It's a vacation... with kids. Fun time at home. So why does that give me anxiety? Ah, I know. I’ll have to C-R-A-F-T! *cue scary music*

Can you relate? I hate crafting too. And we are not alone. Not every mom is a walking Pinterest Page. Not every mom loves to spend hours at Michaels. Not every mom jumps at volunteering to decorate the classroom door at school.

If you are one of these non-crafty moms, then I am here to tell you that you are not alone this Spring Break. You have a tribe. And we love not crafting, too.

So how can we be amazing Instagram-worthy moms, without using a glue-gun to prove it? There are so many options. Here are my top 5 alternatives to popsicle sticks & paint pens.

You're so welcome.

1. An intellectual application of artistic expression in the form of: Storytelling. Oh we "make things" in our house, & they come to life with imagination! Each kid writes a story on their iPads or on paper, about anything imaginable -including drawings is optional- and then we share them with the whole family. It is SO MUCH FUN & gets the creative juices flowing in a different kind of way. My 2nd grader is now writing a series of short stories about a wild cat, titled The Hollow Forest. How cool is that?

2. Gardening. Ha! I'm feel so sneaky. Gardening allows me to check off all kinds of brag-worthy activities on the list. Gardening with the kids is: Outside in nature. Inexpensive. A science lesson. And yields great curb-appeal for the house! My favorite thing is the after-gardening gifts that give built-in extended activities. The kids are responsible for watering the plants and checking their progress for weeks. They beam with pride when the seeds sprout up. Every time we pull up to our house, we all get to see the fruits of their labor.

3. I can’t cook, but the kids sure can! Why not? Personally.. When the pressure is off, and I’m baking something that doesn’t have to provide an acceptable meal for an entire hungry family.. Suddenly it becomes more fun to cook. Does that make sense? In this project we spread out the responsibility of actually doing the work by including the kids.

I call it a family "Cook-Off”. If we cook, and pull it off, then great. If not, then it’s a family “Cook-Out”. We throw out what we made because it turned out to be disgusting. Either way, we all had fun. To increase the odds of success I order Foodstirs baking kits that come with all organic ingredients pre-measured, with easy-to-follow pictures & instructions.

4. The “Make Moms Life Easier” crafts. Pick something that would be nice for YOU. Then put the kids to work making it happen. For example; I would like my house to smell better. I don’t want to use chemicals, but I am always trying to freshen up the air. My kids made some good-smelling sachets that we hang in the closets & throw in our drawers. These things take care of a problem for me, & make my life a little nicer. Order everything easily via Amazon- little burlap bags, rock salt, dried lavender, fragrant oil. Done.

5. Okay fine. You feel the need to craft. I get it. I always wanted to be Martha Stewart too. So here’s what we do. Order a crafting kit in a box. You don’t have to think up the craft, you don’t have to shop for all the stuff. You don’t have to make another trip to the craft store because you forgot something essential to said craft. Just call our friend Soleil Moon Frye & order one of her convenient & super-cute boxes. Bonus is the sales they have around the real high-pressure crafting seasons. On her site right now it’s a 25% off Easter Sale. I feel like she really understands our struggle, right?

There we go! Just as artsy fartsy as any of the other moms and yet we don’t have popsicle-stick picture frames hanging all over our houses. Not crafty. And loving it.

Have a Happy Spring Break & Easter Vacation! 🐣 XO -Kristin