Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in conjunction with Hewlett Packard for their new product Sprout by HP. I received compensation for participating in this campaign.

One of the best parts about this time of year are all the fun ways your family can decorate the house. We love to be creative so we wanted to find a way that the whole family could be involved in decorating. With three young children, this is not always easy.

Thankfully we found a new app on our HP Sprout that helped us create decorations and also work together as a family. The app is called Origami Apprentice. I have never been one who understands how to fold origami objects. As a kid I desperately tried to figure it out, but I eventually gave up because it was too hard to remember. I eventually focused on paper airplanes. However, after a little time with Origami Apprentice I had memorized how to make these origami "balloons" and turn them into hanging Jack-o'-Lanterns.

Once I had the folding down, I showed my five-year-old-son who then worked with my nine-year-old daughter on it. The app uses the Sprout's dual screen technology to show you exactly how to fold each object, and what size and shape the paper should be at each step. It is ridiculously simple how easy the app makes this project.

Here's how we made these origami Jack-o'-Lantern banners. You will need orange paper, string,

Learn to Make The Nightmare Before Christmas Lunch

One of my family's favorite Halloween/Christmas traditions is to watch Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas together. It's a classic and my kids are always begging to watch it around this time of year. I have made a few of these lunches before but for some reason I missed it last year. I couldn't make the same mistake this year. I know my kids will come home excited about this one. It was actually pretty easy to make. 

I created it in a Planetbox lunch box. I used a few more treats than normal, but it's this is a special lunch and the last one before Halloween. I also threw in a couple ghost chips and

Back to the Future Hoverboard Lunch

Back to the Future Day is finally here! It's October 21, 2015 the day Doc and Marty use the Delorean time machine to travel to the future...which is today. It is obvious science has failed us because we have no flying cars, hover boards, or power laces. However just because science has some work to do doesn't mean we can't celebrate. We just watched Back to the Future with the kids for the first time and they loved it. It really took me back to when I was a kid. Man I want a working hoverboard.

Oh well, at least my kids will have this hoverboard! Of course I also had to throw in some

Our Back to the Future DeLorean Stroller Project

Happy Back to the Future Day everyone! It is October 21st, 2015 today. I have been waiting for this day since I was a kid. It is finally the exact date that Marty McFly, Jennifer, and Doc Brown traveled to the future in the movie Back to the Future II. I thought it would be a great chance to celebrate building a time traveling DeLorean Stroller. I started planning this DeLorean project a few months ago. I saw another dad create one out of a ride on toy a few years ago so I thought, "Why not a stroller?" 

Obviously we are huge Back to the Future fans in my family. My wife and I actually decided 
to use this in our family Halloween costumes as well. You will have to wait to see those, however. I hope to have video up around that time to show you some of the best features of the project. Until then, scroll down to see inside my DeLorean stroller project and also see

Learn to Make a Rocket Lunch That Really Blasts Off!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in conjunction with Hewlett Packard for their Sprout by HP machine. I received compensation for participating in this campaign but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

This lunch is all about the fun that you can have together as a family. This past weekend I gathered my two oldest kids (9 and 5 years old) and we spent about an hour putting together this lunch and video. You heard me right. It only took about an hour from start to finish. We decided what to use, cut the food up, and created and edited the video on our HP Sprout with the Stop Motion app. The last stop motion video I made took a bit longer but I was learning the ins and outs of the program. Now that I know how to use it, the second time was seriously easy and fun to involve the whole family.

We just set the food on the mat, used the Sprout camera and Stop Motion app to take shots, and it automatically put the photos together into a project. After that, I removed the plate and

Learn to Make a Scary Mummy Halloween Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post partnering with Smarty Pants Vitamins. I received compensation but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

Forget relentless zombies and brooding vampires; mummies might be the scariest thing about Halloween. Well, werewolves are pretty creepy too, but a mummy sandwich is much easier to make. Plus there are less fleas. Anyway my kids loved this one. I even used Smarty Pants Vitamins for the mummy's eyes instead of fruit snacks. Continue reading below to find out how I made it!

5 Halloween Shows to Stream As a Family

It's almost Halloween which means all not only will you have to deal with the race to buy costumes, and candy fueled meltdowns, and that is just from other adults. That's not all, however, you also have to sift through the flood of Halloween themed TV shows and movies that will hit your television. Many of these will be extremely stupid, inappropriate, or way too scary. I'm here to filter out the tricks so you can watch the real treats with your family.

Also, I know that with parenting you sometimes need to plan a family movie night on the fly, so all of these can easily be streamed on Netflix. Have fun this Halloween and between the parties and parades make sure to spend some quality time with your kids!

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
This is a classic and one of our family's favorite movies. The genius is that is can be watched anytime from Halloween to Christmas. Ok, let's be honest this movie is great anytime of year.

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
I know, I know, Alvin and the gang's voices are like fingernails on a chalkboard but the kids love this fun and it isn't too scary so it's great for younger kids as well.

Learn to Make a Halloween Bat Lunch

It's almost Halloween which means it's time to break out the scary stuff to make your kids' lunches fun. This is actually my favorite time of year to make bento lunches for my kids. You can find so much great stuff to put in the box that makes packing it easy. Of course, my kids are already asking to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas so I would bet there's a new lunch coming soon. In the meantime this is a quick and easy lunch to make. Send your child to school with the best looking Halloween lunch in their class!

It consists of a bat sandwich with dark wheat bread, cheese, and turkey. To make the bat I

This is One of the Coolest Things We've Ever Been a Part of!

I want to tell you about one of the most amazing projects I have ever been able to be a part of since I have started blogging. When I began my blog, I never thought I would be able to participate in something like this. I have always wanted Lunchboxdad.com to be about ideas, tips, and articles that helped parents all over the world. I never dreamed that I would be able to practically help families right where I live. However, that is exactly what Pampers helped me to do.

I have been part of the Pampers Parent Board for awhile. It is not a paid position but I get to test out new products, meet great people, and play a part in making families' lives better. This last part is where I was given the opportunity to take part in the #BetterForBaby grant. Basically Pampers gave me a $2500 gift card and said spend this on families in a way that will make their lives better. Watch the video below to see how we gave away all the money to deserving families!

How did we find the families? I talked to some friends and found two families that are working hard to make it in one of the most expensive areas of the United States. They also

Learn to Make a Spider-Man Yogurt Parfait Lunch

This lunch is so fun and easy it's ridiculous. If your kids are like mine they are crazy about anything superhero themed and especially Spider-Man. If my son and I are wrestling around, or playing with his action figures, it's only a matter of time before he pretends he's the webslinger. I thought this would be the perfect lunch for him since he is in Kindergarten and doesn't eat a large amount of food.

I created this lunch with a layer of granola beneath the berries so that the yogurt, granola,