are you hosting an Easter breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner this weekend? if so, do you have plans for a kids table? if you answered yes to both of those questions, here are my ideas for you:

Easter table setting for kids with free printable placemats via seejaneblog

we plan on having a simple {cereal, eggs, and bacon} Easter breakfast, tending to our traditional festivities, and then we are dining out for Easter dinner. because our mornings can be crazy when six of us are all getting ready in our sunday best, i want to make breakfast special, and memorable for the holiday, but easy. a good combination, right?

Easter table details via seejaneblog

for some time now i’ve wanted to create a custom placemat that could be used all year long.

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regardless of the presence or type of faith in one’s life, i feel Easter simply represents spring, and life. arriving appropriately when things are hatching and blooming and green is finally awakening under blankets of melting snow. it just seems right… to celebrate life and to include family and friends in those celebrations.

we are not seeing the signs of spring here in new england {yet}, since we woke up to a fresh six inches of snow this morning. {ugghhh…} however, we are still starting our spring traditions and this year with something new – an easter egg decorating party!

easter egg decorating party with white and brown eggs, via seejaneblog

we invited a dozen mommas + their kiddos to join us for an evening of egg decorating and dinner.

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happy fifteen.

March 1, 2013

i don’t even know where to begin.
and so i sit here, just staring at the screen, wanting so badly to be able to take this storm of feelings and find words that are worthy.

my baby girl turned fifteen years old yesterday.

DIY marquee letters, birthday party via seejaneblog

for starters, we had our traditional family celebration pre-breakfast…

tower of donuts in place of a cake, via seejaneblog

we are following a new trend to have a tower of donuts in place of a cake… for now, our kiddos seem to love it. {and it saves time!}

number toppers, via seejaneblog

party favors for the younger siblings…

poof balls party favors via seejaneblog

fifteenth birthday via seejaneblog

antlers plus party decor via seejaneblog

yesterday was a really rough day emotionally.

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Baptism Brunch.

February 27, 2013

baptism brunch via seejaneblog

This past weekend, KJ was baptized. After the baptism, we had friends and family gather at our home for brunch. It was such a special celebration. By tradition, kids are baptized at age eight in the LDS religion. Because KJ is almost 10, he took lessons from the missionaries and made the decision to be baptized on his own, by his request. I adore his desire to be good, and cherish his genuine, pure heart.

white on white baptism brunch via seejaneblog

To celebrate, I used a white on white theme to go along with the purity of the ceremony.  For brunch we served all of KJ’s favorites – white powdered donuts, a crepe bar with all the yummy sides,

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a birthday party, for myla.

December 29, 2012

we had a little party for my myla, just her closest friends and family. myla is something special – she is not fond of too much attention, or anyone causing a fuss over her… she never asks for gifts at christmas or her birthday. which makes celebrating her all the more fun, because she’s so easy to please!

this girl is a creative soul who likes simple traditions. so i mixed a few of our family traditions with a few extra artsy details to plan her party.

to start, i hired a local caricature artist, mike horvath to draw portraits at her party. this was a lot of fun. the kids all loved it!

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pomanders

December 5, 2012

i hosted my annual pomanders party this week. my home was oozing with the scent of oranges and cloves! it was a lovely night.

this is a fun thing to do – have you heard of a pomander? pomanders originated in the medieval times, women would stud oranges with cloves and wear them as a form of sachets to smell good. nowadays people re-create them during the holidays as a festive activity, and then you can put the oranges on display in your home as decorations. set a few in a bowl, hang them around your kitchen… the perk: they smell so good!

how to make a pomander:

  1. tie ribbon around the orange.

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