When the lights go out, some gets get anxious. We've been dealing with a bit of that in our home, and with some fun, new products on the market, it's been easier to get them back into bed. We were sent two products that we would consider to be pretty "bright" ideas to review.

One of them is the SleepyLights from Aloka. The robot design we received is perfect for anyone who loves friendly robots, and this product has it all!


It comes with a remote control, the light base, the robot top, a charging cord, and batteries, too -- so you can use it right out of the box!


Set up took just minutes, with this guy ready to light up a room in no time. Just look at three of the dozen available colors that you can program it to shine:


Kids can set the lights to the color they want, or switch it to Rainbow mode to have it change colors randomly. You can adjust the brightness and use a timer to keep it from shining all night and to save energy. The light is cool to the touch and is safe for kids ages 3 and up!

This product comes in robot, owl, butterfly, mermaid, and other designs, too. It stands 8" tall for a nice addition to the nightstand or a shelf. Get it for $29.99 from Amazon and other retailers!

We also received a fun "donut" themed Emoji-Notes Color & Shine craft kit. This is erasable gadget that comes with dry erase markers so you can customize it anyway you want. When done, put it into the LED base, and turn it on for a personalized shine to brighten up a room or use as a nightlight. It has a sleep mode with 2% brightness so it's not distracting for those trying to rest at night, and it has a 60-minute timer that shuts off automatically -- saving on power! It sets up just as easy as the SleepyLights product, but this one is geared toward slightly older kids who can draw and want to custmzie their lights. It would make an excellent substitute for a notepad in a college dorm room, too!

This is just one version in the line, with the product costing $19.99. Snag one in Cell Phone, Donut, Ice Cream, and Cupcake designs. Each comes with 7-themed emoji discs, too. Get it at Amazon.

*Samples received for review. Opinions are our own.

Christmas is one of the most special holidays of the year. Of course, it celebrates the birth of Christ, which is important to all Christians. However, it’s also a day to connect with family and give to one another. The weeks leading up to Christmas also offer a chance to be diligent in our tasks to create life-long memories for our kids. If you would like to enrich the holiday season in your home, Christ-Centered Christmas by Hal & Melanie Young offers excellent suggestions.

About the Youngs

Hal & Melanie Young are Christian authors and speakers who have raised eight children of their own. They seek to encourage parents and Christians in their journey, which they do with this book and many other books they have written about family and parenting. Since Hal was in the military, the Youngs have spent many Christmases away from family, so they had to create their own traditions, which they share in this book.

About Christ-Centered Christmas

The main sections of the book are

• Introduction
• Decorating
• The Ornament of the Year
• Granny’s Christmas Tea
• The Advent Season
• The Christmas Story
• Caroling Parties
• Christmas Baking
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Even Menu
• What about Santa Claus?
• Christmas Gifts
• Christmas Day
• Christmas Feast Menu
• Old Christmas
• Other Great Resources

This book is an all-encompassing guide to creating a special, memorable Christmas for your entire family.

The Food

What is any holiday celebration without delicious food? The Youngs share so many recipes in this book for Christmas cookies, to Christmas Eve parties, to Christmas Day celebrations. I love that almost every recipe has a picture to go with it.

The Traditions

They also share their thoughts on developing Christmas traditions such as how they even make decorating the Christmas tree a special celebration for the whole family where they drink the first cup of eggnog for the year and eat a platter of snacks rather than a full meal.

One tradition I love is that each year, they have an ornament of the year. This tradition started the first Christmas the Youngs were married and far from home. Two of their relatives sent them a box with Christmas ornaments from their childhood as well as a new ornament for the two of them together. Because this meant so much to them, the Youngs developed a tradition of keeping ornaments for each of their kids so they may also bless them with this tradition when the kids move out of the house.

The Giving

This book is also inspiring, especially if you’re struggling financially during this season that is all about giving. The Youngs share how they’ve blessed other families when they had the means to do so, and how they in turn have been blessed when they themselves were struggling. The underlying message is to trust God and his providence.

Final Thoughts

While I enjoyed the Youngs’ Christ-Centered Thanksgiving, I enjoyed this book even more. The Youngs have covered all aspects of the Christmas holiday in this book and have shared the rich traditions that their family has. This book is part memorable Christmas manual, part inspirational in your journey with God. I highly recommend this book.

My teenage daughter is like most kids these days -- obsessed with Duck Tape!  We were thrilled to see so many holiday colors and patterns available for crafting, so she went right to work to recreate the look of the duct tape holiday trees that are all over the internet.  She picked her colors and we added a few "extras" like a wire stars to the tops of them. I think they turned out fabulous, and she loves making them (so I'll likely have about a dozen of them around my house by the time Christmas comes.)



To make these, you'll need nothing more than the following items we picked up at Walmart in their craft section (you can also order online -- list of supplies is at the end of this post):

• 2 rolls of Duck Brand Duct Tape in your choice of holiday colors
• 1 small craft foam cone per tree
• A craft knife/blade
• Ruler or grid

If you want to make the stars for the top, you'll also want some green crafting wire and a star-shaped cookie cutter.

The directions for these can't be simpler. If you have a pointy-tipped cone, you can choose to cut it off to make a flat top, which create a more modern tree look and creates a better surface for wrapping.  In any case, you'll need to cover your entire foam cone with the base color of Duck Tape you choose. Some tutorials show the tape going around the tree like a roll of toilet paper, but we found that wrapping the cone longways eliminates bunching of the tape and makes a smoother tree:



Now you can start cutting the pieces that will make up the first layer of "chevron".  My daughter laid out lengths of tape, sticky side down, and cut the tape into squares about 1.5 to 1.75 inches wide, using her blade.  Pick the width you want, but remember to use that width throughout the entire project.



Next, she folded each square to create the "point".  Turning the tape over so that the sticky side is up, fold the two bottom corners in.  You don't have to have them exactly even, just make sure the point ends up in the middle.



Take that sticky "point" and place it, sticky side down, onto your tree base, so that the point tip comes even with the bottom of the cone.  Repeat by layering "points" all the way around the tree base. You may need to reposition to ensure even spacing and full coverage.



Continue making layers of "points", alternating colors of tape until you reach the top.  You can experiment with how far apart to place the layers.  Closer together will create a busier pattern. As you get toward the top of the tree, you'll see that your tape points will get closer together width-wise. Just keep placing them directly above the point below them, and you'll get the spacing perfectly!

You can do this project with any number of colors of Duck Tape, including the new Glitter Tapes.  If you have a favorite sports team, you can choose to go with those colors, too!  My daughter made a red and white tree, inspired by our favorite Nebraska College Football team. She also went with 3 colors for this more festive tree.







Looking for the supplies I used in this tutorial? Find them here, via my referral links:


Duck Brand Duck Tape
Pre-Cut Styrofoam Cone
X-Acto Knife
Gridded Cutting Mat
Craft/Beading Wire
Star Cookie Cutter Set

My kids often have a hard time embracing new flavors profiles, but so does everyone! That's why I like to try to introduce them to unique ingredients whenever I can, usually by adding new flavors to their favorite dishes. One thing that everyone in our house loves is baked beans!

This baked bean recipe can be made quickly using a pressure cooker for the beans (I use an Instant Pot). Here's how we made it!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried navy beans (sorted for debris)
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups Apple Juice
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 large yellow peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Start by making sure the beans are clean. I like to involve the kid in this. Have them sort through and look for anything that's not a bean. Then, lightly saute the peppers and onions in the olive oil. Get them just tender, then add them to the pressure cooker.  Add all of the remaining ingredients (make sure the cooker isn't more than half full), put the lid on the cooker, and then check to be sure the valve is closed.

Use the manual button to pressure cook on HIGH for 30 minutes. (It will take about 15 minutes to get to pressure, 30 minutes to cook, and then about 12 to depressurize. Don't use the quick-release function.)


The beans should be tender, full of flavor, and ready for your kids to enjoy! The naturally sweet taste of the apple juice will help make the peppers and onions more delicious for the kids. Mine gobbled these up!

You can also make this a main dish by adding some bacon, ground beef, or cooked chicken after it's done in the pressure cooker.