinosaurs Kit
• Board/card games like Connect 4, Yahtzee, and Uno
• Mini Lalaloopsy doll
• Make-up sets
• Chain wallet
• Girl’s wallets and One Direction small purse
• Boxed fashion jewelry and rubber bracelets
• Assortment of gloves and hat for cooler days

I combined these purchased gifts with a couple of extra items I had at home that we had previously set aside for donating and hadn’t yet done so. I hope the kids and parents living at Harbor House enjoy the items we picked out and have a great Christmas. I encourage you to find out what organizations need some extra holiday cheer this holiday season and consider purchasing a few extra items on your next trip to Walmart to donate.

Disclosure: modernmami.com and its owner, Melanie Edwards, is a member of the Walmart Moms program, resulting in compensation for this post.

Crafts have never really been my thing. My mom used to create cute decorations for her house when I was younger, but I never joined her in doing so. It’s never been something I’ve had a talent for. Now that I have children, though, I wish I was more creative in that aspect and could come up with cute craft activities to do with the kids. Luckily, craft kits exist to help parents like me that come with all the necessary items and instructions to guide me in the creative process.

I take the opportunity to use craft kits together with my daughter, especially, since baby boy is typically too young for those types of crafts. She enjoys doing crafts together, so this way I’m able to enjoy such an activity with her, without becoming stressed that I don’t know what I’m doing. We recently had the chance to check out a few craft products sold at Walmart and test them out together; you can see them in the photo above.

My baby girl chose to complete the Made by Me Birdhouse first. We both enjoyed the ease of putting it together and she even commented it was cool we didn’t need any nails! All necessary items and tools came with the kit, which makes it so convenient for people like me that aren’t crafty. After quickly snapping the pieces in place, she began to paint her new birdhouse – don’t you love the vibrant colors she’s chosen so far?

We’re thinking of giving one of the items as a gift to one of her cousins because my daughter is sure she’ll love it. In fact, we often purchase craft or art kits when buying presents for birthdays and holidays – I love it because it’s so much better than accumulating big toys the kids will only play with for a bit! These particular kits are all really affordable too; the birdhouse we completed is only $9.97.

Have you ever tried a craft kit or do you typically create your own crafts?

Disclosure: modernmami.com and its owner, Melanie Edwards, is a member of the Walmart Moms program, resulting in compensation for this post.

Photos © modernmami