It’s been a busy year around The Many Little Joys. Here’s a recap of the most popular, favorite posts from 2016. Take a peek and find something to enjoy!Happy New Year’s Eve! Are you off to a party, or are you celebrating at home at 9:00 and calling it good?

Sleep is probably going to win out for me, and I’m not likely to see the stroke of midnight. It’s not like the kids are going to sleep in for the holiday, right? Somebody’s gotta get up and make breakfast in the morning. I’m okay with that, though.

This week, I’ve been reflecting on the past year and setting some super-doable goals for 2017. The process has gotten me all nostalgic, and I started looking at the stats on my blog out of curiosity. I’ve written 128 posts this year (whoa!), and this little blog has gone from a handful of view a day to hundreds, which makes me happy. Thanks to all of you who come back time and again to see what little joys we’re experiencing around here. I hope you’re finding something to help bring a little more joy to your own families as well.

In honor of all that nostalgia, here are my top 10 most popular posts for 2016. Hopefully you’ll find something to enjoy as you ring in the new year.

Top posts from 2016

#1 – Silly Songs Your Preschooler Will Love (and you won’t hate)

It still boggles my mind that this post is BY FAR my most popular. It’s one I wrote last-minute when I didn’t have time to write another post I had planned. It’s a round-up of 8 YouTube videos that my kids and I love. Apparently, I’m not the only mom looking for a quick and easy way to teach, occupy, and laugh with my kiddos in the late afternoon. They really are great songs, though. I even followed it up several months later with a similar Halloween songs post.

#2 – Alphabet Kaboom! (A simply brilliant preschool game)

In motherhood, I’m SLOWLY learning that simple is often best. My boys love this easy popsicle stick “Kaboom!” preschool game I adapted from one I found online. It’s so simple, costs almost nothing to make, and it can be changed up to learn practically anything.

#3 – The Best Campfire Dessert EVER: Campfire Eclairs

I was so happy that so many of you loved and shared this post. It’s my favorite camping recipe from my childhood, and it makes me so happy that other people’s families will be able to make it a tradition now, too. They are fun to make and are guaranteed to be a highlight of your next camping trip (even if that won’t be for six months). Who knew you could be so elegant when camping, right?

#4 – Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet Board Game

I created this game on a whim for my board-game obsessed three-year-old one day last winter. It was simple to create, and he LOVED it. We tweaked the rules a little as we played to get it just right, but now it’s a great extension activity to go along with the beloved book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

#5 – Travel Felt Board: “Under the Sea” Play Set

I found a fun idea on Pinterest ages ago for a travel felt board, but when I finally got around to wanting to make it, I couldn’t find the Etsy post anymore. I made it from memory and created a few felt play sets to go with it. My boys have LOVED playing with these while traveling, at restaurants, and at church. Those are the only times we pull it out, so it remains a “special” toy for them. This fun “Under the Sea” play set is the third set of the four I’ve created so far (stay tuned for more of these this year!), and it’s definitely the most popular.

#6 – How to beat a bad mood and get back to being a happy mom

We all have bad days as mom, right. The days when the baby was up all night, or days you just can’t handle your toddler throwing one more tantrum or you might just pound the floor with him. This post is an ode to moms everywhere who are just feeling a little grumpy today, with my top tips for how to beat a bad mood & get back to being the happy mom you want to be.

#7 – Travel felt board set: one-hour tutorial + free printable templates!

This is my original travel felt board tutorial along with printable templates for the first two play sets. Less than one hour to make and under five dollars…you can’t beat that!

#8 – The Best Nest: A Literacy and STEM Preschool Lesson

If you stick around this blog long, you are going to find a post about a book. I love taking books that we already love and making them more meaningful to my kids by connecting them to the real world. And that’s exactly what I did with this lesson. We read the book The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman and created a fun STEM activity to go with it. Hooray for mommy school!

#9 – Kid sized food: mini blueberry muffins…healthified

I did a whole series on the blog of kid-sized food…recipes that are perfectly suited for little hands and mouths. For whatever reason, these tasty little muffins became the most popular. Maybe because they are absolutely delicious! I still make them regularly. The best part: they have lots of healthy things in them, like ground flaxseed (full of Omega-3, lignans, and fiber), coconut oil, and blueberries. Hooray for a snack I feel good about feeding my boys! Try them out and let me know what you think!

#10 – 5 reasons that having a daily routine keeps me sane (mostly)

This was one of the first posts I wrote on this blog. It stayed hidden for a long time, lost in the depths of the archives from when only a handful of people saw anything I wrote. But, as sometimes happens, it gained traction on Pinterest a few months ago and it’s been growing ever since. I love it because it’s a super practical post. I mean, how often have you wondered how you’re going to get through the day with toddlers? Clearly I’m not the only mom who was looking for a workable routine for life with young kids. The above image is the one that has gotten pinned over and over.

And there you have it folks: the best of The Many Little Joys for 2016! I’m looking forward to creating some more great content in the next year to help all of us keep up with life, enjoy the little moments of motherhood, and always be learning something new.

On that note, I’d love to hear what you would like to see more of here on the blog. What do you find yourself googling in the wee hours of the morning as you try to navigate motherhood? What problems can we learn to solve together? Do you want to see more recipes? More kid crafts? Book recommendations? Something else?

Let me know in the comments below.

What can I help you with in 2017?