King's Day in the Netherlands

King's Day is a new name for this celebration...a short summary is King's Day came about after last year (2014) when Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne and her son, Willem-Alexander, took over. Previous to this it was Queen's Day. It stayed the same for two Queen's in a row, being held on 30 April, despite Queen Beatrix's birthday being in January.

So, this new celebration is held on the 27th of April now, know this people because inevitably people were showing up on the 30th and the celebration had come and gone. So, get with the program and know if you are planning a late April visit to the Netherlands (which I 100% recommend) be here for Kings Day on the 27th, 26th if the 27th is a Sunday.

So...moving on. We had a great time. I know I am writing about this late, but ya know, better late than never.

Our friends have an apartment down in the Jordaan, so we went there and our kids got to hang out and we got to hang out. It was a blast. There are a few things to remember for King's Day though:

1. If you want a night time party with lots of music on stage go the night of the 26th...music plays until about 3am, but know it will be crowded.
2. The morning of the 27th everyone sets out their stalls to sell pretty much everything they've saved up for the past year. This is the only day in the Netherlands where you can sell stuff without a vendor permit.
3. Be patient. Kids will be in your face to buy stuff and they will try to get to you buy access. Be firm but nice and they back off pretty quick. But, if they want to put a Dutch flag tattoo on your face for €2, just pay them and let them do it, it will totally make their day.
4. Be ready for a crowd. You know how I said the night before is crowded. The day of is too. You have to know you will be shoulder to shoulder, back to back, and you will get pushed. Keep your cool and just go with the flow...most of the time it gets you to the bar anyway so life is good.
5. Finally, above all...be patient and always have a smile. Will make for a wonderful day.

There was an oyster and caviar bar, it was right next to the champagne bar...coincidence...I think not!

Look at that crowd. It was really crazy..and all down the sides of those streets were people selling stuff!

So many people were on the canals. Personal boats and rented boats. They don't do any canal tours that day, they are only to rent a seat on for King's Day. You can also buy a ticket for a space on a party barge and they will have a DJ, drinks, etc.

We got the opportunity to walk among the vendors and talk to so many interesting people. For a lot of them this is a favorite day of the year. It is a wild party and you really get a good feel for the community of Amsterdam.

This was something someone was "selling". €2 and you could swing on the swing that had you swinging out over the canal! I tell you, the cultural experience you get here is an eye opener. I love it. But, hubby wouldn't let me swing sadly...can't say I really blame him.

Hubby and I checking out some architecture.

We ended the day with a look out from the rooftop of our friends building. They took this awesome photo of us.

If you decide to plan a trip to the Netherlands, I do feel the best time is the last weekend in April. You'll get to celebrate King's Day, see the tulips in bloom at Keukenhof Gardens, and you can enjoy a bike ride through the countryside.  

Spring truly is the best time of year for a visit...tell me, where do you live and when do you feel is the best time to visit? 

P.S, Linking up to: Tater Tots and Jello and Nap Time Creations.

DIY: Christmas Countdown Calendar (Advent Calendar) +free printable!

I don't normally do much posting on the weekend, but this project has been in the works for a few days and with December 1 pending tomorrow I decided to make sure this got up today!

Now that American Thanksgiving is over, the holiday's are officially in full swing for my family! Even up here in Canada they had several "Black Friday" sales, it was fun to get out and pick up some goodies to put under the tree! I had also been working on getting something special prepped for my teenager for the holiday's. 

We always do some sort of advent/countdown calendar. I wanted this year's to be about more than just candy, but I also didn't want to give little trinkets that would just take up space and clutter up our small apartment. So, I came up with some clutter-less activities that allow us to spend time together as a family and give to those around us. Here is how I did it...

Supplies

• Advent Activities printed on Sticker paper
• Something to put the candy/activities in
• 1" punch
• Small Candy

I gathered my advent calendar, the printable I made, my 1" punch, and some Hershey's kisses.

I used these kisses:

They were all my Shopper's had...and they are amazing!

Above is the 1" punch I use. If you don't have one but you craft a lot I highly recommend this one by EK Success. It is compact, it is an "easy punch", and it can be used for a variety of things...namely bottle cap crafts! So, take this punch and turn it upside down like this: 

Centre it over the words and wreath, and punch! I punched all of mine out first... 

....and then stuck it to the bottom of the Hershey's Kiss!

Cute, huh?!

Then I put it behind the appropriate door! 

Now, something to keep in mind when deciding which activities to use is check your calendar. Some of the activities are quite easy and can be done even on a busy day. For example one is read a holiday book, another is have dinner in front of the Christmas Tree, have a red & green themed dinner. Those are things that don't really take any extra effort, but can go a long way in making great memories!

I printed this calendar and as I put the activities in the box, I wrote down what was being done on each day so that way each evening I can look ahead to what activity is on schedule for the next day so if it involves pancakes, waffles, hot cocoa, etc I can make sure those are prepped the night before; or, if it involves going somewhere I can make sure I tell everyone to be on schedule!

Now, how did I come up with the activity ideas? I tried to choose things that were cheap, mostly clutter-less, and ones that could help my teenager think of others. I scoured pinterest, facebook, and and several blogs looking for ideas, but most of them are unique because honestly most of the ideas I found involved a lot of "stuff" or expense. 

Here are the ideas I used and what I am doing for each one:

Hot Cocoa Breakfast with cookies

Cinnamon Ornament

Make an ornament

Design Your own Tree

Make gift for teacher(s)

Holiday Light Displays

Ice Skating-Sundae Bar

See a parade

Reflect on the year

Commemorate the day in video or pics

Look at neighborhood lights

Play Charades

Red & Green Themed Dinner

RAK Day

Have a dance party

Sing Carols

Game night

Make presents for cheer coaches

Snowboarding

Go play in the snow

Roast marshmallows in the fire

Go see a holiday movie in theater

Make goals for next year

Popcorn Garland

Mail Xmas Cards to friends

Xmas Trivia

Popcorn & Movie

Look @ Xmas Lights

Merry Christmas

Tree Lighting & Carol Ships (this is unique to our city, but your city may have a tree lighting)

Donate coats to a charity

Night Before Christmas (movie/book)

Donate a toy to charity

Bake Gingerbread Men

Make Fudge

Make puff pain snowflakes

Candle light dinner

Polar Express (movie/book)

Make mom & dad a present

Pancakes & Cocoa

Open Presents

Dress fancy for dinner

Bake Spritz Cookies

Write to Santa

Visit holiday attraction at a museum

Take a cookie basket to friends (use the cookies you've baked earlier in the countdown)

Do something nice for Mom & Dad

Magic Cookie Bars

Waffles & Cocoa

Living room fort

PJ Party

Christmas Market

Visit Santa

Dinner in front of Xmas Tree

Breakfast in front of Xmas Tree

List what you are thankful for

Craft Day

How the Grinch Stole Xmas

Send hug to out of town family

Look at the holiday window displays

Holiday Book

Xmas Movie

On Friday's and the days my teen is on holiday break I put in two activities because I really wanted us to be doing a lot together. I think this will be so fun.

Some ideas in the event you don't have an advent calendar like I do above....pin socks to a line of string hung on the wall, hang numbered socks on the tree and the let the kids pick them off each day, hang a string or string of lights and use numbered clothespins to pin pieces of paper with the day's activity to it. Think outside the box, have fun with it!

How do you kick off your holiday season???

I would love to see your holiday activities! Leave a link in the comments or some share with us on facebook! 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

I hope all you Mommy’s out there were totally spoiled & if you aren’t a Mommy I hope you got to spoil your Mommy!

My daughter & I went to yoga at Lulu Lemon this morning. It was such a wonderful way to start off a day peace, thankfulness, and reflection. The heart-openers through the practice we were supposed to dedicate to our Mom’s. It was great because sometimes in the hustle & bustle of daily life living so far away from my Mom she sometimes is at the back of my mind. So, it was nice to have one hour dedicated to thinking about all the wonderful things my Mom has done for me throughout my 32 years of life! At the end, they were saying a nice devotion to all of the Mom’s out there; just blessing them/us and putting good feelings into the Universe that no harm will come to them and that they will see no hardships, especially as they age. Toward the middle of the devotion, my 13 year old gives me a little rub on my back. It still makes my eyes well up just thinking about that sweet lovely gesture. Some days can be very trying with a teenager (I am very blessed & thus far haven’t had any issues with her), but still teenage-hood, puberty, etc., can be a very trying time and little gestures like the pat on the back during a devotion lets me know just how much love is there. I hope my Mom knows how much I love her and appreciate all she did for me growing up (even when I made her feel like crap when she had to go back to work or went out & acted like a lunatic at parties! Lol) and as a young adult that was crazy enough to go off and get married at 18! We all do crazy things…good thing we have at least two people in our lives that have to love us no matter what! ;)

So, as this mother’s day draws to a close I’ll leave you with a few wonderful pictures I took over the last week that helped me to slow down & see the beauty in the everyday and take time out to think about those we love.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!