Maira Salinas

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   Throughout this holiday break it's always fun playing around with our family and friends. Instead playing with your family online or on game consoles, playing outside will be very beneficial to their health and cognitive thinking skills.
    My cousins are all about activities outdoors, even the girls! We all are very competitive with each other and like to challenge each other from time to time. Some of our favorite games comes from sports and made up games we played as children. The games we created are something we will remember being children and pass them on to other family and friends. Our games are fun and appropriate for every occasion so here's some of my favorite games. 
       Game Plan:
  • Batty Bowling- Find a number of cans or odd items that can stand up straight. From used cans, bottles, and dolls can be used as bowling pins. Line them up and let the bowler knock them over with round ball (volleyball, basketball, or even golf balls to make it harder).
  • Blind Snake- Set up a number of sprinklers in the yard, in between the starting and finishing line. Have the kids run without getting wet. Have one person controlling the sprinklers, were they will be randomly turning it on or off. The winners will the the children who didn't get too wet and played for the longest. 
  • Drag the Body- This is a game for older children. Divide the group into two teams and give each team a blanket. Have one player from each team lie down on the blanket. The teams must drag the body on the blanket from one end of the yard to the other. Whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner.
  • Cross Step- Draw a ten by ten grid on the sidewalk or patio with chalk. Have each player stand on a different square. One at a time, each player must move to a new square after crossing out the square he or she was formerly standing in. The trick is that the players cannot move to the new square he or she is out. The last one hopping is the winner. 
  • Freeze Dance- This is a game for everyone. The more people the better! Have someone control the music and when the music stops, freeze because you might lose. The last one dancing will be awarded Freeze Dance Champion!

 

By Maira Salinas

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  Having the family over is already the first step to enjoy the holidays. In my family my relatives come either the day or hours before the celebration begins. It’s stressful enough to have family coming over but the bigger stress happens when you’re entertaining. The hours before eating what do you do? The older adults will be happily talking and gossiping about the latest stories of their lives, but the kids? Kids are full of energy and are bored quickly so coming up with some ideas to keep their adrenaline controlled is to come up with activities. Here are a couple of ways I like to entertain mine.

Chair hopping: It’s a game where you have two teams of five or more with the same amount of chairs. The teams will be parallel to each other with a wide space in between. The team goal is to be quicker at beating the other team in a race. The game starts with the person in the front getting up and running around their team, once they ran a lap, they find their seat and the next person in line will repeat the action. It’s better if you play this game with wide open spaces. Now with adult supervision, have music playing and start racing!

Coloring station: This is something fit for the smaller children. I can be beneficial for the parents as well to show them the different colors and patterns they can draw. I know in my family, it’s a tradition to have all the children younger than twelve to draw what they want for Christmas and put it in our large stocking. It can also be a fun memory to frame or keep as the children grow up. I know I always laugh when I see my old drawings. Sometimes the adults even make it a competition who can make the best Christmas tree or turkey for a chance to break the wishbone!

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  Activities and games are the best option to entertain the family while they’re waiting on the holiday feast. Whether if you play football, basketball, have fun with your family. It’s important to socialize with everyone including younger siblings. 

 

by Maira Salinas

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    Holiday Blues is a stress factor on everyone. Between the travel, money, and family complications how can someone not be stressed. The holidays are something on everyone’s mind, young or old, they know it’s important. Some people who are unfortunate of not having any friends or family suffer this time or year as well. There’s always a solution to every problem to face this holiday season.
     
     Traveling to see family is major stress factor especially when you’re on the different side of the country. Traveling to the east coast or west coast is a big decision to make. It not only deals with having the time to travel during the school break but the cost. A plane ticket can make a huge dent in your bank account for a one way trip, but a tip is to plan ahead. If you know by Halloween where you’ll be traveling, buy your ticket! The rate will be high but it’ll be cheaper than buying it a week or two before of the holiday. Another tip, if you have a chance, travel with a friend. The stress of seeing your family is already high but having a friend to talk to will make you be relaxed and less nervous. If you’re not able to travel to see your family, you can be productive on video chat with your family. Buy yourself a small turkey club or meal from your local grocery store so you can feel like you’re a part of the celebration through video conference call. Another solution for your traveling ease, can be meeting your friends’ family. If they live in your area or just traveling a couple miles away, can be a fun experience in college. 

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     The holidays are about enjoying the company of your friends and family so are presents important? I believe they are but to give the person what they need. Ipads, Iphones, and the latest game consoles are something I don’t consider essential for human survival. Those are all nice materialistic needs but they’re not as important as the thought of giving. You don’t have to feel pressured to buy someone something so expensive, just buy them something they will actually use. You give something special to one you love, you cherish what you receive, and you hope for a better future is my family’s motto. My grandma Tina will give me hand knitted sweaters as a present every year. I wear them with pride and enjoy being cozy outside. A tip of advice is to stay calm and shop to survive this holiday season. Another tip is to make wise choices and don’t get in debt. Black Friday is not the only day to get the best prices on things; you can save your money like me to get the New Year specials in many department stores. My experience during Black Friday was always horrible with having to stand in a line outside, being pushed around and waiting another two hours to pay. Take my advice to save your cash and glide through week day sales at the department stores because the stores will always be there.

    Yes the holidays are upon us but you don't need to stress it. The solution to enjoy the holidays and keep in contact with your family and friends. 

 

by Maira Salinas

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    In the state of boredom, what do you do? I personally go online to get inspired to be creative. I go to my favorite website Martha Stewart to get her daily recipes, crafts of the day, and so much more! Some of her ideas are inspired by people who go on her show and present them. It’s not only her imagination; she counts on other people to inspire her. It’s so simple to create something beautiful but essentially important to the growth of knowledge.
    I have to admit early on that I love food! I enjoy making everything from scratch to learning new recipes. Martha Stewart has an amazing idea to invite chefs onto her show and give her their recipes! I’ve watched so many tasty pastas, breakfast crepes, and thanksgiving turkey recipes that I’ve probably gained weight just watching her show because everything looks so scrumptious. The best part about these delicious recipes is that they’re online after her show. So not only do you get to see them making the food, you have the convenience making it for dinner.

    Once in the summer, I was babysitting my little three year old cousin Nadiezda and she wasn’t having a good day. I had the option to either paint her nails or bake cupcakes, yet this Nadiezda wanted hamburger cupcakes and that totally freaked me out because I’ve never seen that before. So I had to see if Martha Stewart had an idea about creating burger cupcakes. Not only did she have it on her website, she had a video and the recipe to enjoy making it. Nadiezda and I were so happy to make it together that she wants me to do it for her birthday every year.
    One of my favorite categories is about crafting; from scrapbooking to “Martha’s Top Craft Tips” it’s my place to go for creativity. I enjoy how there’s always a new ‘Do It Yourself’ project from making your last season purse to falls latest trend. For example, I tend to buy a lot of pretty earrings and I tend to lose a pair every six months so instead of throwing them away, I made a wooden frame with all my loose jewelry. It just came from one day watching her show and making a special gift for mother’s day. I learned to use a hammer, cascade paint on a frame, and spray lots of glitter for presents. I adore all the personal gift ideas and making crafts that are perfect to complement your any occasion.
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    I have to say other than enjoying how to get inspiration from cooking to crafting, I like to entertain my family and friends when it comes to the holidays. Martha Stewart has this crazy idea to make an “Eye Popping Soup”. Don’t be scared of this soup because it’s just tomato soup and mozzarella balls stuffed with olives. It’s a great idea to serve at a Halloween party or just on Halloween night with the family. Other than entertaining the guest with scary food, you can try decorating. This entertainment tab also has options for invitations, baby shower ideas, and more.
    Martha Stewart online and talk show is a useful source to get ideas and share creativity. I find it to be my favorite website that has everything I need to have a fun night in with my family to making my jewelry to a special gift. It’s a fun website that many children will enjoy and be motivated to learn new ideas. It helps children understand that there are endless possibilities to express themselves through cooking to making an artwork.