Kwanzaa

The ol' food in a jar gift...Such an ordinary present to give yet when you're home with 3 highly excited kids (2 of your own plus an extra one sleeping over) 4 days before Christmas they have to be the best homemade gifts in the world!

I think this Instructable for making a custom clock with photo hands from member edmonds librarian has got to be the best idea ever for getting kids interested in telling time. What kid wouldn't crack up watching themselves circle the face of a clock? Heck, I crack up every time I see this Instructable. And judging from what motivates my own kids to learn new skills, if your laughing and having fun while learning something tricky you're going to really learn it and learn it fast.

Feeling bad about the ten rolls of gift wrap you blew through this past holiday? Well, make up for your global destructiveness by tossing those empty wrapping paper tubes to the kids for oodles of quick cheap thrills. Marie from awe-inspiring family site Make and Takes has put together a fun little list of clever ideas for upcycling those empty wrapping paper rolls.

Amy from Let's Explore has a simple yet grand idea for repurposing all those holiday cards into a fun activity for young kids. She's provided a fast and easy tutorial on how to make a "Christmas Card Puzzle Game". I can't wait to make a set or two of these puzzle cards for my own 2 year old daughter. It's such a basic, clean matching/puzzle idea that I know my detail obsessed little girl is going to go crazy over.

Kaboose has quite a few nice little kid-friendly Kwanzaa crafts available on their site. Musical instruments, Mkeka mats, cards, gifts and games are a few of the ideas represented. Most of the crafts require easily accessible and recycled materials that you probably have laying around the house. My favorite ideas include the

"K is for Kwanzaa"by Jwanda Ford is an excellent introductory read for young kids learning about and celebrating Kwanzaa.

Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is holding a really great Kwanzaa Family Festival this Saturday, December 27th for families looking to learn more about the holiday or just looking for s a nice way to celebrate the holiday together. According to the site "Join us in a cultural tradition that celebrates the best of African thought, practice, and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it.

Today marks the first day of Kwanzaa, a warm and beautiful holiday outlined in seven principles exploring special traditions, culture and family togetherness in the African American community. To honor this meaningful holiday Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the Cal State Los Angeles campus is having a Kwanaa Celebration Concert this Saturday, December 27th at 8pm.