Perfect Travel Gift: Obersee Toiletry Bag + 25 Practical Stocking Stuffers

Disclaimer: I received these items to review. All opinions are my own.

I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to review the Obersee Kids Toiletry Bag. First of all, I love Obersee. They also have suitcases with the signature cooler pocket. However, I pack the whole family together because it makes my life easier.

The Obersee Kids Toiletry and Accessory Bags are a great travel accessory for any child (or adult!). These spacious bags offer enough space for all of the toiletry or accessory travel items and feature fun designs that coordinate with the Obersee Kids Luggage. The train case style bag for features a top handle, spacious interior and an inner mesh zip pocket. The bag measures 4.5" tall x 8.5" wide x 4.5" deep and is made of kid-safe materials. The zip top bag style is just like dad's and features two top zippers and a spacious interior. The bag measures 4.5" tall x 8.5" wide x 4" deep and is made of kid-safe materials.

These cases are $24.99 and the girl/ boy versions are comparable to the adult versions. My kids love that. Although I pack us as a family together, them having their own toiletry cases work because I keep my stuff besides family shampoo/ soap separate. There is plenty of room for the kids' detangler, brush, body sprays, bows, play makeup, and so much more. They fell like grown-ups with their cases. 

One thing I really like about these cases is that they are teaching my kids responsibility. When it is bath time, I tell each kid to get their cases when it is their turn and then we have everything we need to get ready for bed. We also grab them when we get ready to do hair, etc. 

You can even buy it as a 3-piece set. This one is awesome. We are just missing the rolling suitcase. That may be something I have to invest in as the kids get older. 

If you pack together like we do, you could still benefit from the suitcase- a carry-on, activity case for a road trip, day of clothing for a road trip. I even thought about using one for the kids to put their toys in when we go camping. This whole set is $119.99. That is a great deal!

I really love Obersee products- I cannot wait until they come out with a kids' gym bag!

Bonus Idea: 25 Ideas to Stuff (Make Obersee Toiletry Bag a stocking)

I always throw toiletries in my kids' stockings, as my mom did as well. There is just something wonderful about practical stocking stuffers.

1. Toothbrushes- make it a fun one or a battery operated one for more fun!
2. Mr. Bubbles (I saw small $1 bottles this year)
3. lip balms. You can always find fun ones this time of year
4. Hand Sanitizer with fun holder
5. Backstock of often used items (Snapper always gets hair detangler and tbomb always gets blistex.)
6. Fuzzy socks and foot lotion
7. Travel Size spray perfume- or roll-on
8. nail polish
9. hair ties/ bows
10. vitamins
11. travel size bottles
12. fun band-aids
13. soap/ shampoo sheets
14. glittery makeup brushes
15. massager
16. bath mitt
17. Hair Brush (I found snapper a folding one with a mirror and hair bow holder)
18. Character hand soap
19. sleep mask
20. nail decals
21. deodorant
22. aftershave
23. mirror
24. Travel/ Trial/ Sample size anything
25. first aid kit

Bonus travel items to include: journal, snack container, water bottle, card games, makeup case, travel charger, hot hands, and gum (always a winner!)

Quick Shopping With Sophia's Doll Clothes and Playsets

Is there a little girl on your shopping list this year? Does she happen to have a best doll friend? Well, I have the perfect way for you to shop for you. It isn't always easy to shop for doll stuff, especially if you do not know about the dolls, or are new to them. Sophia's is making it easy for you. They have beautiful clothes and play-sets that will make any little girl ecstatic. There will be something for every girl on your list. 

Shop the Quick Shop category for complete outfits and the furniture, toys, and food sets for fun accessories to complete a day of play! 

This set includes the polar bear hat with had warmers, fur boots, striped leggings, and pink winter coat. Find it here. 

Does your little girl love horses, like mine does? This 4-piece riding outfit is a sure winner. It includes a horse tee, leggings, riding boots, and riding helmet. Find it here. 

This sports set is perfect for any girl who is active and enjoys sports. The packaging is beautiful as well. Find it here. 

The Coleman branded accessories are beautiful and perfect for any girl who dreams about camping, is going camping, or has a family that enjoys outside time together. It comes with the cook-stove, spatula, frying pan, and food to go along with it. Other Coleman items include a tent, sleeping bag, lanterns, and coolers. Find it here. 

This beach set includes a sun umbrella, umbrella stand, beach bucket, shovel, beach ball, sunscreen, water bottle, kite, beach towel, and lounge chair. Is your family taking a winter holiday at the beach, or does your daughter long for summer? This is the set for her. Find it here. 

At the holidays, we all know that shopping can be a daunting task.  Our website does have a Quick Shop category which has complete sets so shopping becomes as easy as one click.  No need to search additional categories to find the perfect matching pair of shoes, or a coat to go over jeans or a dress.  It is really one-stop shopping and a time saver for our customers.  Also, our food and Playsets are a wonderful gift idea as the food sets come beautifully packaged and all of our products are designed to coordinate to extend the playing power for your child.

My Doll's Life: Sophia Doll Clothing and Accessories Gift Ideas

Disclaimer: While I have reviewed items from Sophia's before, this post is not part of a promotion. Just simply sharing a brand that I love.

I really love the Sophia's brand of doll clothing and accessories. I want to share a few items I have on my watch list. I'm sure there will be something for your little girl's best friend as well.

I actually bought these shoes for Snapper for Christmas. When they arrived, I was blown away at the quality of these little shoes. They remind me of the Sam & Libby's that my aunt used to wear and had every color of. I bought the patent bow shoe in silver because Snapper's favorite dress shoes look similar.

I want to get these brown lace up boots for my son's doll because they remind me of his work boots. I love that Sophia's has items that are perfect for boys as well! Here are more items offered by Sophia's for boys!

Here are some of my favorite girl items:

One of my favorite things about Sophia's is that the items are unique and of amazing quality. Even better, the prices are wonderful. I urge you to browse their site. You will be amazed at what you find!

DIY Performance Trunk/ Road Case for American Girl and Other 18" Dolls #OrientalTrading

Disclaimer: I received items to complete this project. All opinions are my own.

My Snapper loves to sing, dance, twirl, and tumble. Every time she sees a picture of 2017 DOTY Gabriela, she wants her play sets. Well, I'm not willing to spend that yet. I always try to find a more inexpensive alternative or find a way to make it myself. That is exactly what I did to make this!

Snapper already has headphones, a microphone, laptop, mp3 player, tablet, and more for her Allie. All we are missing is the trunk and drums. I'm fairly certain I can make both of those. I headed to Oriental Trading to see what I could come up with. I gave it a shot and I hope you like what I came up with. Snapper and Allie sure do! 

DIY Performance Trunk/ Road Case

I started out with a plain white box. Actually, a bathroom faucet came in it. I covered it in black tape. I started with black duct tape, but didn't like the way it was shiny so I actually ended up using Gaffer's tape, which is what photographers use so that there is no shine or glare from the tape. I had some on hand for paranormal invetigations

I then used shiny silver duct tape to trim all the edges and corners- this mocks the metal trim on road cases. 

Now it is time for the fun details!

I added her name with foam sticky letters and velcro dots for a closure. 

For a mirror in the lid, I used a bulletin board star cut out with a mirror finish. 

 

For the tray inside, I folded a pretty square paper plate and used the black tape to hold its shape. i left the bottom the pretty sprinkles to leave a pop of color with it. Don't forget the tech, crown, and unicorn horn.

Of course, we added some Oriental Trading feather boas for good measure. What entertainer doesn't need a boa?

My favorite detail of this entire project is the handles on the sides of the case. I put a square of silver duct tape for the background. I then took the silver metallic (Metallic Christmas Chenille Stems) pipe cleaners and looped them through a straw. Doing this allows them to move, but still be attached. I then used another strip of silver duct tape to secure the straw to the background. 

This was definitely a fun project. Snapper and Allie enjoyed it as well. Oriental Trading is my favorite place to browse craft supplies for ideas and they really came through this time! 

Doll Gifts From #OrientalTrading

Disclaimer: I received items from Oriental Trading to complete this project. All opinions are my own.

This is Snapper and Allie. They are best friends and have been for about a year. That is a pretty big deal for a 4-year-old. Snapper takes Allie everywhere and loves to dress her for our days out. Allie helps with her anxiety, helps her feel calm, and even helped her start talking. So, Allie gets rewarded too! For Christmas, Snapper asked for "Allie Stuff," so I thought making stockings for her and Tbomb's dolls would be a fun idea. Tbomb has a doll I changed into a boy! Oriental Trading made this super duper easy.

I decided to go with a tote instead of a stocking because it would hold more and wouldn't the little dolls enjoy having a tote, maybe even for the beach in the summertime?

I started with the mini penguin tote from Oriental Trading. It is the perfect size to be a large doll tote. 

Then, I added in some fun things like a lantern (candy holder for camp glam), foam finger (these fit just the finger but work for dolls), pre-tied bow elastics, Geared Up For God bubbles (they make a perfect doll canteen), a cross-body purse, and two fishing poles (these are actually cupcake picks, but once again are perfect for dolls). 

To make the cross-body purse, I took the key-chain off the sequin coin purses. Then, I put a lace through both sides of the closure and tied it off. What little girl wouldn't like this. Then, you could give the little girl a matching one for a coin purse to put in her own cross-body bag. 

I wanted to include something special in the boy bags. I removed the key-chains from these tools and they are a perfect size set for dolls to build with! I put them in sour cream containers for a "set" sort of look!

To make matching girl/ doll bracelets to include, I used the Peanuts Easter Bracelet kit and made them the appropriate sizes. I also used the sour cream containers for these, since they are a beautiful set.

These earrings may not be what your little girl can wear, as they do tarnish, but they work great for dolls. Give your daughter's dolls some bling this Christmas with this set of 9 pairs of earrings. Make wrapping easy by putting them in a cake bag, folding it over, and taping it.

Finding something unique and special for your girl's best friend isn't hard, when you know where to look (*cough* *cough* Oriental Trading!). I was able to make gift bags for Snapper's friends as well. That is definitely a win/win!.

Doll Christmas Eve with Oriental Trading

Disclaimer: I completed this project as part of the Oriental Trading blog ambassador program. All opinions are my own.

I thought the kids would enjoy playing Christmas until Christmas actually got here- what better way to play Christmas, than with a doll Christmas Eve set?

Let's start with Allie's pretty Christmas Outfit. We added a black belt (Black Leather Wrist Strap Bracelet) to her red dress and black boots. We topped it off with a silver bow on her head and Koda added one around her wrist (Pre-Tied Elastic Silver Glitter Bow).

Then, we decorated a table-top Christmas Tree. I made a start topper out of metallic chenille stems. For ornaments, we used Christmas Cameo charms. You could easily add mini Christmas lights as well.

Now, it is time to get ready for Santa! A 50's shaped shot glass is perfect for milk. Add in the keychain cookies to the cake dome and the milk and cookies are ready to go on the table (the bunny cupcake holder is perfect for a table). Finish it off with some doll-sized felt stockings with her name and she is ready for bed and for Santa to come! 

Finding all of this is a breeze at Oriental Trading, as is finding doll gifts!

Doll Party: Happy Birthday Jesus #OrientalTrading

Disclaimer: I received items for this project through the Oriental Trading Blog Ambassador program.

Every year, the kids and I get a birthday cake to take to our family Christmas Eve breakfast. We either decorate it ourselves, or we get the bakery to write "Happy Birthday Jesus" on it. Then, we get the whole family to sing happy birthday to Jesus. Then, on Christmas morning, the kids stop in the kitchen, before they even see the tree and sing happy birthday to Jesus. My husband and I make it our mission to remind our children that Jesus is the reason we celebrate and that we give gifts because Jesus is the greatest gift of all.

Because we have so much fun with these traditions, we wanted to do something to share them with the world. So, we decided to have a kid/ doll party. We would celebrate Jesus' birth with the kids' best doll friends.

We started out by setting the table. We used a hot cocoa craft ornament to make cocoa for the dolls, and "Jesus Loves You Snow Much" mugs for the kids' hot cocoa. The Happy Birthday Jesus hats and plates were a wonderful addition. The cake was fun. We used battery operated tealight candles and decorated them with washi tape. The cake was finished off by being placed in the Alice pedestal dome plates- perfectly sized for dolls! The Christmas cookie keychains work great for doll cookies once the keychains are cut off. We used a beautiful "Oh Come Let Us Adore Thee" decoration for a centerpiece.

We then did some laughing, cookie eating, and some singing Christmas songs and songs of praise. We ended the party with a reading of The Nativity and gifts for the dolls (which the kids really liked). Each doll received a doll-sized Nativity Storybook and a doll-sized Happy Birthday Jesus puzzle.

This is a party you could easily do for a group of girls with their dolls, even having them craft the cocoa cups themselves. All of the supplies come from Oriental Trading with plenty for each child. Find these Christmas items and more to make your next Christmas party a hit at Oriental Trading.