Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make
With your list and children in tow, you march through the mall listing off the names of people you still need to buy presents for. As the list gets longer and longer, you become disheartened and see the obligation of gift giving and the mounting financial toll instead of the generation of goodwill that should be at the heart of Christmas. This doesn't have to be the case, though. With a little planning, patience and a willingness to clean up, you can help your children make inexpensive, personal gifts that will be memorable for all of your family and friends.
The Internet is loaded with gifts that children can make and is a great place to start if you are looking for ideas. Good ideas can also come from books, teachers or even your children, if you get them thinking about it early. Keep in mind that children age two to six will need a lot of supervision and will only be able to handle simple projects, so you should plan on doing most of the work for them. Children age nine and up, however, will require less supervision and be capable of much more detailed work.
Once you have some basic ideas, you'll need some supplies. Construction paper, acrylic paints, glue and fabric glue will allow you to easily decorate terra cotta pots, picture frames and a number of other things, while an assortment of ribbons, sequins and sparkles will add panache to any homemade gift. A quick trip to the store will provide everything needed to enable you and your child to express your creativity.
Many items for sale commercially can be replicated and made easily at home. You can melt down old candle ends into teacups and decorate them for a very thoughtful present. You can also melt some chocolate or other candy, dip strong plastic spoons into it and wrap the spoons in some colored paper to give to coffee drinkers to sweeten their morning mix. It is important to make sure that any craft project you choose be age-appropriate for your child and that they have the proper supervision.
Activities like this will always take more planning, more work and sometimes more money, and entail more accidents the first time that you do them. However, you will be save time because you won't be running back and forth to stores, and you can customize your gifts for the recipients. In addition, you will build special relationships with your children as they focus on giving to others rather than moan about being dragged through the mall.
With your list and children in tow, you march through the mall listing off the names of people you still need to buy presents for. As the list gets longer and longer, you become disheartened and see the obligation of gift giving and the mounting financial toll instead of the generation of goodwill that should be at the heart of Christmas. This doesn't have to be the case, though. With a little planning, patience and a willingness to clean up, you can help your children make inexpensive, personal gifts that will be memorable for all of your family and friends.
The Internet is loaded with gifts that children can make and is a great place to start if you are looking for ideas. Good ideas can also come from books, teachers or even your children, if you get them thinking about it early. Keep in mind that children age two to six will need a lot of supervision and will only be able to handle simple projects, so you should plan on doing most of the work for them. Children age nine and up, however, will require less supervision and be capable of much more detailed work.
Once you have some basic ideas, you'll need some supplies. Construction paper, acrylic paints, glue and fabric glue will allow you to easily decorate terra cotta pots, picture frames and a number of other things, while an assortment of ribbons, sequins and sparkles will add panache to any homemade gift. A quick trip to the store will provide everything needed to enable you and your child to express your creativity.
Many items for sale commercially can be replicated and made easily at home. You can melt down old candle ends into teacups and decorate them for a very thoughtful present. You can also melt some chocolate or other candy, dip strong plastic spoons into it and wrap the spoons in some colored paper to give to coffee drinkers to sweeten their morning mix. It is important to make sure that any craft project you choose be age-appropriate for your child and that they have the proper supervision.
Activities like this will always take more planning, more work and sometimes more money, and entail more accidents the first time that you do them. However, you will be save time because you won't be running back and forth to stores, and you can customize your gifts for the recipients. In addition, you will build special relationships with your children as they focus on giving to others rather than moan about being dragged through the mall.
