I don’t mean to brag, but my kids are so blessed to have such an incredible Dad. He is the ultimate go-to guy from helping the kids with their homework, to kicking around the soccer ball, to indulging my daughter in her fancy tea parties, to the ultimate bedtime storyteller.
This Father’s Day we wanted to make a gift that we just knew he would love to show just how special he is to us. Our Dad happens to have a sweet tooth so we decided to make him a candy bouquet that he could place on his desk at work when those sweet tooth cravings strike!
The best part about this gift though is that it only takes fifteen minutes to create, costs about $20 in supplies, and can be created with your kids in honor of their favorite Dad.
Father’s Day is just around the corner & today we wanted to share a monster of a Father’s Day gift with a cute spin on the monster theme with easy monster cookie bars and printable monster cards for a special Dad in your life.
This week’s challenge from Walmart was to create an inexpensive Father’s Day gift that would wow your Dad. Well, if your dad is anything like our Dad, he is certainly wowed with homemade treats and funny cards with a great sense of humor. Our idea was to mix up a batch of thick and delicious Monster Cookie Bars made with rolled oats, peanut butter, mini M&M’s (found over in their candy aisle), and chocolate chips.
Monster Cookies can be a bit of a monster to create as a drop cookie because of their monster size. I choose to echo the words of an amazing woman I once heard speak these wise words…
“Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
Wise, right?
Bar cookies get a big fist pump from this busy mom and if a celebration requires a cookie, I often rely on these chocolate chip cookie bars to get us through whatever baking requirements are made for those occasions. These Monster Cookie Bars are equally delicious and offer that crusty exterior with that soft interior that makes, in my humble opinion, the perfect cookie.
What Father’s Day would be complete without a card to accompany your sweet gift? We are so excited to debut these adorable Monster cards that you can print out to attach with your Monster Cookie Bars for your favorite Dad. We have included three fun printable cards for Father’s Day and then 1 that could be used for any occasion to accompany your sweet treat. Print these printables out on white card stock and you will be all set for this Father’s Day!
I can admit that this family has had Monsters on our brain after getting a sneak peek at the Monsters University movie that is set to hit theaters on June 21st. While our family was at the Disney Social Media Moms conference, we got an exclusive sneak peek at the film. It is FANTASTIC, and dare I say it, even funnier than the first one. I have no doubt that your family will love it!
Our Monster Cookie Bars would really pull together a fun family night out to see this fantastic film and you can find loads of fun Monsters supplies in the party favors aisle of your Walmart store including fun cups, plates, and other party favors for an inexpensive night to enjoy while tackling your summer bucket list or our 100 Days of Summer Pinterest Board.
Now that you have the printables, here is the deliciously easy and tasty recipe for these Monster Cookie Bars. We recommend preparing these in a metal 9×13 pan for best results!
Monster Cookie Bars
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Adapted from The BakerMama
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15
Monster cookies made easy in a bar cookie. Be sure to pair these easy cookies with our free Monster printables.
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut buter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini M&M’s (approximately half a bag)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until blended. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the flour mixture until just combined.
Mix in oats until well combined.
Stir in chocolate chips and mini M&M’s
Press dough evenly into prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown and set in the middle. Let cool completely in baking dish then cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.
Happy Father’s Day to all of our Dad readers (I know you’re out there!) and here’s hoping you get spoiled by a few of your favorite monsters!
Be sure to check back this week for more great Father’s Day gifts on a budget!
Summer is just around the corner and I am so excited to share with you that I have gathered another 100 Days of Summer activities for you to do with your kids in the summer months. These are 100 activities that are all low to no cost, screen-free, and a fun way to build truly memorable moments with your kids in the summer months.
I am looking forward to tackling our own summer list and will be documenting our projects through mobile pictures.You can catch me on Instagram, where I am documenting our summer. Just search for the username momadvice and you will find me there. Just as a side note, I try to always answer all the comments on my pictures if I can. If you have questions about projects we are doing or just want to say hello, I will do my best to respond!
If you are on Instagram, you can join in on the fun by taking pictures and sharing all of your summer adventures through there. Let’s use the hashtag #100summerdays again like we did last year.
By tagging your photos, it will make it easy to find each other in the group and share the projects we are tackling together. You can add the tags to your caption or you can add them as a comment later. In either scenario, the tag will pull it into our summer group.
I still will be sharing our apron full of giveaways and our notebook of inspiration each week. I will also have fresh content through my freelance writing jobs this summer with Kenmore, Goodwill, Jack’s Pizza, & Walmart that will keep our site fully loaded with great ideas for your summer.
For the rest of my entries, I will be sharing what we are working on from our summer list through mobile pictures and quick notes on what fun activities we are doing at our house. I am hoping it will be an inspiration to you to get out and enjoy the summer with your children. I can’t say we will tackle a hundred activities, but I will be awfully proud if we do one cool activity a week.
This year’s list is AMAZING and my favorite so far from making chevron friendship bracelets, to building race tracks, to painting techniques on rain days, to creating popsicle light sabers. There really is something for EVERY age group this year.
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for inspiration for your meal planning, home, reading, wardrobe and more! I am one happy little pinner!
Mother’s day is coming up – are you all set or are you still looking for some special, and more importantly – meaningful, gifts for your moms and grandmas? You probably know that around here we think that gifts we make ourselves are the most meaningful, as they truly have a little bit of us in every gift we give.
Along these lines, I’ve searched the archives of Mom Adivce to bring you some of our quickest and easiest DIY projects that would be perfect for the women in your life! I’ve grouped them into four categories that moms are guaranteed to love:
DIY Flowers – who says you need to buy traditional flowers that last only a little while? Try crafting a bouquet or floral jewelry that will last much longer…maybe forever!
As you may have guessed by now, we love our teachers and we love letting them know how thankful we are for all the time, energy, and love they put into educating our children! I look forward to Teacher Appreciation Week each year (May 6-10 this year) as a time I can really let them know how we feel (though of course telling them all through the school year is allowed, too!).
Today I’m excited to share with you 19 of our best teacher appreciation ideas – all pulled from the archives of MomAdvice! Some years I have more time and some years less, so there are ideas for gifts that can be created in minutes like Oreo Cookie Biscotti:
Or if you have more time there are some super special ideas that are guaranteed to knock their socks off like a Rosette Bib Necklace:
Need a few more ideas…how about 17 more? These are some of the best projects I’ve come up with over the years – and I found them to be a great way to show love to the awesome teachers in our lives!
Easter is just around the corner and we have you covered with 11 fun new ways to decorate your eggs this year.
Before you tackle these egg dying projects, be sure to check out the store for fun ways to display your beautifully dyed eggs.
Your favorite thrift or discount store offers a plethora of choices for beautiful glasses, jars, cake stands, baskets, and bowls in the Housewares department to showcase your handmade beauties!
Here are 11 new ways I have discovered to decorate your eggs this year!
I have a feeling you are going to LOVE these new spins on egg dying and decorating.
Trying to create a statement?
These Subway Art Eggs with Lil’ Luna are just the subway ticket!
One thing that will never go out of style is the sweetly speckled egg and you can find a tutorial for this technique over on Crafts By Amanda.
Should you be feeling a little more trendy, you can create beautiful ombre eggs in your favorite hues from Sugar and Charm.
I hope these ideas inspire you and be sure to visit your local thrift store for cute supplies to show off these beautiful eggs.
Not only will you have a fun new nod to the season, but you will be able to do it all on a budget that fits absolutely beautifully in your life. (image source: momadvice)
What is your favorite way to dye or decorate eggs?
Feel free to chime in below!
Don’t Miss these other great ideas from MomAdvice.com:
I hope you have been enjoying all of the fun Spring projects that we have been sharing with you this week. It has been so fun to see everyone’s take on Spring and the fabulous projects that each of these bloggers has been sharing!
Did you miss any of the projects? Here are all of the great hostesses that offered a fun project to try this week!
Now it’s time for you to share! We will be pinning your great projects, so be sure to follow each of the bloggers. You will find their Pinterest accounts listed after their name!
Note- If you are viewing this post in your email or RSS feed, you may need to pop on over to see all the great Spring projects that have been added to the party!
I’m back with another round-up of great ideas for you – this time it’s lots of fun (and simple!) Easter & Spring projects. Between the Mom Advice archives and all the other inspirational projects I found, I knew I couldn’t limit myself to only one area, so you’ll find projects for the whole family to cook, craft, or decorate – for the holiday and beyond. In other words, something for everyone!
Looking for a fun new way to celebrate Easter? I have the perfect martini for you! Peep Martinis are a fun way to celebrate the season that is sure to be a crowd pleaser! This Peep-tini is an adorable nod to this beloved little candy!
This martini is made with marshmallow fluff vodka, heavy cream, and a vanilla simple syrup. Simple syrup is the easiest way to add flavor to cocktails or coffee drinks and is made from items you already have in your pantry.I love my peppermint syrup for my homemade peppermint mochas and my plain simple syrup for the perfect mojito. It takes only a few minutes to make a simple syrup and is a great little item to have tucked away in your fridge for cocktail or coffee-making!
If you have a dairy sensitivity, the heavy cream can be replaced with your favorite dairy substitute like vanilla almond milk, thick and rich coconut milk, or even rice milk for a more mild flavor. They all will taste absolutely delicious and paired with the vanilla vodka, it feels a little like you are cheating!
Peeptini Cocktail Recipe
#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews
Print
Recipe Type: Drink
Author: Adapted from SheKnows.com
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 2
A fun spin on an Easter martini utilizing the infamous Peep candy for garnish.
Ingredients
1-1/2 ounces fluffed marshmallow vodka
1/2 ounce vanilla syrup, plus extra for rim
1 ounce cream
Sugar
To make vanilla syrup: 1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.
Stir in the vanilla extract.
Cool to room temperature and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to three months.
Pour a small amount of vanilla syrup onto one plate and sprinkle sugar onto another plate. Dip rim of glass in syrup and then into sugar to coat.
Put vodka, syrup and cream in a cocktail shaker with ice.
I highly recommend enjoy that cocktail while gazing at your beautiful Peep Wreath that is decorating your door. You can’t beat a Peep show like that!
The fun started with me today, but you can catch our projects all week long! Have a fun Spring project you have been working on? Be sure to add your Spring projects on Friday, March 22nd at 8 a.m. CST…on any of our blogs. So…mark your calendars! The fun starts on Monday, March 18th! And add your Spring projects on Friday, March 22nd at 8 a.m. CST…see you there!! This is another great link-up like our Valentine’s Day link-up that was such a success in February so start thinking about your favorite Spring projects you would like to share.
Easter is another fun season for family, food, and crafts that you can do together as a family. Embroidery thread eggs are an easy craft that yield impressive results that can be used as an Easter table centerpiece or can be strung with yarn to adorn a mantle or decorate a window. I want to show you how to create your own Embroidery Thread Easter Eggs for a fun decoration in your home.
Father’s Day is just around the corner & today we wanted to share a monster of a Father’s Day gift with a cute spin on the monster theme with easy monster cookie bars and printable monster cards for a special Dad in your life.
