I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
What do you actually remember?
|
I don’t remember many specific gifts I got for Christmas as a kid. The only one I really recall was “Sally Secrets”—a doll with stamps and stickers hidden inside (yeah, it was pretty cool). My husband remembers getting a “WrestleMania” wrestling ring… But what we both really cherish and remember is the feelings and the moments of joy we shared with family. One of my favorite traditions growing up was listening to the Nutcracker. We’d put on a whole living-room performance every year, roping friends into it. (I always played the Rat King) Dad filmed, and he’d sneak whoopee cushion sounds into the background. Our “bloopers reel” had us crying with laughter every single year. These are the kind of memories that have stuck with me into adulthood. What do you remember most? I asked my Instagram community this question, and the responses were heartwarming. My hunch was right. Most of us don’t remember the actual gifts (aside from one or two special ones). What we really remember is: 🎄 Togetherness — family dinners, cousins’ laughter, playing charades. For many, Christmas was the one day everyone prioritized joy... ...and quite a few made a point to say it’s the one day they could count on their parents being happy and having fun. I say this with so much compassion and zero judgment: I think we all hope our kids remember us as joyful and fun for more than just one day a year. Prioritize joy this season That’s why I created “Laughing All the Way,” a playful advent calendar packed with easy, silly prompts to help you make magical memories this December — without adding to your stress (and hopefully reducing it!) 💡 Takes 10 minutes or less each day Let’s be accountability partners for connection and joy this season! 👉 Tap here to grab Laughing All the Way for the price of a fancy holiday latte Warm hugs, ☃️ P.S. I’d love to hear about your favorite holiday memories! It’s so fun to read them, and it’s also a great way to reflect on what made those moments so special. Just hit reply. ❤️ P.P.S. I'll be sending a few reminders about this before the month is up, but you can opt out of them by tapping here! |
Playful Heart Parenting
I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
When my sister and I were kids, we made up a ridiculous game where we’d give each other random prompts for facial expressions or poses. Our favorite way to play was cramming all our friends into the tiny half-bathroom (the only room without windows), turning off the lights, and waiting in the dark. 😂 One person would give a prompt, count to three, and everyone froze in their best interpretation. It was always something funny (and usually gross), like: “You just looked in the mirror and saw a...
My husband stumbled on the video of the first time my stepdaughter met my son, shortly after he was born. "Awww," I said as I watched her nervously skip into the room with a shy, excited grin and climb into the bed where I was holding her sleeping baby bro. But then something happened in the video that made my jaw drop. Something small but not actually small at all. Something I had no memory of... There was a little bar code sticker that had somehow gotten stuck to my arm from something. My...
I knew Saturday was also my only day to get some work done, uninterrupted, but I also knew that we needed at least a few minutes together as a family to just be together and laugh. My son, as always, had wild energy (it seems to be getting more and more wild as he approaches age 4… who can relate??) ...and I was proud of him for asking, “Can we play ‘Who can sound like?’” where I give him weird, silly prompts to channel his loudness. I shifted from that game to “You are…” so I could give him...