Spreading good cheer with kindness rocks and do it with your grandkids. I've written about kindness rocks before. I love the concept: leaving a message on a rock for someone to find on their walk. So the purpose of this blog today is twofold--create some kindness rocks and do it with your grandchildren. You can either paint kindness rocks with them or just paint them yourself and have your grandchildren help you hide them around the neighborhood. And we have an extra day this year--it's LEAP YEAR! So celebrate Leap Day this year by hiding messages of goodwill and encouragement for others to find and be cheered.

The concept of Kindness Rocks~

The Kindness Rock Project was started by Megan Murphy. She was missing her deceased parents and on her walks along the beach, she would often look for signs that they were watching over her from above. She would look for seashells, pretty rocks, and sea glass. She felt comforted by what she found. She considered that others probably do the same on their walks. So one day on a lark, before she left the house on her daily walk, she grabbed a marker and wrote some short messages on some rocks she had collected. 

My thoughts on kindness rocks~

I was recently with a family member when he got some bad news. He left the house saying, "I just need to go for a walk." That spurred me to create some kindness rocks once again. Now I realize the odds of someone going for a walk to clear their head and finding one of my kindness rocks might be pretty slim, but you never know. Anytime someone is out in nature and taking a walk might just need that little spark or a word of encouragement. Or they might pass it on to someone who does.

Rocks with a Leap Day/Leap Year theme~

I often paint rocks with a seasonal theme--Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day. This month I painted rocks with a leap year theme--it just might be the time someone needs some extra encouragement, so I painted rocks with the "take a LEAP," idea. Maybe it would encourage someone to try something or change something. Anyway, that's what I did.

We need SPRING!

​While I was in my craft room painting kindness rocks, I also began painting rocks to welcome spring. It's been a long, cold winter, so even though it's not spring yet, people might need to find a sign of spring on their walk. Why not on a rock?

Leap Day with the grands~

This kindness rock project all started when my grandson and I were looking for ideas on how to celebrate Leap Day. As always, one only has to google something like, "Leap Day activities with the kids. . . " And you can do the same. I found things like:

• Have a leap day party
• Decorate cookies with a frog motif. Or it might be easier to make green cupcakes and decorate with gummy frogs.
• Make a Leap Year time capsule. And open it in four years
• Or. . . as my grandson and I are doing--decorate kindness rocks and hide on Leap Day

One final appeal!

I've written before about all the blessings of painting kindness rocks. It makes you feel good to spread some good cheer and words of inspiration around your town and neighborhood. But it's also fun for the painter when you're involved in the act of painting. As so many of you already know, when you're working on your hobbies and crafts, it makes you forget your troubles and focus on your creation. It's good for us! As our mothers always told us, busy hands are happy hands. So if you're looking for an additional hobby, I recommend painting kindness rocks.

Website about the Kindness Rock Project~

​www.scarymommy.com/the-kindness-rocks-project/

Previous blogs about kindness rocks~
​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/kindness-rocks-project-with-the-grandkids

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/kindness-rocks-continued

So that your grandkids know their great-grandmother, make a book of remembrance.

You've read articles online and in magazines and newspapers how you should share the stories of your parents, but it seems such a huge ordeal--you don't really know how to tackle that. Where to start?

I thought the same thing, but perhaps we should just break it down into something smaller, something we can tackle. A friend and I came up with these subjects that can make it easier. And what a treasure our children and grandchildren will have when you present it to them.

Here are some areas wherein you could create a book about your mom, and I'm betting you can come up with even more:

• Your mother's advice
• Recipes
• Funny sayings
• Humorous stories about her
• A book with photos of her creations. . .needlepoint, embroidery, knitting
• Photos of her artwork. . .perhaps she was a painter, potter, or watercolorist
• And this simple one. . .memories of my mother

I opted for a book of my mother's advice and folksy sayings. And what's fun about doing this one is you can ask your siblings and various family members about the advice or old adages that your mother shared with them. The whole process is fun!

Once you've collected her bits of advice, then just look for photos of her and add that to your book. The thing about about doing such a book is that it's not overwhelming. It's as easy as putting a piece of her advice on a page and perhaps a picture of her to go with it. But what a treasure your family will have, and they will learn much about her just reading her wisdom.

And that's it! How easy is that?

If you do a book of her recipes, you can still intersperse photos or pieces of advice in the book.

Showing off her crocheting in a book would make her so proud. She worked hard on all those creations. The same is true of her paintings; snap a picture with your cell phone and give some background on the paintings. Makes for a lovely coffee table book, but more importantly, a treasure for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

This is a nice project for these cold winter days. Give it a try. And if you've done a book about your mother or grandmother (or father or grandfather), please share with me, and I promise to share on my blog. We're all looking for ideas.

Here's a blog about a recipe book that my sister-in-law did with recipes from her and her children's grandmother. What a gem she presented to her kids one Christmas.

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/family-thanksgiving-recipes

Postscript:

Interested in creating a book? Just google online book-making sites. There are numerous ones to choose from, or you can write me for my recommendations. Good luck!

To learn about the Chinese New Year, do a craft with the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids! And what could be more fun than a Chinese paper dragon! That's what we did.

Really no instruction from me. It's so easy to get online and find instructions for Chinese paper dragon masks or instructions for the entire paper dragon that you so often see in the Chinese New Year parades. 

So get out your supplies that you might have around the house (especially for when your grandkids visit) or get yourself to the craft store. We got out crepe paper (for streamers), construction paper, crayons and markers, scissors and paper plates. We also printed up some masks for ideas on how to design our dragon mask.

How about a parade?

I consider that I have two sets of grandkids. I have one set that are now teens and preteens. My youngest is six years old, so now I'm doing a lot of the activities I did when my first set of grandkids were toddlers. When they were little, we did the entire dragon and went to the park to parade around under the cover of our paper dragon. That's fun too. So if you can get a group together, I recommended that. My youngest comes after school, so we just did a mask. He had fun with that too.

And that's it! 

As I always tell you, doing a craft with the young ones is always so rewarding. It's a great one-on-one time when you can really talk. And it's always important to share other cultures and traditions. Makes for a more well-rounded child.

And because the Chinese New Year is in February, it helps alleviate the winter blues! It's just something fun to do with your kids. 

Here are some youtube videos you and your grandchild might want to watch together:
​www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVPHdFX9iHY

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYCc9wOfkXk

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=et36Al1C2dc

A follow-up:

Last week's blog was written by a friend who took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to France and the British Isles with her children and grandchildren. Be sure to check out last week's post if you missed it, as it had lots of tips and advice for making such a trip with three generations.

This week I'm including the family's reflections of that trip. Judye had sent me the impressions of various family members of that journey. You can judge for yourselves if such a trip would be worthwhile for you and your family. I'm voting, "YES!"

Burke's observations:

Learning about the many Celtic myths surrounding the Irish countryside was one of the most amazing parts of my trip. 
It’s fascinating how the Irish population explains such phenomena as the natural rock formation, known as the Giant’s Causeway as being the result of an ancient war between the rival giants, where the giant named Finn McCool enraged the other to the point of destroying a stone bridge.
We also beheld a castle where Cuchulain is said to have lived after slaying a vicious hound and earning the honor of the local chieftan.
We saw rock formations said to have been caused by Oisin where he had apparently demonstrated his strength after he fell in love with a spirit of death and became the strongest man in all of Ireland.
In Ireland, the number of people who believe these stories even in the modern day is astounding. 
The abstract knowledge of these stories’ existence would have been marvelous enough, but that awareness was reinforced by many sights witnessed throughout the trip.
Our guide, Allen would explain to us that there were many Hawthorne trees that farmers deliberately left standing in the center of their field, because of their fear of retaliation by the “fey-folk” said to inhabit them.
Every story felt more tangible because it was punctuated by the amazing views we were able to absorb throughout the course of our vacation.
I will always remember The Book of Kells and The Giant’s Causeway and I will always carry stories of Finn McCool, Cuchulain, and Oisin with me wherever I go.

Willa's reflections:


My favorite part of the trip was our boat tour in Cobh, Ireland.  We all went out on a small motorboat through Cobh Harbour and around the little surrounding archipelago.  Our tour guide gave us the historical background of our surroundings and took us around the islands to see the wildlife – he even pulled a moon jellyfish out of the water so we could get a closer look.  He then took us to the nearby village of Crosshaven, where he lived, to get Irish coffees in a local pub.  He was a great tour guide, really convivial and the sights on our boat ride were breathtaking.  It was a perfect intergenerational activity because the boat tour eliminated the difference in physical ability between family members, and we got to spend quality time with one another while also exploring Ireland.

Jahnathan's impressions:

I remember that the paintings all hung like big square eyeballs, and I remember that we looked up at all the ones we recognized and some we didn't and they all looked back down. We stood like broken columns, but they stared at us like we were made of fluted Ionic concrete, or something else that's so old we all might be its grandchildren, and they stared with a gaze like Greek fire, but not as hot, or like Hellenic steel, but not as strong. I remember that there was something archaic amidst us and the paintings, something that we never knew and the paintings had forgotten because it had passed it down to too many generations. Each big square eyelid closed heavier over the painting the more we looked, and it waited long to be revived the way that all art must. I remember thinking I was lucky that whatever museum this is, has so many centuries of these things, from artists whose names you hear your parents say, or their students, or their students' students. That's our reason to be here. But not everyone's, because sometimes the best part of a museum is watching other people, and our grandparents stood quietly like armless statues and looked at us the same way the paintings did.

And lastly, the grandfather's musings:


My experience on this trip can be described with three main elements.  First, there was the raw awe- inspiring experience of seeing in person artistic masterpieces, historical relics and cultural icons that one has read about and studied, but never really expected to be able to see.  

Secondly, there was for me special significance in our day trip to Achnacarry, the historical site of the Cameron Clan and home to the current Lochiel, Donald Cameron, Chief of the Clan, who invited us into his home and gave us a personal tour.  My Mother gave me the name Donald Cameron and always told me is was a special name.  For nearly 300 years, a Donald Cameron has been the Chief of the Cameron Clan.  Standing on that land, visiting the little Cameron Museum, seeing and hearing the sense of history and family pride, I began to really appreciate what that connection to one's family history really means.

​And finally, being able to watch my grandchildren and see their interest and excitement as they explored and learned and grew in their appreciation for the unique qualities as well as the commonalities of the different countries and cultures we visited was perhaps my most treasured experience from our trip.  While we each got to choose the day excursions that we wanted that also meant that we had a variety of experiences to share when we returned back to our cruise ship each evening.  And it is the sharing and retelling of our experience that really binds us all together.

I'm so appreciative of this family taking the time to write about their fabulous trip and sharing on this blog. I know I'm inspired to take our grandchildren to my husband's ancestral home in Scotland. Sending much gratitude to Judye and her husband, and their daughter, Arlette, and Judye's three grandchildren. Thanks again!

​Last week's blog with all the great travel tips and planning--

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/planning-a-multigenerational-trip

Planning a trip abroad for three generations. It can be done!

Last summer a sweet Facebook friend posted pictures of her family's trip to France and England. Because this blog is (mostly) for grandparents, I'm always on the lookout for things exactly like this to share with my readers. How did they go about this? How did they carve out the time? How did they know what excursions to plan? How did they include everyone's wants and needs? My questions were endless. I also wanted to know what they considered the blessings and benefits of such an endeavor because, after all, that's really what it is all about.

I asked Judye if she would write my blog about the experience, and she did me one better. Besides letting me in on the back details, when she got together with her grandkids this Christmas, she asked them to write about their experiences, and they complied!  What a friend! And what a family!

So here it is for you to savor and decide if you want to engage in such a trip with your children and grandchildren. Judye and her daughter Arlette have given us some good tips. I'll start with them:

​

​Tips from Judye's daughter, Arlette: (The middle generation represented here; also called "the mom")

Choosing a trip:
​I started by asking my parents what are their “bucket list” trips. They have lots domestic travel wish trips, but I thought I could help most by planning international travel, as they haven’t done that in a while and one of my kids and my nephew haven’t either.  So planning and implementing an international trip would help both the younger and older generation.   My parents’ wish list included: Alaska, Hawaii, and Scotland/Ireland.  I chose to think about planning Scotland/Ireland, and I started planning a full 18 months ahead of time.  I thought about, since family member has memory and accessibility challenges, ways to travel easily.  I looked at guided tours where they move your luggage, “hopper” tours where you are on your own but they help move you from city to city/country to country and cruises.  We chose a cruise because you return to same the room every night, and can see the most places. We traveled on the Princess Cruises 11-day British Isles cruise as it seemed like the best deal for the most locations.

Getting buy-in from multiple families/generations:
I asked everyone if they were interested.I made sure to accurately describe the type of trip it would be. For example, my daughter, in her late teens, loves live music and nightlife, but we would have to be back on ship most times by 6pm or sometimes 9 pm. I made sure she understood that before she committed. But I suggested she think of it as an “appetizer” or tasting menu--she could experience a bit of many places and decide where to go back. My brother and sister-in-law travel frequently for work and weren’t interested in an 11 day cruise. But they were interested in meeting us at the beginning or end of the trip! So we extended our start of the trip in Paris, and had a fabulous three day weekend with them. Sometimes you can do part of a trip together and some generations can keep traveling or go home.

Communicating to plan:
 I found that teens/20somethings respond to text messages the best.  So once we had our group, we texted to plan the trip.  When we had everyone together for a holiday, we chose excursions on the website. Each family booked their own vacation, but we did it through the same cruise travel agent. We purchased plane tickets through the cruiseline so they would help us get to and from airports and help with missed connections. 

​Leave room for different generations/people to do different things and take time to tailor
your trip:

​ We made people aware of what the excursions were. It is fun to do different things sometimes, and then come back together for dinner and talk about your adventures! In Inverness, we didn’t choose any of the day-trips offered.  I contacted the Visitor’s Center by email and asked for recommendations on tour guides for personalized day trips, and we planned a personalized tour of Cameron Clan lands in Scotland.  I was nervous about a personalized tour, but it turned out to be one of the best days, and was actually less expensive than some of the other excursions! We saw the flag flown by the Cameron clan at Culloden, and saw the house lived in for three generations by our ancestors, and unexpectedly met the Lochiel—the head of the Cameron Clan.  We made amazing memories!

Do you have some treasures you want to pass down to your children and grandchildren? How about decoupaging a box?

In previous blogs I wrote about telling stories that have been passed down about your ancestors. Your children need to hear those stories. I chose to do it with little mini-books. Pinterest is full of ideas about those little books, and I wanted to give them a try. I had so much fun, I wanted to pass that idea on here in my blog.

But I needed something to keep those little books in. There are tons of decorative boxes that you can get in craft stores. But I needed one wherein I could try my hand at decoupaging. Also I wanted to personalize it. In my search for the perfect box, I found a "Santa" box at my local craft store that looks like a big book. I decided that was perfect.

Finding the perfect box!

After I found the box that fit my needs, I got out my Mod Podge and started decoupaging. I put the youtube video that includes directions at the end of this blog. I simply used scrapbook paper and card stock that I deemed appropriate for my box. I was set to go!

Note the papier-mache box above that I also found. One could really get creative with such a box. You could even use paints. Whatever...just have fun. If you're looking for a "New Year's" craft, I think this fills the bill. 

And you don't have to use it for ancestor stories as I am doing. It would be great for favorite family photos, essays about your children and grandchildren, or essays about those ancestors--you don't have to create a mini-book.

I've heard of grandparents writing a letter to their grandchildren to be read upon the grandparents' passing. These little boxes would be perfect to house those letters. The ideas are endless.

I plan to include more mini-books to this collection.

​Previous blogs about writing ancestor stories:

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/ancestors-stories

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/sharing-stories-of-grit

Youtube video on how to decoupage:

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGNsRu_3KLI

Websites for making mini-books:

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHa6kR2SZok

​blog.consumercrafts.com/paper-crafts/smash-books-the-un-scrapbook/

​Parting thought~

I'll end with a quote from previous blogs. I simply love it:

"I am bound to them, though I cannot look into their eyes or hear their voices. I honor their history. I cherish their lives. I will tell their story. I will remember them." Author unknown.

This is what I found!

I've culled the internet and Pinterest, looking for a "Winter Bucket List," and these are some of the items I found:

• Have a DEAR Day. We did these in school, and they're great for individuals too. It stands for "Drop everything and read." Enough said. Catch up on your reading.
• Make a big pot of chili, stew or chicken-and-dumplings.
• Set up a card table and a puzzle. Work on it whenever you get the chance.
• Invite friends over for brunch.
• Invite your grands over for the day and make sock puppets.
• If travel is good, bundle up and go visit a local museum. I'm guessing there are some museums in your neighborhood/community. Go visit. Chances are they have a traveling exhibit or they've updated some of your favorites. Check it out. Better yet, invite a friend and then go have lunch.
• Have breakfast for dinner.
• Meet a friend for tea. Even better, invite a friend over for tea.
• Good time to write your resolutions and goals for the new year. I'm sure you've all seen the meme, "You're never too old to dream a new dream."
• For those winter-haters, plan your spring garden. You can even order your seed packets now.
• Bake cookies.*
• Bake bread.
• Go for a walk in the cool winter air!

​

There you have it! Ideas for your winter bucket list!

Embrace the season. Have some fun. Do something this winter you haven't done before! You only live once. I quoted Michael Jordan in a previous blog about bucket lists, and I'll do it again: "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." I like that! Enjoy the next two-three months. And please share with me any other ideas you have for a winter bucket list.

* I got this recipe from my sister Barbara. It's great for winter afternoon tea or coffee. Such a nice winter's day treat:

​www.cooks.com/recipe/yx4ri9iv/the-100-cookie.html

Party Games, some new, some old!

New Year's Eve or even New Year's Day is a great time to get together with family. All the obligations are over; now is the time for some fun. Here in the South we get together to eat certain foods, particularly black-eyed peas. But chips and dips and college bowl games are the order of the day as well. And it's always fun to play some games.

Besides the usual games your family might play, here are some you could add.

New Year Scattergories~

Played like "Scattergories" of course, but I've added these questions that pertain to the holiday. See your "Scattergories" game box for the rules. If you have younger children, put them with an adult so they can play too. This is fun for everyone.

Just print this game sheet out so everyone has a copy. Check your Scattergories game box for rules or get online. But basically you roll the dice with the letters of the alphabet on it. Let's say someone rolls a "D". Then everyone writes the name of a winter sport that starts with "D". (Perhaps "downhill.") Then continue down the list. A song title or lyric that starts with "D," and so on down the list all starting with a "D" on the first game. You set the timer, and then stop when the timekeeper announces. Points are given if you are the only one who had an answer that no one else thought of or wrote. I'll post the website with the rules.

Do You Know Me?

The next one I call, "Do You Know Me?" Pass out slips of paper and pencils. Someone is the reader. The reader reads the question and everyone responds writing their answers on their slip of paper. Papers are then turned in to the reader. The reader reads the responses. Everyone else tries to guess who said that. Points are given to the person/persons who correctly guesses who said that. On the next question, assign a different reader so everyone has a chance. After all rounds, the person with the most correct guesses wins.

Here are some sample questions. Party-goers can also come up with questions of their own to submit.

Happy New Year to all my blog readers! May your 2020 be happy and bright with a year full of blessings. And stay safe this New Year's Eve. ​

Website with Scattergories rules: www.wikihow.com/Play-Scattergories

WAIT! Don't take that tree down yet!!

​Write the stories of your ornaments! You'll be glad you did.

Two years ago I did a blog about taking pictures of your Christmas decorations and including all the pictures in a book. www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/a-book-of-christmas-treasures

And yes, I used one of those online photobook-making sites, but you could certainly do a scrapbook. Any way you choose to preserve those memories. You could even gather your grandkids and great-grandkids around and tell the stories of your ornaments. Oral history is important too!

I was reminded how valuable this is on this Christmas holiday. I set my book out and discovered my kids and grandkids going through it. It prompts a lot of discussion about family history.

​Here's a peek inside my book:

Treasured ornaments~

The photos you include don't have to be only heirloom ornaments. Got a beautiful ornament recently from a dear friend? Include that ornament! And you can write something about that friendship--how long the friendship has lasted, how you met, and her personality traits.

Be sure to include those picture ornaments of the grandkids. They'll get a kick out of seeing those old photos in your book.

Always include handmade ornaments. For certain those are real treasures, especially if they get passed down through the ages.

You get the idea~

I just wanted to remind you to do this before you take your tree down, and put those decorations away. There are blessings twofold to this--you'll love photographing the ornaments--it will bring back fond memories for YOU. And you'll love documenting details in a published photo book or scrapbook for your children and grandchildren to read and cherish.

This blog is about sharing ideas. Please let me know if you do this. And let me know about other books you've created along these same lines, whether it be family Christmas photos through the years, or a book of favorite Christmas recipes. The ideas are endless. I love when you share, and I always pass it on to others.

​Just to repeat--here's my blog from two years ago with this same idea:

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/a-book-of-christmas-treasures

Crafts and Christmas seem to go hand-in-hand~

I see my friends and family making decorations for the house. And if they are not doing that, they're busy making Christmas gifts for a homemade Christmas exchange. It's all good and it's all FUN!

For the past couple of years, I've tried to get together with my grandkids to make some Christmas ornaments. They are out a week at Thanksgiving, and that seems to be a great time to get together with them. 

And we try to make it fun--maybe do lunch, then return home for dessert, hot chocolate and some crafting. I've tried to find homemade ornaments that would be easy, and be something that really would add to their tree. And we do it with an eye for saving them, so they can eventually add them to their own tree.

I found some this year that we could make which entailed decoupaging to thin wood plaques.

Here's a sample:

​

The supplies:

The supplies I had to purchase included some Christmas card stock papers, Mod Podge, beads for embellishment, and thin wooden plaques. From my own house I got out scissors, other embellishments I had on hand and old Christmas cards as well as a hot-glue gun.

Very basic instructions~

We simply chose a paper that we liked for the ornament, trimmed it to fit the wooden plaque, and coated the plaque with Mod Podge. I provide a link to the youtube video that shows how to do this below. Then we let it dry for 20-30 minutes and then hot-glued or decoupaged our chosen decorations. Easy, and it makes for a lovely afternoon of conversation while we are waiting for each coat to dry.

On the tree!

After I sent them home with the girls, I texted my granddaughter to send me pictures of them actually adorning their tree. She complied.

Also, please note: we included a label on the back with each girl's name and the date it was made. Then they can (hopefully) show their children and perhaps grandchildren. I can dream. (Insert chuckle here.)

Crafting with the kids and grandkids--nothing better!

Such a fun day or afternoon. You can made it as special as you want--pop popcorn, put on the Christmas music, make hot mulled cider or hot chocolate. Just another family tradition for your children to carry with them their whole life through. 

​
Video demonstration for decoupaging:

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Yhxzgpd24

My blog from last year about making Christmas ornaments out of cookie cutters:

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/making-keepsake-ornaments