Toddler "Calm Down" Glitter Bottle

Isn't it pretty?

The tantrums that our toddler throws are real and very much alive. Cue this sensory "calm down" bottle I've seen popping up on the web and on pintrest. This magical bottle has been credited with helping kiddos calm down mid-tantrum simply by having them watch the pretty swirling glitter settle to the bottom. Cut to the part where this desperate momma thinks "this is the key to ending tantrums." Ha. I'm such a naive first-time mom.

Lucan does really like his glitter bottle and will shake it and play with it when he's happy. He's gladly showed it to several different visitors who have appropriately "ohhhed and ahhhed" over it. But when I tried to give it to him mid-tantrum, he promptly chucked the whole thing at my head. Not really the point of the "calm down" part. #realworldmom

But if you feel inclined to make one for your child to help them calm down mid-tantrum, far be it from me to stop you. Just don't expect miracles like I did. Foolish mommy.

The trickiest thing I encountered was finding the water bottle I wanted, which is a bottle of Artisan Voss Water, checking in at $1.47. The only place I could find it was in the health foods section of the Hy-Vee on Jordan Creek Parkway in DSM (for all you locals). Lance asked me what the bottle of fancy water in the fridge was for. I felt a little foolish telling him that I had bought it for the packaging and less about the contents. I had remembered a past co-worker ordering a bottle of Voss Water at a Christmas party in 2007 at Trostel's Dish, but I wanted to avoid going to a restaurant and ordering a bottle of water and walking out. Hy-Vee seemed like a better option. Turns out, Voss has started packaging their water in plastic bottles instead of the glass bottles I remembered. For my purposes, this probably is a plus rather than a minus. You can use any sort of container or water bottle or jar, but I wanted one that didn't scream "upcycled spaghetti jar."

The rest of the supply list include a bottle of Elmer's blue glitter glue ($2.99 at Target) and two vials of loose chunky glitter ($1 for both of them) found in the dollar section at Target. And hot water.

Step 1. Remove water from bottle and any gummy labels. 
Step 2. Using about 1/3 of your bottle of glitter glue, squirt into your bottle. (I've read to use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottle of glue. I used more like 2/3 of the bottle, which I probably shouldn't have. The more glue you use, the longer it will take for the glitter to settle to the bottom = antsy toddler)
Step 3. Add hot water (I just used hot tap water and ran it for a couple of minutes) and shake rapidly to incorporate with the glitter glue. Hot water makes it easier for everything to come together.
Step 4. Add in your chunky glitter to your liking.
Step 5. Fill the rest of the bottle with water.
Step 6. Shake vigorously and enjoy your falling glitter! 

I hope you feel calmer after making this. I brought it to work for all of my co-workers to play with and they are all planning on making ones for themselves. So even if it doesn't work for your toddler, it might help the adults in your life :) It's a partial pintrest win.