Homemade Gifts Your Kids Can Make To Give As Christmas Presents
The spirit of Christmas and the act of giving from the heart are valuable lessons to teach children during the holiday season. If kids make gifts to give to family, friends, and teachers, they not only learn those lessons, but others as well. Creating handmade gifts teaches children how to organize before the project begins; how the process of working hard creates a wonderful finished project; and most importantly, it enhances their ability to understand the joy that comes from giving something of one's self to others. And of course, the entire process is one that is fun for the whole family to participate in!
Here are a few easy ideas that are inexpensive and fun to make. You can pick up all the materials you need from your local crafts store, or by ordering from one of the excellent craft stores on the internet. My personal favorite is Joann.com.
1. Let your child create a work of art for a friend's bedroom wall by selecting one of the many velvet art poster kits that are available. These kits are really inexpensive, usually less than $5, and they make creating a wall poster easy and fun for your child! (You may have to buy one just for your kid to make for his or her own wall too though, because they'll definitely want one)!
The great thing about these velvet posters is that they are fun and easy for the kids. The colors (non-toxic markers) stay within the lines, and the entire process is basically mistake-proof. They come in lots of different themes, perfect for any child on your kid's gift list. From butterflies to dinosaurs and even cartoon favorites such as Dora the Explorer, there's a velvet poster kit just right for every kid's wall.
Great Gift for: Your kid's school friends
Perfect for Your Kid to Make at Ages: 4+
Price: Usually less than $5
Fun Factor: 5 stars
Difficulty Level: Super Easy
2. An easy gift to make for anyone, young or old, male or female, is a fleece scarf. The quickest, easiest method is to simply help your young one cut long strips of fleece material into just the right lengths for a warm, snuggly scarf, and then snip each end of the scarf into little fringes. These super-simple scarves might be best for giving to boy buddies, Dad or Grandpa, especially if you choose rugged, manly fleece designs.
If you want your child to have a little more fun, and be a little more creative, you can buy Knot-A-Scarf kits that come with enough material for two scarves, plus lots of decorative items to make them extra special. These types of knotted scarves don't require any knitting or sewing, but the kids get to be "craftsy" by tying knots, and then adorning them with decorative flowers, etc. These scarves are probably best for your kids' female recipients; school girl friends, Mom, or Grandma.
Great Gift for: Anyone, any age
Perfect for Your Kid to Make at Ages: 6+
Price: Usually from $3-$8 each
Fun Factor: 3-4 stars
Difficulty Level: Super Easy - Moderately Easy
3. Young girls love "best friend wristbands". The easiest and most fun way to make these BFF bands is to get a kit. The average price of a kit is $15, but it includes everything needed to make 10 wristbands, so that comes to $1.50 per gift. That's really inexpensive, but these are gifts your little girl's friends will go crazy for! This project is a little more complicated as it involves beadwork, so only choose this for your kids aged 8 and up.
Great Gift for: Preteen girls
Perfect for Your Kid to Make at Ages: 8+
Price: About $1.50 per wristband (10 total)
Fun Factor: 5 stars
Difficulty Level: Moderately Easy
4. Garden accessories are especially great to give to the adults in your kids' lives. If the recipient has a yard or garden already, then handmade garden stones are fabulous gifts. You can get lots of different kits that let your child embed colorful "gems" or even their handprints in these garden path stones. If the recipient lives in an apartment or doesn't have a yard for some reason, then he or she would love to get a hand crafted windowsill garden from your youngster. Your kids will have loads of fun painting the garden pots, planting the seeds, and watching them grow. You might want to get this one a few weeks before the holidays, so the finished gift includes actual growing plants.
Great Gift for: Any adult
Perfect for Your Kid to Make at Ages: 7+
Price: $15-20 with kit
Fun Factor: 5 stars
Difficulty Level: Easy - Moderately Easy
5. Wearable art is one of the best gifts your child can create by hand. You can choose what type of art project to use based on your own kid's artistic skill level and age. The easiest idea is to simply buy some cheap white t-shirts or ball caps, grab a set of fabric paint markers, and let your kid go wild with imagination. Fabric paint comes in many colors, and even in glitter versions, so creating that one-of-a-kind masterpiece that's just made to be worn is a breeze. If your child is a little older, you can also opt for appliques and iron on transfers as an option.
Great Gift for: Anyone, any age
Perfect for Your Kid to Make at Ages: 7+
Price: $10-20 for markers and shirt or hat
Fun Factor: 5 stars
Difficulty Level: Super Easy