 Hello, dear readers!
We're really excited, because it's time for our annual Jólabókaflóð book exchange event! Here at Busy Nest News, we love books and reading. We've always been enchanted by the Icelandic tradition of gifting books throughout the winter holidays. Last year we decided to join in and host a book exchange. It was new, it was scary (what if no one did it??), it was fun, it was international! In short: it was a success, so we've decided to do it again.
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By Ariel Still riding the patriotic high that is Independence day? Me too! Wrap up a month of celebrating America with this patriotic gem. This post contains affiliate links. By using them you help keep Busy Nest News up and running. Thank you for your continued support. Wow! America! by Robert Neubecker  I have a silent, humble pride in the country that I call home, America. You won’t see a flag flying off the back of my pick-up truck. I don’t own any flag print apparel. But I will use the entire month of July to celebrate the things that make this country unique. To be fair, I would read Wow! America! by Robert Neubecker at any point during the year, but it feels appropriate to share this little gem with you now.
By Ariel & co Do the fathers in your life enjoy having the right tool to complete the task? Do they live a rugged lifestyle that demands durability and practicality? Are they Tacti-cool? If so these items will wow them this father day. This post contains affiliate links. By using them you help keep Busy Nest News up and running. Thanks so much for your continued support!  When it comes to purchasing the perfect gift for fathers day it helps to envisions how he wants to feel using it. Does he want to feel prepared? Does he want to feel capable? Does he want to feel tactical? The tactical father is calm, cool and collected because he knows he has the right tool for the job. The tactical dad is one step ahead at all times. These great gifts will do the trick. Each item was meticulously researched by my husband. Most of these we own and use on a monthly, weekly - if not - daily basis. Read on for his tacti-cool picks!
Just a heads up to our readers, this list contains sharp pointy objects - axes, knifes and one extremely intimidating pen. Please use caution and common sense when using these tools. When treated with respect they can enhance our quality of life. When used improperly they can do considerable damage. By Brianna In which Brianna reviews yet another book great for Valentine's Day. Or for teaching children about love and empathy generally. This article contains affiliate links, so you can help support Busy Nest News with your purchase of this and other great books. Thanks! Plant a Kiss, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter H. ReynoldsI can’t let February slip by without one more sweet book about love. This one is Plant a Kiss, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. “It goes like this. Little Miss planted a kiss.” Those are the words on the first three pages. Rosenthal and Reynolds have interpreted this action in the most literal sense. The illustrations depict a girl literally planting a kiss in the ground. In the following pages she nurtures the kiss with love, water, and sunshine- just like a plant! At last her kiss grows into a glowing, sparkling vine, which kids from all around come to wonder at. Against their advice, she chooses to share her twinkling harvest with people everywhere, and learns that sharing love only produces more.  By Brianna Or "Brianna loves the Love Monster and everything that goes with it!" Read why this series is a favorite, and meet the not-at-all scary monster that will steal your heart, too. This post contains affiliate links. If you use one of these links to buy the products mentioned, we get paid, and that helps keep Busy Nest News going. Thanks! Love Monster, by Rachel BrightSome books manage to be sweet, adorable, silly, and profound, all at once. It’s a lot to ask of 32 pages, but when you find a book like that, you find that you cherish it and want to share it with the world.  By Ariel In which Ariel makes a confession and then proceeds to make sure you never forget it. Hint: She really likes Christmas music. This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the featured products using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks! The Twelve Days of Christmas So I have a confession to make. I unashamedly love Christmas music. I have been known to put it on during the “off season” as a means of cheering up a particularly dismal day. So when Bean fell in love with Elmo’s Twelve Days of Christmas last year I did not complain when she continued to pull it out all year long. I gladly sang it in the spring, in the summer and the fall. Anxiously anticipating when it would again be relevant! Now that I have the whole dang thing memorized, it’s relevant again! In tribute to Bean’s all-time favorite book – yes all two glorious years of her life – I compiled a review of our favorite renditions of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Some are silly. Some are beautiful. One has monsters! But all are fun to sing. Come sing along with us!  By Brianna This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the featured products using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks! Melissa & Doug Magnetic Dress-Up Sets, and more By Ariel This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the featured products using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks! Ariel & Bean's Chanukah Favorites Are you guys ready for the holidays? If you aren’t - like me - you better get your butt in gear, because Chanukah starts next week! We spent the last week perusing our stacks and picking out our Chanukah favorites. While we may celebrate Christmas predominantly, my brother-in-law is Jewish so we incorporate both holidays into our holiday festivities. Now Bean and I have woefully different criteria for what makes a great book at the moment. This will be evident from our choices. Hers? Have to either have an animal in them or be sung aloud. Mine? I am a sucker for a clever story or beautiful illustrations. Below are our favorite Chanukah books this year. Let's check them out!  By Ariel Celebrating Overseas For those of you that don’t know, I spent the last three years living in South Korea. Do I miss it? Absolutely. But am I glad to be home? Yes, especially now that the holiday season approaches. It is hard enough to be separated from your loved ones during the holidays. That feeling only got worse for me without the comforts of my culture to fall back on. Having weathered a few holiday seasons abroad, I can confidently say it got easier each time. So whether you are relocating for work or following a spouse abroad - like I did - this post is for you - the reluctant, the reticent, the excited, the ecstatic, the nervous, the ambivalent. I was all of those things - usually within the same hour. Simply moving across the country can feel just as overwhelming! Stick around these tips are applicable to anyone living outside their comfort zone this holiday season - the expats and the out of staters - we’re all in this together. Yes, I did just quote High School Musical. I learned how to make the most of my situation and – dare I say – embrace it for what it was. You can too.  Hiking in Seoraksan National Park, Republic of South Korea By Brianna This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the featured products using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks! Proven Picks for the Littles on Your ListWhen shopping for the holidays, simply walking into a store and hoping to find good ideas for the little in your life can get overwhelming fast! There are so many toys available in early winter, and the malls and stores are packed with people. Likewise, shopping online can get a bit harried, too. You’re being inundated with ads everywhere from your inbox, to your social media account. You can certainly pick the most adorable clothes or toys you come across, but you might be disappointed by how little they get used after the wrapping paper has been discarded. As you're shopping for presents this year, don’t be afraid of getting toys or books that are a little bit of a reach for your favorite littles. Rather than watch our kids play with everything until January, and then never touch any of it again, we opt for things that we can watch them grow into throughout the year, and hopefully enjoy for another year or two to come. This is a list of toys and products you can expect to put some miles on. Everything is at least useful, and hopefully beautiful as well. Let’s take a look.  |
AuthorsAriel and Brianna are friends who met while working in a library. Now they collaborate to develop life-enhancing book club experiences. Archives
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