May is for mothers!
Whether you’re a mom, mom to be or have a special mother in your life, Mother’s Day is right around the corner and a reminder to thank the important mothers or mother figures in your life with something special. It’s easy to fall into the trap of consumer culture that encourages us to gift until we drop, but a truly special Mother’s Day celebration doesn’t have to be complicated or involve armfuls of fancy gifts.
If you’re in need of some inspiration for your special Mother’s Day, we have some of our favorite activities that are sure to help you piece together a perfect day out with your family.
Brunch
Brunch might be a trendy way to spend a Sunday, but a brunch celebration is a charming way to fuel up for a day of fun with the special mother in your life. Toast a few mimosas and chow down on a big country breakfast to celebrate all the amazing memories of you mom or even your experience as a mom to be. If you’re within driving distance of Dallas, the Armoury D.E. is one of our favorite spots. It’s a casual and industrial space with a sophisticated palette and an always impressive brunch menu. You might not find a more decadent french toast, making the Armoury the top of our list for a Dallas Mother’s Day Brunch. If you’re not trying to wander far, you can always try your hand at breakfast in bed with some help from the kids to surprise mom.
Mother’s Day Crafts
If you have little ones eager to celebrate their favorite moms, a craft project is a fun way to bring everyone together. If you’re planning to surprise mom with breakfast in bed, having the kids decorate a breakfast tray for her is a beautiful memento that she’ll use all the time! If your mom is a coffee lover, have your kids decorate a mug that will remind her of all the sweet memories with her little ones every time she takes that morning sip.
Give the Gift of Self Care
There’s no mother out there that couldn’t use a day of pampering. A gift certificate to enjoy a spa day at Austin’s top rated, full-service spa is a gift that wins every time. She can treat herself to a massage, pedicure or an herbal facial to leave her feeling refreshed and glowing. If you’re feeling creative, put together a spa day basket for mom that includes all her favorite bath products, a fluffy robe, candles and slippers. Self care is always in style and it’s always a gift that mom will love.
A little creativity and inspiration goes a long way with mom.
However you plan to make mom feel a little more special for Mother’s Day this year, customizing your gifts and activities makes memories that much sweeter. Spend your day relaxing and helping all the moms in your life feel rejuvenated and appreciated and you’ll be sure to have a great family Mother’s Day with your whole family.
This Easter, you don’t have to travel far for some fun Easter activities for the whole family.
Whether you’re spending time at home with the kids or having a big group of family and friends for dinner, there’s plenty of spring time fun to keep everyone occupied. Easter traditions are usually the first celebration of warmer seasons and sweet new beginnings to a great year.
Getting friends and family together for an Easter party at home is a great opportunity to play some fun games and let your creativity shine with unforgettable Easter activities.
Gather your family and friends together while you make some new family traditions you’ll look forward to every spring!
Easter Egg Hunt
An egg hunt is one of the most exciting Easter activities that families enjoy year after year. Kick your egg hunt up a notch with some fun twists to keep things innovative and unique. Take a few empty egg cartons and paint the inside of each with a different color and number the top with a black marker (Four kids means four cartons). Before the kids can start they have to pull a number that chooses the carton they have. Hide 12 eggs of each color in various areas around the yard so each kid has an equal opportunity to get the same amount of eggs. If you want to raise the stakes for your scavenger hunt, the first child to fill their egg carton wins the golden egg that contains an extra surprise.
Egg Toss
Who says your Easter fun can’t be a little messy? If you’re expecting a big group for brunch or dinner, an egg toss can be a whole lot of fun. Encourage guests to bring clothes that can get messy or encourage them to design funny shirts for their team of two! Distinguish your starting point about 3-4 feet apart, one person from each team stands on either side to start. On one side, mark up to 5 lines that go increments of a foot backward.
Dye some raw eggs with different colors and give one to each team. Using a timer, each team will have to toss the egg and catch it gently without it breaking in their hand or falling to the ground. As every minute elapses, one team member is told to move back one foot. This will make the game harder! The winners get a gift card, an Easter basket or even some cash. It’s impossible to not have fun and lots of laughs with this silly egg game.
Chicken Spoon Race
Baby chicks are one of the most identifiable symbols of spring. This spoon race is a great yard game for kids and kids at heart. Make a starting and finish line in the yard, lining the kids up across the starting line. Each kid gets a plastic spoon and an egg. The object of the game is to balance the egg on the spoon while they hold it in their mouth and cross the finish line without dropping the egg. To make this game a little funnier and more of a challenge, your game contestants need to walk and flap like a baby chicken. Play the Chicken Dance song in the background for some big laughs and even bigger photo opportunities as all your chickens scurry to the finish line.
Doughnut Munch
This activity is dessert and a game all in one. Take a fairly wide (about an inch) and colorful ribbon and for five players, string five doughnuts spaced out onto the ribbon. Stale doughnuts actually work a little better for this since they’re a little more firm. Hang your ribbon taught between two posts and have your players line up along the ribbon. The object of the game is to eat their doughnut off the ribbon first before the time is up, and without any falling to the ground. This is hilarious to watch and a delightfully sweet finale for your back yard Easter party.
Get your favorite bunnies together for some backyard activities that will quickly become awesome family traditions for your annual Easter gathering.
March is almost here!
When you think St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Texas might not be the first to come to mind but the vibrant celebrations here might just surprise you.
So gear your family up in your brightest shade of green and celebrate some Irish heritage and pride on one of the most widely celebrated cultural events in the United States. There’s no shortage of fun for the whole family and you can be sure that San Antonio will put their own signature flavor on this fun-loving holiday.
We’re highlighting some of the most poppin’ paddy’s day celebrations that Texas has to offer during the month of March. Our first stop is San Antonio, where there’s plenty of events and traditions you won’t want to miss.
Murphy’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and River Festival
The Irish pull out all the stops when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day fun and the Murphy’s parade is no exception. Here at the San Antonio River Walk, they dye the water green and host a truly spectacular parade of elaborately decorated boats. The fun doesn’t stop here and there’s also plenty of food and gift vendors to help you celebrate your shamrock pride.Guests are encouraged to dress up in their Irish best and root on their favorite boats and groups.
Harp & Shamrock Society Music Festival
If you’re looking for something more authentically Irish to whisk your spirit back home to the mother country, the Irish society at Harp and Shamrock have an impressive lineup of Irish musicians and dancers. Their events go towards the preservation of Irish culture in the San Antonio community and some of the area’s largest St. Patrick’s Day traditions. This year they’re hosting almost a dozen different events that will transform San Antonio into the rolling hills of Ireland.
Date Night Out to Durty Nelly’s
Some might argue it wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day without some Irish fare and Durty Nelly’s is a slice of Ireland. San Antonio residents flock to Nelly’s on St. Patrick’s Day to kick off or wind down a day of activities where they can sit back and relax in their comfy but vibrant atmosphere with some classic drinks. Whether you’re looking for an icy cold pint of Guinness or a tried and true Irish whiskey to quench your thirst, you’re bound to have a good time with friends and family here. Although not required, it’s extra fun to be clad head to toe in green of course.
Arneson River Theater Irish Concerts
Through the weeks leading up to the big day, the Arneson River Theater is hosting several music events that’ll awaken your inner bagpipe enthusiast. Irish culture is steeped in music and dance, and there’s plenty of that to go around at the Arneson outdoor theater before they even dye the river green! Support San Antonio’s premier Irish artists, bands and dancers as they put on an extraordinary show of beaming Irish heritage that’ll make your grandma proud.
Whether you’re cooling down with a cold pint or catching a glimpse of talented Irish dancers, you’re sure to find plenty of magical Irish spirit throughout the San Antonio community in March.
Your support keeps the traditions alive, so plan one event or visit all of them and don’t forget to have fun and let your pride beam bright while celebrating the fun loving and extraordinary Irish history,
February is a month long celebration of love and friendship.
Throughout the month of February, Texas hosts festivals and events to get out and celebrate the ones you love. Whether you’re looking for live music, street festivals or cultural celebrations, there’s something for everyone throughout the entire month of February.
So grab your calendar and plan to visit some exciting festivals underway in Texas.
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo
Looking for some classic Texas events to visit this month? Look no further than the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, a family tradition that’s been going strong since 1940. Originally designed to gather together youth in San Antonio to celebrate and educate about the agricultural and livestock industries that has stimulated the local economy for generations. This festival runs through the whole month of February, where you can see tons of animals, catch a parade, check out some live music, and even treat the kids to carnival rides. Not to mention, there’s some delicious festival food guilty pleasures. This is an authentic Texan celebration with exhibitions and activities for the whole family to enjoy.
Charro Days Fiesta
The Charro Days Fiesta is an awesome experience in Texas you won’t want to miss. This event celebrates the bi-national cultures and traditions of Brownsville residents. The festival celebrates it’s 80 years of assembling for food, music, dancing, carnivals and parades. Watch colorful dancers light up the streets with music at the various parades and get a taste of authentic Mexican cuisine and other fusion cuisine with recipes that have been passed down for generations. The nationalism and unity is incredible at this festival Texans look forward to visiting every year.
Galveston Mardi Gras
Texas might be quite a distance from New Orleans, but there’s no shortage of Mardi Gras fun in Galveston. Everything is bigger in Texas and that saying goes for one of the country’s largest Mardi Gras celebrations that draws massive crowds every year. Visitors flock to Galveston for their parades, live entertainment and incredible food. Don’t book a plane ticket to New Orleans with such a buzzing Mardi Gras celebration right here in Texas that you won’t want to miss.
WBCA Carnival
Who doesn’t love the sights and sounds of a classic carnival? The WBCA Carnival is the biggest carnival in South Texas. Families have flocked to the carnival since 1975 and return each year as a fun family tradition. Sample all the incredible carnival eats you can imagine, check out local vendors and test your bravery on thrilling rides.
With tons of fun festivals to visit, you can fill your February with family fun.
Support local traditions and cultures throughout Texas and visit the incredible festivals, carnivals and events that Texas has to offer.
The holidays are officially right around the corner!
If you’re looking to plan some fun activities with your kids during your winter break, there’s plenty of things to do in the Houston area to make your season a little brighter and a way more fun.
If you’re home with your newborn and you need some activities that are easy on your postpartum recovery, there’s also plenty of low-key holiday events for everyone in your family to enjoy.
We put together a go-to guide for local holiday fun this week, so suit up in your Christmas best and turn up the cheer!
The Texas Bowl
The Texas Bowl is a Houston post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division, FBS college football bowl game tradition that Houston families have been celebrating for over a decade. Sports during the holidays give families some uplifting spirit as they root on their teams as a family after eating a filling holiday meal.
It’s all about the pre-game parties, tailgating and team spirit with family and friends and there’s no shortage of all the above here. Get your gear ready, your game day recipes cookin’ and have some fun at this year’s Texas Bowl! The best tailgate decorations and spirit will be awarded by H-E-B judges roaming the stadium parking lot Team Spirit, Food Presentation (exclusive H-E-B pride is an absolute must) Originality and Hospitality in their search to crown this year’s H-E-B Tailgater of the Game! So get your thinking caps on and your crock pots going!
The Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet
The Nutcracker is an absolute Christmas classic and has become a tradition for many families to watch a Nutcracker performance together before their big holiday celebrations. The Houston Ballet puts on an incredible performance that will leave your little ones enchanted and anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. It’s a perfect way to get a little festive this week before the crazy travel and parties of the weekend.
The Festival of Lights
Moody Gardens hosts the area’s largest display of holiday lights in the Houston area that belongs on everyone’s list this month. The trail features millions of sparkling lights, live entertainment and tons of animated displays set to familiar Christmas tunes. There’s ice skating and a 100 foot long slide! This event is a crowd favorite and is an incredibly magical way to kick off the big holiday week ahead. There’s plenty to do here for the kids and parents, bringing this event to the top of our holiday to-do list every year.
Milk and Cookies With Santa
It’s not too late to get yourself on Santa’s nice list. The Children’s Museum of Houston is hosting a meet and greet with the big man in red himself, where kids can have milk and cookies and submit those last minute Christmas wishes. If you haven’t paid Santa a visit before he embarks on his big trip around the world, the Children’s Museum of Houston has the surprise for you! This museum also hosts different event for your little ones and fun interactive exhibits to explore throughout the year.
If you’re looking for some fun activities to do with the kids while they’re home on their holiday break, you don’t need to go far when Houston has you covered.
Visit some of these awesome local happenings in our area to start feeling a little more festive before all your big plans this weekend!
Have a happy and healthy holiday season from Lone Star Doulas!
This week’s #womancrushwednesday is Nina, a member of our Co-Owner Elizabeth’s family.
My household consists of myself, my two daughters, and Nina. Nina is my rock. She co-parents with me, reminds me of my self worth, and loves and cares for my children like only she could. Nina happens to be an AuPair, but to me she’s family. When people refer to Nina as “the AuPair”, I have mixed feelings.
Yes, she is an AuPair. But she is so much more than *just* an AuPair.
In the time since I’ve met Nina (less than a year) I’ve moved, been pregnant, gave birth, got divorced, and opened a second business. I was certain that so many major life events would intimidate her, and cause her to quit. One thing I’ve learning about Nina is that she doesn’t back down from a challenge, she conquers it. She chose to leave her home country to help my family transition through our daily life, even though my life situation wasn’t typical. She could have chosen any family, but she chose mine. If that isn’t humbling, I don’t know what is.
In a lot of ways Nina is similar to a postpartum doula. She is non-judgmental of my parenting choices and seeks to help me discover my own style of parenting versus pushing a specific style. She supports me through making decisions by letting me process my feelings with her. Most importantly, she’s dependable—I know she will be there when I need her.
There’s so many variations of normal in pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting. Here at Lone Star Doulas we look forward to helping every type of family smoothly transition through every stage of life.
Contact us today to learn more about how our services can benefit your family.
