November 13, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

35 Gifts that inspire Adventure in Boys

Help your kids put down the electronics and inspire a little adventure in your backyard this summer!

I like toys that don’t make noise or break easily. I seek gifts that foster an adventurist spirit in my children and encourage activity and relationship between people.

If you have a son and know me in real life, I have told you about my deep LOVE for JM Cremps– the boy’s adventure store. The majority of the toys in our home are from this family-run business out of Minnesota. It’s been my one-stop Christmas shopping spot for the past 3 years. For that reason, many things on this list are from there because… it’s my AWESOME secret store. Enough about the store, on with the gifts.

My Top Picks to inspire Adventure in boys ( and girls!):

(this post has affiliate links)

Slackline –

Hot gift this season. Anchor the slackline between 2 trees and balance your way across this narrow strip. The advanced version can even be used with skateboards and skis.

–Slackline for beginners of all ages
– Slackline for the advanced adventurer

Military Surplus Tent – $29

Perfect for backyard forts.

Handcrafted Animal Slingshots$9.99

Choice of 7 animals – My boys spend hours outside trying to knock over cans and hit each other…I mean targets.

Backyard Zipline –

So fun for the right backyard.

Medic Bag – $12.99

Shockingly popular with my children!! Before I gave these to my kids, I filled them with camo duct tape, bandaids, a wooden (not sharp) pocket knife, a mini first aid kit, a camo water bottle, string and caution tape from the dollar store, and some books on survival in the outdoors and What to make with Duct Tape. They staged “animal rescues”, climbed trees roping off weak branches, and had picnics under strange bushes. They were a huge hit. Every tool in that bag was used to its fullest.

Rubberband Gun – start at $12

These have been so much fun that I went back to get one for my husband. I bought a pack of extra “ammo” or rubberbands which was a wise investment.

Z-Curve Bow and Arrow

This set is made of foam.There is also a Wolverine bow and arrow set for boys more self-controlled than my own.

Metal Detector

Spend hours searching for loose change and metal treasures. Detects up to 3 feet deep

Young Architect Kit

Design rooms and shapes in 3d design. Great building set for aspiring architects.

Electronic Snap Circuits

Contains over 60 Snap-Together parts. Build over 300 exciting projects.
Build a Radio, Doorbell, burglar alarm and more

Other favorites:

: Crazy Cool Fly Boy Helmet

: Night Vision Spy Gear

: Duck Dynasty Board Game

: Play Mobile Tent Equipment

: Wooden Pocket Knife

: Head Lights

: Catapult

: Duck Commander Flag Hat

: Camo Duck Tape

: Automoblox

: Camo Face Paint

: Knight Figurines

: Compass

: Leather Cross bracelet

: Whittling Kit

: Glow in the Dark Duct Tape

: Book of Knots

Some favorites BOOKS:

Dangerous Books for Boys
Pocket Guide to Boy Stuff
His Mighty Warrior – *our favorite boy’s devotional*
Book of Knots (with rope kit) $8
Pocket Guide to the Outdoors
The Beginner Book of Duct Tape Projects
31 Whittling Projects
50 Dangerous Things you should let your children do.

For more holiday ideas, check out our Pinterest holiday boards.

50+ Bloggers around the world have gotten together to create the 2013 Ultimate Gift Guide Series and Pinterest Board from which this list is part of. We’d love for you to check it out.

I’m grateful for my readers and would love to have you follow The House of Hendrix below. If you would like to connect further, please join my FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

November 10, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

A Tree of Gratitude

Post sponsored by Alpha-Bits as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network. – See more at: http://www.alittletipsy.com/2013/11/printable-thanksgiving-crossword-for.html#sthash.xSNLA1Hg.dpuf

Post sponsored by Alpha-Bits as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network. – See more at: http://www.alittletipsy.com/2013/11/printable-thanksgiving-crossword-for.html#sthash.xSNLA1Hg.dpufpost s

Post sponsored by Alpha-Bits as part of the Mom it Forward Blogger Network.

In our time-crunched world, I’m drawn to activities that are festive, educational, and character-building. So as we continue our focus this month on gratitude, I came up with a craft that combines:

character development
snack time
letter recognition
sorting/ matching/word formation
and a great gift for grandma

The Tree of Gratitude can easily be adapted to kids of varying ages. My 11 year old had just as much fun as my 6 year old. Here’s what you’ll need:

Alpha-Bits cereal
paint (brown, green, yellow) & brush
glue
a happy heart

My kids immediately started sorting the Alpha Bits cereal into rows of letters. With every ‘A’ that was lined up, an ‘A’ went into their tummy. The possible craft projects with these little letters were buzzing through my head…if we could just stop eating them. This whole grain cereal is delish! The shaped pieces can also help little ones become familiar with letters of the alphabet while challenging older kids to form words and expressions of gratitude. Begin by making the trunk of the tree with your forearm. We used brown paint on the outer side of your arm and then pressed onto paper.

Character Lesson – Our bodies are like a trunk of a tree. The bark protects the good things the roots absorb while also keeping harmful things away. How can we use our bodies to nourish and also protect our hearts?

Make the leaves of the tree with green hand prints. We filled in a few gaps with a paintbrush.

Character Lesson – We can use our hands to serve others.Use fingerprints to add some leaves to the branches.

Character Lesson – Our fingerprints are unlike anybody else in the world. We are each made special and with purpose.After the paint dries, spell out words of things that you are thankful for with the Alpha Bits cereal. You may help younger children with this step by writing out their words on a separate paper for them to duplicate. Glue their words of thanksgiving onto the branches of the tree.

Character Lesson – Our words are a reflection of our hearts. Let’s use words of thanksgiving and of encouragement for one another.

The Gratitude Tree can be a keepsake or a gift. Ours are proudly displayed on our playroom walls. Thanks for stopping by for craft time today. Allison

I am grateful for my readers. If you missed our Thanksgiving Advent post, you can learn how we use November to prepare our hearts for the indulgence of December here. A Gratitude Tree - Includes a character-building lesson for each step. I love when a craft strengthens not just fine motor skills but the heart as well. |the House of Hendrix

I’d also love for you to follow the House of Hendrix below. We have a great Facebook community and you can find us on Pinterest.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

November 5, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Our Thanksgiving Advent

There’s just something about November.

I need it. I crave it. It begins the day after Halloween, where make-believe is at its peak; and although I love an evening of gluttonous candy and costumes, there’s just something dark and unsettling about the night. I wake up November 1st thankful it’s over and ready to re-align my heart for the coming months.

November challenges us to go deeper. To be thankful. To have hearts of gratitude.

November is a blessing.

I need November because I REALLY love December. Without November, December would exhaust me. I would decorate, impulse spend, and wrap til even the elves were impressed. But November grounds me. It gives me time to reflect and re-prioritize on what I truly care about, not on what advertising campaigns and catalogs try to lure me with.

November allows me to enter the holiday season with a heart of gratitude not desire.

So this month, I’m going to write about what that looks like in our home, and how I am preparing my heart and my family’s heart for Thanksgiving. One way we do this is through a Thanksgiving Advent.

Our Thanksgiving Advent Calendar

Each evening in November, we each write on a card something we are thankful for.

Sometimes it’s a list. Sometimes a drawing.

We place the card into the corresponding day on our felt advent calendar.

On Thanksgiving night, we read each of the cards.

I save these cards to remember. They reveal so much about the heart of our family…particularly those cards written when life was not easy. I cling to the cards of years past, cherish them, and am thankful to God for carrying us through the rough patches. I am thankful for His faithful goodness. I remember… and my faith is strengthened.

I made YOU a set of Thanksgiving cards. Click here to chose your style and print.

I’m thankful for you and hope your hearts are filled with gratitude and joy this November. Allison

For more festive ideas and activities, I just started a Thanksgiving board on Pinterest that you can follow.

I’m grateful for my readers and would love to have you follow The House of Hendrix below. If you would like to connect further, please join my FACEBOOK COMMUNITY