Holiday Memory Making

Hi friends! It is easily my favorite time of the year. My family and I are diving right into all the fun memory making and magic that comes with this season. My oldest girls, Raegan (6) and Zarie (4), have a couple more weeks of school, but I am already planning for Christmas break at home. As anyone with school aged kids knows, the minute they are home from break, they suddenly require 18,293 snacks and constant engaging fun. I have the snacks covered, and thanks to VTech and LeapFrog I’ve got the fun covered as well.

Raegan and Zarie have been LOVING the LeapFrog® Magic Adventures Globe™. Using the included stylus, kids can tap the interactive globe and learn about new places, languages, cultures, animals, geography, habitats and more.

We’ve recently been learning all about Germany, as my husband and I spent almost 4 years there together while stationed in Bavaria. They’ve heard our fun cultural and travel stories, and now they get to dig deeper with the globe’s videos, animations and learning game content. Raegan has even started writing about all her findings in her journal. She is especially intrigued by their epic outdoor Christmas markets. She plans to talk about Germany’s Christmas traditions with her teachers and classmates after break.

The girls have also really enjoyed the KidiZoom® Creator Cam and the VTech® KidiZoom® PrintCam™. Both girls are fully convinced that they are bloggers like mom, and so they love to document fun days at home and our Christmas adventures. Zarie says she can't wait to take videos of our Christmas train ride in Santa Cruz. The girls have even been taking selfies and printing them out to slip into the Christmas cards that we are sending out to friends and family. Their favorite part is browsing and adding the more than 100 templates to their photos--the “BFF” background is a crowd favorite over here. The KidiZoom® PrintCam™ even has three built in games that allows for more fun between shoots--or when waiting in long lines with Mom when we’re shopping.

Zarie is especially into taking photos right now. She has the VTech® KidiZoom® Smartwatch DX3™, which also has single-player games like Monster Catcher, but her favorite thing is that the smartwatch has dual cameras to take pictures, selfies and videos. She loves to document story time with her stuffies, Daddy’s rundown of his day at work, and she even videoed her favorite Christmas ornaments the day we got our tree. With it getting darker earlier, it’s nice that the smartwatch also has a flash for her photos, that doubles as a little flashlight.

I’ll be honest, when we got the LeapFrog® Choppin’ Fun Learning Pot™ I figured that my son, Xander (1), would be the only one into it. Boy was I wrong! Raegan and Zarie sit there and play with it too! I think it’s because the pot is interactive and says encouraging phrases. They like to help Xander follow the 5 step-by-step recipes and hear him giggle when the bot makes bubbly boiling sounds. When the girls are at school, I sneak to wrap their gifts, and Xander happily plays with his LeapFrog® Choppin’ Fun Learning Pot™. Mama likes that all the smaller parts that come with the pot fit inside for easy playroom storage.

We are an active-duty military family, which means that my husband, Mark, has had to miss so many holidays and precious moments. I know how crushing that can feel and wanted to share a sweet way to feel closer to your servicemember. The LeapFrog® On-the-Go Story Pal™ is the cutest little bunny shaped player that lets your kiddos take story time wherever they go. It comes with 70+ stories, songs and lullabies, but the On-the-Go Story Pal™ also allows you to personalize it by recording up to 10 minutes of your voice reading your child’s favorite story or you can create your own. Have your service member record a sweet story or message for your littles to play this season when they’re feeling the sting of separation.

Okay, friends, I hope I’ve made your holidays just a little easier by sharing fun ideas for how to create memories, engage your kiddos, and keep learning fun!

Xoxo,

Shakira

Shakira is a proud mama of 3, military spouse, and creator behind the Occasions by Shakira motherhood lifestyle blog. She shares ideas that spark intentional memory making, celebrating the everyday, and holiday magic. She is also the creator of the largely loved #OccasionsBin trend.