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10 dreamy peppermint DIYs youll want to keep all to yourself
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Youll be seeing red and white swirled peppermint all day, everyday. - photo by Emily Cummings
DIYs and peppermint are all the rage right now, so why not go all out?

I mean, you could live with putting a candy cane or two in your hot chocolate, but wouldnt the holidays be so much better if that red and white mint was found in your kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom?

With crafts this cute, you will want to test them all out (and quite possibly keep them all to yourself).

Monogrammed in mint

Hang up a cute monogram wreath bursting with Christmas spirit on your front door this month.or go one step further. Spell out the word JOY to put in your living room. You can also make darling ornaments to hang up, make a classic round wreath, or anything else you can think of.

Full tutorial for the monogram wreath here.

Scrub n salt

No need to spend money for a spa treatment with a jar of your own DIY salt scrub.

With just a couple of ingredients and a few minutes of your time, youve got a deliciously smelling scrub that pairs perfectly with a hot bath.

Feel free to mix up the oils you add in too; peppermint is great for the holidays, but grapefruit for the summertime or lavender for a relaxing scrub would also work perfectly.

Soak it all in

Soak in the holidays by tossing in a handful of peppermint bath salts. You could package the white and red salts into a little jar and tie it up with a ribbon for a neighbor or friend. You could also keep the whole batch to yourself.

Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup

You are going to want to eat everything you can think of out of this peppermint bowl. They are a cinch to make, and you will be able to whip up a set in no time.

Imagine the possibilities of having a set of peppermint bowls; youll be able to host the most fabulous ice cream party, or serve holiday candies in a bowl thats hard to beat.

The soft glow of the holidays

There is nothing like lighting a couple of candles to help you see the beautifully falling snow. You can amp up the holiday spirit even more with these easy to make peppermint candles.

If you are more into the hot-glue-gun kind of crafts, get the peppermint candle effect by gluing the little candles on the outside; both are sure to please.

Smooth and minty

You can kiss dry winter skin goodbye with a delightfully minty (and easy to DIY) shea lotion. Snag a couple of ingredients and a darling little jar to put it in and gift (some) away.

Like the bath salt scrubs, any other type of scent youd like to add in would work wonders, but the peppermint really brings in the holiday spirit.

Pass the peppermint

Rub a dub dub in a peppermint tub with homemade peppermint soap. Soap may seem a little daunting to make at home, but this recipe makes it so simple.

A swirl of red food coloring gives it a festive look, but its the peppermint oil that really makes it extra special if youd like to leave it out.

Minty shower melts

Melt any holiday stress with minty shower melts, easily made with just 3 ingredients; seriously. Corn starch, water, and a few drops of peppermint oil is all you need before steamy, minty, shower bliss.

Eucalyptus also works wonders if your holidays are feeling more like the cold and flu part of the year.

Peppermint play

You might think this peppermint play dough is meant for kids, but have you actually squished the soft and minty material in your grown up hands? You will want to double the recipe so you can have your own batch to play with while the kids are occupied with their batch. Find the instructions here.

Mint-tree" fresh

The snow falling outside creates beautiful winter wonderland, but that same magic is just as easily made with a forest of these peppermint trees. Find the full instructions on this website, but all you will really need is a glue gun, those cute round peppermints, and something to glue them on.

Hopefully, these 10 DIYs are just what you need to truly get your peppermint fix this holiday season.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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