My sweet Laurel is a maker and around the holidays, she's always asking me about projects ideas. The Minimalist Parenting community loved this post on 14 kid-crafted gifts, so I figured -- what with the weekend coming up -- it would be fun to share 10 more ideas. And given my deep passion for clutter-free gifts, I've rounded up a collection of ideas that are CLUTTER-FREE. YAY! These items would be adorable for family, friend, and teacher gifts.

Click on the links below for the full tutorials, more images, and further creative content. And props to these amazing bloggers for sharing their DIY brilliance!

1. I've been obsessed with plants lately (and finding ways to bring more into our home). These DIY paperwhites would be such a lovely gift.

2. Homemade bath bombs in cute shapes = adorable. Extra awesome add-on: a coupon for solo tubby time to the recipient.

3. Kids can help mix ingredients and fill jars for this honey brown sugar scrub. Perfectly timed for desperately-need-to-exfoliate season.

4. Help your kids practice their knot tying skills with these ribbon tree ornaments. I'm a huge fan of the "use all the scraps" mentality!

5. I love clipboards for simple command centers and had never thought of how awesome it would be to give your kid creative freedom to create decoupage clipboards as gifts. So awesome.

6. Laurel became obsessed this year with homemade lip gloss. And why not? Just two ingredients and you're ready to roll. (Little baby food jars would find a great new life for this project.)

7. These cookie cutter bird feeders give your holiday cookie cutters another purpose while making for cute, clutter-free gifts for loved ones (and their backyard birds).

8. Attention partners of moms, print this World's Best Mom newspaper sheet and have your kid decorate it. Perhaps also enclose tissues. This will be a flat keepsake for your archives. Or you might want to frame it.

9. I love the mess-free nature of duct tape crafting! Have your kid give old frames a new life by duct taping them! You could also apply the decoupage approach of #5 to frames.

10. These citrus stamped tea towels are so cheerful, and totally doable for the younger crafting crowd.

So fantastic, right? Which project would your kids love? I'm thinking that the cookie cutter bird feeders are where we'll start this weekend.

Image credits: all images via linked websites above.

I was driving to meet a friend for dinner when I heard a Robert Plant interview on the radio. I've searched in vain to find a transcript; I think it's lost to the winds of change.

---

I grew up on Led Zeppelin, as classic rock lives on in southwest Iowa today as it did in its heydey. Middle America is where time stands still for old-school rock and roll, as it does for mall hair and some forms of acid-wash jeans. There are places deep in the heart of Nebraska where I assume people are still pegging their jeans, similar to the Space Odyssey: a land where time stood still and perhaps the universe ceased to rotate for several decades. That, my friends, is western Nebraska.

Anyway, Robert Plant was talking about his creative process. He said if he listened to what people wanted him to be at this point in his career it would all be awful, that he had to create what he is now for himself. As I was driving deeper into Kansas and reflecting on my own tiny writing career, I thought to myself, wow, if Robert Plant has deep existential questions, then I am totally fucked.

But that's it, isn't it? This is all there is, for all of us, what we have in this moment. Lay down your swords, boys, this is who you are.

---

Today I worked with Laura Fraser on a session at BlogHer PRO all about putting together a book proposal, which I did for SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK in 2006 or 2007. The book came out in 2008. If I did today what I did in 2008 for SIFTW, I doubt it would have been published. If I did twenty years ago what I did for THE OBVIOUS GAME in 2011, I think it would've sold better. The fact is, the world turns, and the publishing world turns with it, and none of us really knows what's going to happen next. What worked yesterday won't work today, and works today won't work tomorrow. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Being a writer is more about the career than the book. Save yourself the pain and absorb that truth.

(I really wish there was a typed transcript of this Robert Plant interview. You're going to have to trust the paraphrase here.)

So the host was asking Robert Plant about his career (and what a career!) and Robert Plant was basically saying at this point he just does what he likes and who cares what the bastards think? (Again, I paraphrase.) That at some point, people have an expectation of you, and you have to decide whether or not to fulfill it.

I have no idea if there is an expectation of me other than what I set for myself. I'm guessing probably not.

---

Yesterday, I lost a notebook with all my ideas for my next novel on Southwest flight 699 from Kansas City to Phoenix. I've filed a claim in the hopes that my little notebook with owls on the cover has been found. The first thing I did when I got to my room was open a Word document and word vomit everything I could remember from the five-hour drive home from Thanksgiving into it. The idea is so weird anyone who finds the notebook and reads it might think I am crazy.

I'm a little crushed that I lost that notebook. I may have cried in the Phoenix airport.

And as I dried my tears, I thought of Robert Plant.

And I thought about what expectations I have set for myself.

---

Today in the BlogHer PRO session I admitted, once again, all my writerly failures. How many times I have been rejected. My ongoing search for a career agent. My many projects in all their various stages. Laura actually called me out and insisted I would do better to work my network, and I admitted to myself and to her that maybe I haven't asked more people that I know in the field to introduce me to their agents because

I

am

scared.

Even after two books, I am scared.

I want to be Robert Plant.

I want to get to the point where I make my own art, and I do not worry about where the cards may fall.

I went into the session with the hope that people would hear my part of the story and understand that the artistic gig, the publishing gig, is fraught with rejection. I would have nothing, absolutely nothing, published without the sheer force of my will. Nobody else has ever cared about it like I have.

You get up, you send more queries, you get critiques, you revise, you query again. And so on.

Thank you, Robert Plant, for reminding me that in the end, nobody cares about my art like I do.

Friends, I have another wonderful giveaway for you! Disney on Ice will show at the Agganis Arena at Boston University December 19-29. I've attended several times in past years with Laurel and it's always such fun spectacle! And thanks to my friends at Feld Entertainment, I have two 4-packs of tickets to give away for opening night (December 19, 7pm)! The Disney on Ice Worlds of Fantasy show includes character faves such as Lightning McQueen, The Little Mermaid, Tinker Bell, and Buzz Lightyear.

TO ENTER TO WIN: leave a comment below by midnight EST, Sunday, December 7. Make sure you include your e-mail address in the e-mail field so I can contact you if you win (your e-mail will not show up publicly with the comment)! Good luck!

DETAILS: Two (2) winners will each receive four (4) tickets to the December 19, 2014, 7pm show. Winners will pick up tickets at will call.

Goodness, it's been too long since I've shared a Local Gems feature! Today's Coolidge Corner recommendations come from my friend Sheri Gurock, mom of 3, co-founder of the award-winning toy/gear store Magic Beans, food blogger at Unbageled, and longtime Coolidge Corner dweller. Thanks for sharing these 12 local gems, Sheri! And be sure to check out the Arlington Center, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Huron Village (Cambridge), Easton, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Medford, Watertown, and Wellesley features!

1. Pear Tree. This lovely beading shop offers a huge variety of beads and tons of gorgeous example pieces to inspire you. It's a great place to visit on a rainy day with the kids, because everyone gets to be creative. One of my favorite necklaces is one my 6-year-old made for me here!

2. Eureka! It's impossible not to love this quirky game and puzzle shop, filled with all kinds of interesting products and staffed by people who love their goods and can make spot-on recommendations.

3. Knight Moves. Former Eureka! employee Devon Trevylan opened this board game cafe nearly a year ago. Gather with friends at his cozy space and choose from over 300 different board games. The cafe serves drinks and pastries, including some gluten-free options!

4. Tiny Hanger. Tiny Hanger owner Lucia has such fabulous taste and it shows in her appealing selection of clothing and gifts for babies and kids.

5. The Coolidge Theater. The Coolidge is widely accepted to be a great date-night venue, but did you know they also do a family-friendly show each weekend on either Saturday or Sunday morning? The programs are always low-key and high quality -- a great combination.

6. Brookline Booksmith. This charming locally owned bookstore is everything you'd hope for it to be and more. The selection is extensive, the staff is wonderful, and there is always an amazing schedule of authors coming to speak and sign. In the basement you'll find great deals on used books (you can also sell your used books to them), and they have a wonderful, quirky gift department, too.

7. Regal Beagle. It's always been tough to get a table at this tiny, delightful bistro, but now that executive chef Stacy Cogswell is a contestant on this season's Top Chef, it's a good idea to plan in advance if you want to come for dinner. The lunch menu is also wonderful, and they are kid-friendly.

8. Zaftig's. This iconic Coolidge Corner delicatessen is always swamped on weekends for brunch, but you can eat breakfast all day long at this very family-friendly establishment. The menu is wide-ranging and everything is tasty.

9. Rani Bistro. This Indian restaurant is really something special. The atmosphere is serene, and the menu is full of flavorful dishes with a wide range of choices for vegetarians and carnivores alike. The lunch buffet is a great deal, and before I went Paleo I loved their Dosa.

10. Paris Creperie. This hole-in-the-wall offers a dizzying array of delicious choices, from crepes to soups to smoothies. Need a meal? Grab a hearty savory crepe. Looking for a snack? Don't miss the strawberry Nutella crepe or the Nutella hot chocolate. They are set up to accommodate a range of dietary restrictions, too.

11. Party Favors. Since going GF/Paleo over a year ago, there are few things I miss as much as Party Favors cupcakes. They look as pretty as they taste, and they are always topped with a very generous amount of sweet buttercream. You can also find a wide range of party goods and even cake decorating supplies. They also offer occasional classes and birthday parties.

12. Rami's. This is an authentic Israeli dining experience. Come when it's busy and the line is likely to be disorganized, but that's part of the charm. The falafel is outstanding, crispy and bursting with flavor, served in a soft, warm pita nestled in homemade hummus. It's street food at its absolute best. Another food I miss terribly!

So awesome, right? Thanks again Sheri, for sharing your favorite picks. If you have other favorite Coolidge Corner gems, feel free to share in the comments below. And of course don't forget to pop in to Magic Beans if you're in Coolidge Corner! If you'd like to pen a Local Gems guest post, contact Christine at editor@bostonmamas.com to check on availability.

Image credits: all images via linked websites or associated Facebook pages.

Few things exemplify the wrestling with abundance concept Asha and I discuss in Minimalist Parenting like the holidays. Too many things to do, too many things to buy, too many crazy people to deal with...the list goes on. And I'm by no means immune. Thanksgiving break offered a very clear reminder of what fills me with happiness and also what causes immense stress. So I decided that I wanted to create a minimalist holiday manifesto, and invite you to do the same. Intention setting is powerful stuff!

First, to clarify, as Asha and I discuss in our book, "minimalizing" is not about deprivation. I'm not asking you to give up shopping or family traditions. What I am asking you to do is to not be driven by "shoulds" and comparison...to prioritize, to become more mindful about your choices and intentions, to make choices based on what rings true for you and your family. Ultimately, the goal is to do more of what lights you up and less of what drags you down.

Over the coming weeks I'll share editorial geared towards making your holidays easier (while still being fun, beautiful, tasty, and generous in spirit!), but meanwhile, on this first day of December I wanted to share the 6 items on my manifesto. I hope you'll create your own as well. I'd love to hear what you come up with.

1. Address what is causing the most stress as early as possible. It's very clear to me what I'm most stressed out about this year. And when Jon asked how he could help me with it, I realized that it would be helpful to address the issue as early as possible so I won't sit with the anxiety for the entire month of December. (Also, as I was thinking about this issue, I was reminded of two really great back posts: Jane's on 8 ways to reduce holiday stress and Jules's on 10 tips for preserving holiday mental health. Definitely worth a read!)

2. Continue to recalibrate gifting. This is a big one. Though I do love giving gifts, I really don't love the pressure and volume around the holidays. I want to continue to recalibrate traditional gifting by either doing nothing (sometimes nothing can be a gift), focusing on giving one lovingly procured gift per person (rather than scurrying around trying to fulfill some sort of quota), giving small handmade treats (e.g., to neighbors and friends), and continuing my charitable giving efforts (for ideas, see these wonderful back posts by Isabel Kallman and Jennifer James).

3. Make togetherness part of the process. Though I love being able to set Laurel loose on kid-friendly DIY projects, I have also realized how powerful it is to make togetherness part of the holiday process. Laurel is someone who truly treasures together time, so I plan on focusing gifting efforts around easy projects we can work on together. I'll be sharing more editorial about easy DIY gifts soon.

4. Embrace the little (potentially quirky) things that bring joy. Everyone's priorities are different and that's part of the power in creating your own manifesto. This weekend when I ordered my holiday cards, it seemed totally crazy not to opt-in to Minted's free recipient addressing but I reminded myself that hand addressing is one of the ways I foster connection. It may seem weird, but I like to think of the recipient and send them good juju as I address their envelope. I decided to keep this task on my to-do list and pay for return address printing (since I definitely don't enjoy printing labels or writing my own address 150 times).

5. Make sure there is plenty of opportunity for laughter. A few weeks ago we hosted a last minute dinner party with neighborhood friends and it was a good reminder of how incredibly powerful laughter is as a mood elevator. I want to prioritize gatherings with people who make me laugh!

6. Edit the to-do list. Continually. One of my best life lessons has been about prioritizing and letting go. For Violet's first birthday, Laurel and I prioritized our to-do lists in order of fun and gave ourself permission to let items at the bottom of the list fall off. I'm already getting her to do this for the holidays (her original to-do list was tightly written, two-sided...), and will follow suit. The other bonus about editing? It will give you breathing room to put yourself first from time to time. So important.

I'm not kidding, I feel calmer and happier about the holidays just writing this! What elements speak to you? What do you want more of? What do you want less of?

Image credits: Christine Koh

Happy Monday and happy first day of December -- I hope you had a wonderful holiday. If you're looking for something to do this week, there's no shortage of ideas in this week's Weekly Blueprint. Also, I'm kicking off a really wonderful project for a client (The Family Dinner Project) today; come join the #familydinnerforward Twitter chat at noon EST. I'm so thrilled to help start a movement towards dinner-oriented acts of giving!

December 1 - 31: Legoland Discovery Center’s Holiday Bricktacular. (Somerville)

December 1 - January 1: The beautiful Christmas Festival of Lights. (Carver)

December 1 - January 4: The zoo becomes magical with thousands of twinkling lights. (Stoneham)

December 2: ASD-friendly afternoon at the museum. (Acton)

December 2: Time to party with everyone’s favorite snow queen. (Easton)

December 3: Celebrate Christmas in the City by helping others. (Boston)

December 3: Explore deCordova for FREE. (Lincoln)

December 4: Wander through Roslindale this holiday season. (Roslindale)

December 4 - 7: King Midas puppet show. (Brookline)

December 5: FREE admission to The Discovery Museums. (Acton)

December 5: School readiness Friday night. (Boston)

December 5: Exciting storytelling with Big Joe the Storyteller. (Boston)

December 5: Silhouette artist creates a lovely holiday gift. (Brookline)

December 5: Roaring twenties cocktail party. (Ipswich)

December 5: The Lexington Symphony Orchestra presents Kids’ Holiday Pops. (Lexington)

December 5: Take a stroll along the streets of Nantucket. (Nantucket)

December 5 + 6: The Legacy Dancers present Holiday Traditions. (Arlington)

December 5 - 7: Boston gets crafty, holiday style. (Boston)

December 5 - 7: Your opportunity to buy handmade at this artist marketplace. (Brookline)

December 5 - 7: Hop aboard the Polar Express. (Carver)

December 5 - 7: A Norman Rockwell painting comes to life. (Stockbridge)

December 5 - 7: Escape the frenzy of a modern Christmas and celebrate by candlelight. (Sturbridge)

December 5 - 14: Reagle Music Theatre’s ChristmasTime. (Waltham)

December 5 - 31: The Whaling Museum turns into a festive winter wonderland. (Nantucket)

Image credit: The Vintage Bazaar

While a lot of my friends were killing it posting every day in November for NaBloPoMo (that's National Blog Posting Month for the uninitiated), I think I set a Surrender, Dorothy record for least amount of posts in a month, ever.

A series of events overlapped like a time-sucking eclipse of crazy this month. It won't get much better next week, as I'm leaving tomorrow on a jet plane to go to BlogHer PRO '14 in the Bay area to speak on a panel about book publishing with the awesome Laura Fraser of SheBooks. And that is fun and exciting, and I love to talk about book publishing, but all this moving about isn't conducive to blogging. 

Here is an incomplete list of things I've been meaning to write about, in no particular order:

• Robert Plant
• The World Series of Poker
• My Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge
• Black kittens
• Holiday decor
• Running
• Midlife crises
• The new novel

Maybe now I will actually write about those things, since I put them there so they can bother me with their unfinished-y-ness. Right?

Here are some things I wrote or co-wrote at BlogHer in November:

• Mike Brown, #Ferguson & "You Should've Seen This Coming"
• How to Write a Headline or Teaser Copy That's Impossible to Ignore
• 5 Ideas for Your Picky Tween (That Aren't a Toy)
• Have You Seen Kim Kardashian's Golden Globes?
• 5 Products to Ease Your Travel Stress 

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's been so great to take things down several notches and enjoy the holiday with family and friends. My brain is slowly churning back up to speed, so I wanted to share the Best of November today. Happy last day of the month, and don't forget to enter to win a pair of tickets to Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker. Today is the last day to enter to win, and I'll be drawing two lucky winners!

Books:

• 10 offbeat books for kids.
• 7 great chapter books for kids (especially boys).
• Your new activity bible: 150+ Screen Free Activities for Kids.

Holiday Shopping:

• Shop the Grommet’s pop-in shop.
• Shop small and local this holiday season.

Thanksgiving:

• 11 posts to make Thanksgiving less stressful.
• 10 (more) free Thanksgiving printables.
• An incredible St. Jude story.

Recipes:

• Final Eat Seasonal for 2014: 12 cranberry recipes.

Miscellaneous:

• Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome

Image credit: sticky lemon rolls with lemon cream cheese glaze via Pinterest

Friends, I have a delightful holiday giveaway for you! The Nutcracker opens at the Boston Opera House on Friday and thanks to my friends at Boston Ballet, I have two pairs of tickets to give away! Boston Ballet never fails to deliver magic (a few weeks ago I found myself in tears over Swan Lake) and The Nutcracker would make for an incredibly special outing with your young ballet fan!

TO ENTER TO WIN: leave a comment below by midnight, Sunday, November 30th. Make sure you include your e-mail address in the e-mail field so I can contact you if you win (your e-mail will not show up publicly with the comment)! Good luck!

DETAILS: Two (2) winners will each receive two (2) tickets to their choice of one of the following shows (subject to availability): Tue, 12/9 @ 7:30pm; Wed, Dec 10 @ 7:30pm; Tue, Dec 16 @ 7:30pm; Wed, Dec 17 @ 7:30pm; Thu, Dec 18 @ 1pm; or Thu, Dec  18 @ 7:30pm.

Image credits: all images by Liza Voll, courtesy of the Boston Ballet