10 Fun Ways To Make Your Child's Birthday Extra Special

Every kid loves to feel special on their birthday. Aside from the normal birthday party and cupcakes to take to school, how can you fill your child's love tank on their birthday?

Here are 10 fun ways to make your birthday boy or girl feel like the day is all about them!

1. Make pancakes with sprinkles and frosting for breakfast. Put a candle in it, even!

2. Before you wake your child for the day, draw on the bathroom mirror a birthday message. Either use dry erase markers or lipstick!

3. Make sure you write a happy birthday note in their lunch if it is a school day. You may even consider packing a really special lunch and including a small gift, wrapped in it.

4. This is probably a given, but make your child feel like the dinner VIP and allow him or her to have the prime seat at the table and pick what you make or where you eat.

5. Make sure you tell them you love them all day. Teaching siblings that it's important to make the person feel loved on their birthday is also very important.

6. Fill the birthday child's room with balloons on the floor so when they get up, they pop them! What a fun way to wake up.

7. Decorate your car with erasable paint for windows with a special message.

8. Measure them every year. Kids like to see how much they have grown.

9. Let them decorate their own birthday cake.

10. Ask you child's siblings to do something special for the birthday kid such as do their chores for the day. If you have an only child, let them off the hook for chores, for example.

Bonus tip!

Get them a personalized Huggerz for their birthday! Personalized products make every kid feel special!

Top Kidzies Tools You Need For Back To School

Kidzies is your one stop shop for personalized goodies, but did you know that many of our more popular items are back-to-school must-haves? Check out the list below for special Kidzies products that can really make your school year and look at the bottom of the post for a 20% off your purchase code exclusively for Kidzies blog readers!

Huggerz-

Huggerz are the perfect back-to-school companion because they keep your child's drink separate and easy to spot. Perfect for lunchboxes, soccer practice and more. Help your child stand out with a Huggerz!

Protector Palz-

Protector Palz help little ones arrive in style and keep the seat belt from rubbing on the way to school. What kid wouldn't want that? Plus, for expecting moms, Protector Palz keep your little bun in the oven safer by placing on your belly in the car.

Treasure Bagz-

No one wants a boring pencil case! Treasure Bagz are the perfect solution as they keep your pencils, crayons and markers all in one place and since they are personalized, your child will know it is theirs! Treasure Bagz are perfect because they are made of durable wetsuit material and they hold a lot! Treasure Bagz also come with a clip so they can easily be attached to a backpack for holding lunch money as well!

Bigger Bagz-

For the kid who had a ton to carry, Bigger Bagz are the solution. Carry your scissors, glue sticks, pencils, markers and crayons all in the same tote. Made of the same durable material as our Treasure Bagz and they can be personalized, just like all our other products! Bigger Bagz are perfect for teens and tweens as well since they come in some pretty nifty styles and can hold cell phones, calculators and more!

To help you get the must needed items listed above for back to school, make sure you plug in code KIDZIESBLOG at checkout and enjoy 20% off your entire order!*

Have a safe and fun back-to-school season!


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Simple Ways to Make Your Child's Lunch Special

For many parents, sending their child to school with a lunch is a practical way they can send their love with their child. Many moms and dads leave notes in their child's lunch box with a simple, "I love you!", but there are some amazingly creative ways to send that love in fun and interesting avenues.

Four Ways to Save on Back to School Clothes

School shopping can be an enormous expense, but if you know how to get great deals, it can really add up to great savings.

Here at Kidzies, we want to help you by giving you a few tips on shopping for back-to-school clothes that will help you stretch every dollar.

1. Don't be afraid to shop for second hand. Many times, you can find gently used and even new clothing items at thrift stores. Some even have tags and many are expensive brand names.

2. Make a list and stick to it. Don't buy more than you need and don't feel the need to buy all new items for things your children already have. Plan to do a second shop in the Spring as kids often grow out of clothes that quickly.

3. Use clothing from the summer and give it new life. Polos can be worn year round as can skirts and dresses. Just add a set of leggings under skirts and you have them ready for winter. For tank tops, add a t-shirt of long sleeve tee under.

4. Consider doing a clothing shop with other parents. This would be a great way to get rid of hand me downs and get to know new parents in your child's school.

Tips for First Year "School Parents"

It can be quite scary that first year your child enters school in kindergarten. You can't imagine having all that "free time" and your little buddy not hanging out with you all day or taking them to daycare.

Just as your child is probably excited to enter school, you, as a mom or dad are just as nervous. How will YOU survive going into this new phase of childhood with them?

Here are some tips to help you both ease into the school routine and put your mind at ease:

1. Know that you have done an amazing job with your child to begin with. You have raised a little super-hero so far and this phase is just as scary, but also exciting as that first step or first day of daycare. You and your child will be OK.

2. Try not to show how nervous you are as that can run off onto your child and make first day jitters hard on them as well.

3. It will probably help if you and your child tour the school before that first day. It will help calm you to meet administration and teachers and begin to visualize your child in this environment.

4. See if the school has a kindergarten get together for parents of new children entering school. If not, maybe try to plan one? It will help you, as mom and dad, not feel so scared if you know that you are probably not alone.

5. Hold a party for both you and your child. Do something special together as you both enter this phase. Have a "big boy" or "Big Girl" party to prepare yourself and your child for the new adventure.

6. In the weeks leading up to school, get a routine down for bedtime and wake-up time. This will help you ease into it better for both of you.

7. The night before school starts, do a low-key and easy meal..maybe even pizza or takeout. Spend that day and evening with your child and do something fun.

I promise, you will get through this, brave Mom or Dad. All of life and parenthood is so full of exciting changes and you will be so happy to see your child gaining more independence and almost leap for joy when they tell you all about it!

"Boy, You have Your Hands Full!"

I begin my blog today with a simple question…why must random strangers tell me daily I have my hands full?

 I begin my day with dressing my two kids (Jayden-5 and Jude-almost 3) and rushing out the door for work at our Pizza business. Jude goes to “school” for his morning socialization, while Jayden comes to work with mommy. Why not start them as early as possible developing a strong work ethic?

Anyway, finish up my work and pick #2 back up from school and we all head to the grocery. Sister has a cart, which is always an adventure, and the brother must have a giant car. I was maneuvering down the aisles at the speed of lightening, might I add it is 1 hour until naptime. Enough said. I pass by one woman whom you could tell her children were grown and she says, "You have your hands full."

This always leaves me speechless.

 Does it look like I’m out numbered? I guess so. Does this seem like a motivational comment? I would think not. I guess it would not seem to boggle me as much if it wasn’t said mostly daily everywhere I go.

 I discuss with my husband that night how often it is said and vow I will not be that grandma someday. I will send words of encouragement like…”Good job mom!” Mom’s need encouragement and feeling that they have control. Even when, some days it seems you are out numbered. What is said of those that have more than two kiddos?

 I am the first to admit we have ground rule discussions (threats) prior to entering public establishments to be sure everyone remembers how to behave. My 3 year old even recites his own now. I just have to say, remember no..and he finishes with no fighting, no pinching, stay in the cart and no yelling. Yes sir, good boy.

  Imagine if I didn’t lay this ground rules down what the comments would be All those mothers out there.

 Keep your head up, your doing a great job. Take those comments that your hands are full with smiles and fist pumps.



Julie Boyd is an ordinary Pizza Making Mother of two.

Chores by the Ages

As parents, we want to teach our child how to live in the world around them and how to be responsible. These are life skills that they will need into adulthood.

Many parents want to start as soon as possible in teaching how to do chores, but often wonder what is the age appropriate chores they should be teaching and expect good results from?

In the following post, I am going to go over some age appropriate chores as well as some tips on what to expect.


Toddlers: (ages 2-3)
~Picking up toys
~Putting dirty laundry in baskets
~ Dusting low, unbreakable items


Pre-school (ages 4-5)
~Helping wipe counters and spills
~Making their bed
~Watering plants (low)
~Matching socks

Elementary school aged (6-10)
~Feeding pets
~Doing dishes
~Taking garbage out 
~Sorting Laundry

Tweens (11-12)
~Straightening up common areas with little to no help
~Helping with dinner or meals
~Weeding out gardens
~Sweeping well

Teens (13-17)
~Doing laundry
~Getting groceries (with list)
~ Mowing the lawn/weed-eating

Tips: 

Expect chores to take longer. Remember, your child is learning not only how to do the chore, but they may not have as fine tuned abilities as you do. Let go of perfection and timeliness for these lessons.

If you have a child that is too young to reasonably be expected to do a chore alone, offer to have them help you do it. Cleaning the walls? Give a small child a rag and you do it as well. This not only helps them feel accomplished, but also builds a sense of teamwork.

If your child does a less than perfect job and it makes you feel like you must "fix it", try to do it out of their site. They may begin to feel defeated if you make them feel inadequate.

If you must further instruct due to carelessness, try to do it in the kindest way possible. Always cheer them on when they do a good job!