Gingerbread houses are adorable! And you can’t deny that they smell exactly how the holiday season is supposed to smell. *sniff sniff*

Ever since my daughter was 3 years old, we’ve made a tradition of throwing intimate gingerbread house building afternoons tea parties for friends and family at home. It’s an afternoon of delicious food, holiday music, drinks, dancing and a lot of fun and sticky, frosting-covered fingers. And if you combine all those ingredients together, the perfect holiday activity is making a gingerbread house together! Here’s where you can go to buy yourself some authentic gingerbread houses as well as some less authentic (but still delicious) ones.

Pro Tip: Top up on extra candy at the supermarket. Most kits come with the bare minimum of decorative candies. Also, get yourself a disposable plastic wrap for your table. It’s a lot easier tossing the whole thing out than scrubbing off frosting that dried and caked on your table.

IKEA makes its own DIY kit every holiday season. You can pick them up at the store or order them online. They tend to be a bit thin and minimalistic – just like every piece of furniture in their store. If this is the kit you end up choosing, be sure to stock up on some more decorative candy from the market.

You can find plenty of DIY gingerbread houses on Taobao. The one I’ve been ordering for years is from Le Le. Their cookies are hand crafted and thick so they travel pretty well. They send enough frosting with every house, and two years ago, when we received an order with a cracked cookie, I sent them a photo and they immediately replaced my entire kit for free.

Pro Tip: If you want to draw detailed patters on the walls, do them before you put your house together.

If you’re super crafty, you can make your own cookies from scratch, and if you want to go even more extra, you can do it in chocolate! Now, I’m no chocolatier, but if you’ve got the skills, a set of silicone gingerbread molds could be just what you’re looking for.

Images: Mina Yan

We all know Taobao is a treasure trove. You can find anything from a vintage-style dress to a year’s supply of spicy noodles or a life-sized animatronic dinosaur (really). But sometimes, you stumble across something that isn’t just a product but an experience. Our latest purchase fell squarely into that category: a box of six butterfly cocoons.

Yes, you read that right. Amid the countless listings for clothes, gadgets and home goods, there exists a niche world of nature vendors selling the promise of metamorphosis. On a whim, and in a bid for a unique activity, I clicked “buy now.” A few days later, a small, carefully packaged box arrived, holding what looked like six little dried-up pistachios.

What followed was one of the most fascinating at-home, play-based learning experiences we’ve ever had. The first step was a family project: building a habitat. The kit came with the tools we needed to build a case and sticks to build a place to safely house our new cocoons.

Then came the waiting and the caring. The anticipation was a lesson in patience all on its own. And then, one day, it happened. One night, after dinner, while no one was paying any attention to them, one butterfly emerged. We watched, utterly mesmerized, as it patiently pumped fluid into its wings, transforming them from wrinkled paper into vibrant, sturdy sails.

The real magic, however, wasn’t just in the hatching. It was in the questions.

“Why are they so wobbly when they come out?”
“How do they know how to be a butterfly inside the cocoon?”
“Where did they get their beautiful colors?”
“How often do they eat?”
“Are they attacking each other?”
“Do they remember being a caterpillar?”
“Is that butterfly poop?”

I’ll admit, I was stumped. My daughter’s curiosity went far beyond my basic elementary school knowledge of the butterfly life cycle. Together, we dove into research. I was learning right alongside her, fascinated by the complex biology I’d never stopped to consider. She wasn’t just memorizing facts; she was engaging in genuine scientific inquiry, driven by a direct, emotional connection to the creatures in our makeshift habitat.

The next day, the rest of the group emerged, and we brought the habitat to her school to share the magic with her class. Then, as we had already discussed, we set the butterflies free so that they could live out their butterfly lives in the wild. We watched as they took off, a little unsteady at first, and then soared on the breeze. It was a powerful, quiet moment of letting go and celebrating the cycle of life.

Taobao is famous for its strange and wonderful items, from the practical to the bizarre. But sometimes, the strangest purchase can lead to the most normal, and most profound, of human experiences: a parent and a child, huddled together, sharing a sense of wonder at the natural world.

Click on the link below to get yourself a kit. Enjoy the wonders!

Images: Mina Yan

Father’s Day is just around the corner, and what better way to show Dad how much you care than by creating something special together? If you’re looking for places to take Dad this weekend, check out our list of Father’s Day brunch recommendations.

To make your celebration extra special, download this Zip file packed with adorable, easy-to-make Father’s Day crafts that you and your kids can do at home!

 [Download Your Free Father’s Day Craft Zip File Here!]

Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to make Dad’s day unforgettable. Whether it’s a silly homemade card or a keepsake he’ll treasure forever, these crafts are sure to put a smile on his face.

Images: Freepik

Easter is just around the corner, and it’s that special time of the year filled with joy, hope, and the arrival of spring. As parents, you’re likely looking for wonderful ways to engage your young kids in the Easter spirit right at home. The good news is, there’s a treasure trove of free printable Easter-themed activities available online that can make this Easter both fun and memorable for your little ones.

Check out a few of these FREE printable activities you can download – courtesy of Baker Ross and Crayola.

Coloring Pages

• Easter Eggs
• Hot Cross buns
• More Easter eggs
• Easter Bunny

Connect the Dots

• Easter Bunny
• Easter Egg

Maze

• Bunny’s Baskets

Word Search

• Bun-believable Word Search
• Baby Animals 

Crafts

• Build Your Own Bunny
• Selfie Props

Don’t miss out on your chance to win a FREE family Easter brunch at Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center on Apr 20, valued at RMB 888! Click here to find out how to enter.

And if you’re looking for more great Easter activities in Beijing, be sure to check out our list of family-friendly Easter activities below:

Images: jingkids, Pexels

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up later this month on Sept 17. It’s a time of joy, family reunions, and rich cultural traditions but for many expat families, the only thing that comes to mind about Mid-Autumn Festival is mooncakes. But there’s so much more to the holiday. Let’s take the time to create some fun family bonding time at home with the kids while teaching them all about one of China’s most popular holidays.

Let’s start with the obvious – making mooncakes together. Gather the ingredients and let the kids help measure and mix. They can roll out the dough and fill the mooncakes with their favorite fillings. This not only teaches them about the traditional food of the festival but also allows for some creative fun. Making mooncakes is actually a lot easier than you’d think. Check out our previous article on a delicious Ferrero Rocher mooncake that they’re sure to love.

Then tell them the story behind the holiday. Share tales of Chang’e flying to the moon, the Jade Rabbit, and Wu Gang chopping the laurel tree. Kids will be fascinated by these ancient stories, which helps them connect with the festival’s cultural significance.

Then it’s time for some crafts. Chinese New Year isn’t the only holiday where lanterns make an appearance. Mid-Autumn Festival needs them too. You can buy simple paper lanterns and let the kids color and decorate them. Hang them around the house or take them for a walk in the evening. This adds to the festive atmosphere and gives the kids a sense of participation. There are plenty of options for DIY kits online. Check out our picks:

Have fun creating memories with your kids and teaching them that there’s more to the Mid-Autumn Festival than mooncakes! Do you have other creative ideas about the holiday? Let us know in the comment section.

Images: Taobao, Pexels

Remember the last time the Olympics was held in Tokyo in 2021 and the cardboard beds that the athletes were given to sleep on made headlines all around the world? As a crafty mom who’s constantly building stuff at home with her kid, I do! So this time when the 2024 Olympics in Paris came around and athletes started posting about the return of the cardboard bed, it got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be a fun way to get my almost-4-year-old hyped up about the Olympics if we built something like that at home?

Now, before you start saving up kuaidi boxes, there’s a super easy option out there on Taobao, China’s wonderful online shopping platform where you can essentially find everything you could possibly think of and more.

Now, this isn’t the exact design by Airweave that the Olympians are using, but it’s sturdy and easy enough to build at home and will withstand the weight of a child without problems. This company offers multiple options for cardboard beds, and, although we’ve yet to attempt building a bed, we have done several castles and cars at home before. And from experience, these are surprisingly easy to assemble and paint. It’s definitely a half-an-afternoon project and not an all-weekend project.

If beds are a bit large for your apartment, there are plenty of other cardboard designs as well. The more functional ones that can actually be incorporated into your kids’ play areas range from tables to chairs. They’re fantastic for letting your little ones go wild and express their artistic side by decorating them. Who knows, you could have a future furniture designer on your hands.

Then there are the cardboard playsets that are more commonly found on Taobao. We purchased our first one after a failed DIY attempt at making a pirate ship from all those kuaidi boxes I had saved up…

Back then, my daughter was obsessed with Marshall from Paw Patrol, so building a custom Paw Patrol fire engine together was such amazing fun.

Pro tip: If you want to make your cardboard creation a bit more durable, reinforce all insert slots with a hot glue gun.

Images: Taobao, Mina Yan

Gingerbread houses are adorable! And you can’t deny that they smell exactly how the holiday season is supposed to smell. *sniff sniff*

I have a 3-year-old little girl at home who loves arts and crafts, cookies, and singing Christmas songs. And if you combine all those ingredients together, the perfect holiday activity is making a gingerbread house together! Here’s where you can go to buy yourself some authentic gingerbread houses as well as some less authentic (but still delicious) ones.

Pro Tip: Top up on extra candy at the supermarket. Most kits come with the bare minimum of decorative candies.

IKEA

When it comes to Christmas, IKEA gets pretty festive, carrying everything from decorations to trees. Their food section even has gingerbread house kits available. The VINTERSAGA Gingerbread House kit is affordable and conveniently packaged with everything you’d need. All the parts you need for this minimalistic house come in the box and you take it home to build yourself. IKEA couldn’t be a more perfect place for DIY gingerbread houses.

Find it:
1 Taiyanggong Lu, Dongbahe (northwest corner of Siyuan Qiao), Chaoyang District
朝阳区东坝河太阳宫路1号（四元桥西北角）
Open: Daily from 10am-10pm
Tel: 800 810 5679

No-Brand Gingerbread House Kit

I got a few sets of this kit for a gingerbread house-making party upon the recommendation of another parent. Unlike with the IKEA kits, the gingerbread components in these kits are handmade at this Taobao store’s bakery. The kits arrived at my door within two days. Upon opening my first box, however, I was so upset! One of the gingerbread walls had cracked and some decoration pieces had cracked as well. It wasn’t too big a deal, though, as I sent a quick message to the seller with a photo of the issues and a request to replace my broken pieces and they immediately responded to my request with a brand-new DIY box sent out the very next day. Kudos to their customer service!

The Budget Gingerbread House Kit

If you’ve got a bunch of kids coming over and aren’t looking to blow half your paycheck on kits, then this one is a good option. From their small 6cm kit for RMB 20 to their fanciest 10cm kit that comes with extra colored icing and LED lights for RMB 56, this Taobao shop has got some of the cheapest quality kits online.

The Peninsula Beijing

Finally, there’s the crème de la crème of gingerbread creations in Beijing. The last of this year’s Christmas Santa meet and greet events at the The Peninsula Beijing, on Dec 25, will feature a gingerbread house as the children’s craft. From 3pm to 5pm the kids will get to make a gourmet gingerbread Christmas tree with the hotel’s pastry team, listen to stories read by Santa, watch a cool performance, and take iconic holiday photos with the big man and his elves.

Find it:
8 Jinyu Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区金鱼胡同8号
Tel: 8516 2888

Got other recommendations for where to get gingerbread house kits? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: Mina Yan, IKEA

This year, for Halloween, my little girl gets to have her first Halloween party at home where she gets to invite a number of her classmates to come over for a little toddler-friendly spooky night of fun. And where her Halloween-obsessed mom gets to have a dose of spook on her favorite holiday…

So, without risking scarring toddlers for years to come, we’re going to have some simple crafts that are suitable for three-year-olds, a few fun games to play, and a toddler-friendly Halloween-themed movie and snacks.

Here’s what we’ve planned and where you can get the supplies.

Paper Plate Jack-o’-Lantern

Virtually self-explanatory. All you need are a white plate, orange paint, glue, and pre-cut black shapes for the eyes and mouth.

How did jack-o’-lanterns become a part of Halloween traditions? Halloween originated from an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the Devil twice. The Devil then promised to leave him alone and not claim his soul when he died.

But after he died, God didn’t allow him into Heaven and the Devil didn’t let him into Hell, either so he was doomed to wander the nights on Earth with a carved-out turnip willed with burning coal to light his way. Wait, turnip? Yup! The first jack-o’-lanterns were made with turnips instead of pumpkins. It wasn’t until immigrants arrived in America that the tradition turned to involve orange pumpkins native to North America instead of turnips.

Shooting Ghost Cup 

This one will be fun for the kids to play with afterward and is pretty easy to make. What you’ll need are small paper cups, a marker, tape, balloons, and fuzzy balls (or whatever else you want to shoot).

Cut a hole in the bottom of the cup. Cut your balloon in half and tape the bottom half of the balloon onto the bottom of the cup. Voila! You’ve just created your projectile launcher! Then proceed to decorate your ghost and see who can shoot their fuzzy balls the farthest!

Dry Ice Pumpkin Patch

This one is by far the easiest but also a favorite among toddlers. If you’ve got real pumpkins, carving a jack-o-lantern is cooler. If you don’t, an orange paper cup will do just fine. Cut out shapes for the eyes and mouth then add in some dry ice cubes inside. Then give each kid a little cup of water for them to pour in themselves. That’s it!

Images: Taobao, Pexels, Pinterest, Little Red Book

We’re on a long trip visiting my extended family for a month, and for RMB 22.8 I bought my daughter hours of creative crafting fun and myself hours of peace and quiet.

It all started when a crafting supply box got pushed onto my Pinduoduo feed. For those who still don’t know what Pinduoduo is, think of it as an even cheaper version of Taobao. You can get virtually anything on it for a super low price.

Pro Tip: While I’m sure there are plenty of trusty merchants on Pinduoduo, the general consensus is that you should only buy basic stuff on this platform and not foods, skincare, or expensive things, since the quality can sometimes be a bit dogy.

The art boxes come in sets designed for kids in different age groups. They’ve got essentially everything you’d need in them already, and each craft is individually packaged, which makes picking and choosing which one to work on so much easier. You’d still need to have your own markers if you want to color, and your own scissors to cut things, but stuff like double-sided tape, glue, and all the supplies and directions you’d need are in the box.

It’s perfect for when you’re on a long holiday and away from your plethora of arts and crafts supplies at home.

For RMB 22.8 I got a box of 16 different arts and crafts items, all perfect for my almost 3-year-old toddler to entertain herself with.

Each craft comes with instructions (but really, they’re so simple you don’t even need them). From gluing fluffy balls onto a unicorn to decorating a blue whale with glittery stickers, this box of arts and crafts has kept my toddler occupied all by herself for hours while I’ve gotten to enjoy some quiet time close by.

To purchase the kit, download the Pinduoduo app and put the photo of the product into the search function. Or scan the QR code below to buy the exact same product for RMB 35.9 on Taobao.

Images: Mina Yan