Charleston, SC
Toys R Us
Lillian Vernon Online
Mothers Work, Inc.
The Popcorn Factory
See all ads

Google Ads

Fun Stuff to Do

Check Out Free Movies!

Did you know you can check out a lot of the latest DVD's from the library for free? You can!  There might be a waiting list, but you can request a bunch of different titles and be notified when they are being held for you. Check it out! Local Library locations

more

ParentsRoom Family Guide | Fun Stuff to do with Kids

Home » Forums » General » Fun Stuff to Do » Oh Noes... Spilled Milk! Don't Cry, It's a Fake!

Oh Noes... Spilled Milk! Don't Cry, It's a Fake!

Looking for some fun ways to bring a little April Fool's fun to your house?  It can be tricky to get the right balance of "fooling" versus being mean or destructive.  We've found a fun craft project that fits the bill- a  convincing, heart-stopping prank that's easy to make and quick to be discovered.  It's just the right level of momentary  shock and panic without being too mean-spirited.  And it's fun to make!

What kid wouldn't love to trick you into thinking they had spilled milk on your laptop?    This fake milk splatter is super easy to make and your kids will love stressing out Dad with their "oopsie!"

All the milk splatter is, is dried white glue!  Soap up a piece of glass then squeeze on the glue, spread it around, let it dry and peel it up.  Ready to cause heart attacks in all your favorite tech users!

For more pics and full directions for this awesome April Fool's prop, see Instructables.  Check out all the great user-contributed projects at instructables, one of our very favorite sites!

1
48 weeks 1 day ago
Read replies to Oh Noes... Spilled Milk! Don't Cry, It's a Fake!

How To Make Paper Snowflakes

We decided to make snowflakes to put in the windows, so I did some research to remind myself how to do it and also to see if there are any newer, better techniques.  We found some really cool paper snowflake tutorials!   Because it's sometimes easier to watch the process than to just look at photos, we've started with the video tutorials for cutting paper snowflakes.

Instructional Videos for Paper Snowflakes-

  • The basic snowflake with center cut-outs. This one features a woman talking  you through the steps
  • These are really unique and beautiful paper snowflakes. The video features a cartoon-like sheet of paper and you watch it go through the steps.
  • Up for a real challenge? How about an origami snowflake? It looks like she's made them out of wax paper for a translucent look.
  • I think these 3D snowflakes are my favorites (and not too hard). <-They are in the picture at the left. You can find written instructions here.
  • These 3D paper snowflakes are even simpler and don't require as much taping.  They are very delicate and airy looking!

Written Instructions for Paper Snowflakes-

1 year 23 weeks ago
Read replies to How To Make Paper Snowflakes

How to Care for a Cut Christmas Tree

There's nothing like a fresh Christmas tree.  It adds the scent of the holidays to your home!  But a real Christmas tree can be messy and even dangerous as they dry out... so what's the best way to keep your new Christmas tree fresh and green? 

There must be at least a hundred "formulas" out there for keeping a Christmas tree fresh.  You've probably heard of at least one of the following folk remedies:

  • Put an aspirin in the Christmas tree's water.
  • Put corn syrup, Coke or 7UP in the Christmas tree water.
  • Put bleach in the Christmas tree water.
  • Use vitamin B-12 or Viagra in your Christmas tree's water.
  • Put lemon juice, vinegar or whiskey in the tree's water.
  • Drill holes around the bottom of the tree to allow in more water, and possibly fill those holes with cotton balls.

With each suggestion, there's usually a recipe or formula recommended for the amount to add to the Christmas Tree reservoir.

Mythbusters tested many of these different suggestions and they found that nothing added to the water helped retain the Christmas tree's needles or color more than plain water and many of them made the tree look sickly faster.

Water is all you need!

A cut Christmas tree is no longer growing and does not need additional nutrients like sugar or vitamins. The trick is to never let the water run out- once the base has coated over with resin, it won't take in any more water no matter what you do and will die rapidly.

A simple way to help your tree stay watered is to place a bucket of water next to the tree and run plastic tubing from the bottom of the bucket to the bottom of the tree reservoir.  You'll have to start a siphon going (usually by sucking all of the air out of the tube until water runs out from your bucket, then quickly placing the tube in the reservoir.)  You'll be able to see the water level in your tree reservoir because it will match the water level in the bucket!  Just fill the bucket as needed, making sure the water in the bucket isn't any higher than the top of your reservoir, or you'll get water spilling out over the top.  The two containers will try to equalize to the same levels.

You can place the bucket inside of a wrapped box to hide it- just wrap the lid separate from the box so that you can lift it off and check the water level daily.

Trees you cut yourself will be the freshest and last longest- trees at tree lots and home improvement stores may have been cut up to 3 weeks ago and have been drying out ever since.   Look for flexible needles and good color when  you buy your tree and shake it a little- too many falling needles indicates an overdry tree, although all will have some needle drop.

Be sure to keep kids and pets away from your watering system to prevent a mess!  

1
1 year 24 weeks ago
Read replies to How to Care for a Cut Christmas Tree
X
Loading