Need ideas for kids who want to make their own Christmas gifts.

[mama2cntrykids]

My almost 10 y/o ds wants to make some gifts for family for Christmas. Does anyone have ideas?

 

Thanks!

[specialmama]

My dd writes and illustrates stories or poems on the computer. We then have it printed and bound (I do this at home) and she wraps them for family members.

 

I like it because I count it as writing and computer skills. :tongue_smilie:

[Sue G in PA]

Our neighbors made rolled beeswax candles last year and they were so cute that we decided to do them this year. You can buy 8x11 sheets of colored beeswax (or about that size) at candlewic.com or we are buying a kit from magiccabin.com. You can also make cookie-cutter candle by cutting out shapes in the beeswax and pressing a few layers together with a wic in the middle. I got that idea on familyfun.com That site has a lot of neat ideas.

[BeckyFL]

We had fun making soaps one year. We also did hand-painted candies with molds we found at Michael's. They were beautiful. Dh got in major trouble, however. We had some extras in the extra fridge in the garage and they disappeared. When we inquired, he said he thought they were candies for him to eat. :glare: If you do anything edible, be sure to label with LARGE signs. lol

[Farrar]

There's a lot you can do that can come out nice from kits - potholders with the little looms, soaps, beeswax candles, etc.

 

There's also a lot you can decorate or make with your own art - stationary, postcards, magnets (just laminate and get magnet tape), bookmarks (also better laminated)... Or you can decorate things with fabric markers or paint like potholders or kitchen towels or placemats or T-shirts.

 

I've also seen where kids have sewn little sachets with herbs to hang in closets or tuck in drawers. That's cute.

 

For grandparents, I think decorating picture frames is always nice.

 

Baking things is always nice. Or putting together things - like making your own hot chocolate kit and putting it in a mug or your own pancake mix or something like that.

[Renthead Mommy]

Last year we took glass jars (pint sized canning jars) and modge podged tissue paper squres onto them and put small tea light candles in them. They made beautiful candle holders. Very easy, super cheap. Even your youngest can do this. Can be made fancier by doing some sort of scence out of tissue onto a background. But you want low candles so you light up more of the jar.

 

This year we got a number of cigar boxes from the cigar shops (usually free). We photocopied favorite pictures, along with recipients name and favorite quotes and meaningful (to reciepient) sayings and modge podged them all onto the boxes. Again, fairly cheap, easy, but comes out nice. Some cigar boxes are really nice with "velvet" linings, and nice metal hinges and latches and locks. Nice jewlery/catch all boxes.

 

For his friends we are making chocolate pretzels. Pretzel rods, dipped in chocolate and rolled in a variety of sprinkles, chocolate chips, and crushed candy canes.

 

We also made a Monopoly game for a family gift for very good friends of ours. We changed out all the chance/community chest cards to be things like "Ran over iphone in driveway - pay $200" (The mom twice ran over her own phone, but was wanting her dh to get her an iphone anyway! LOL!) "Won swim meet - get $50" (one daughter is a swimmer). We changed all the property to reflect each kid/parent. We're both AF so "GO" was changed to "PCS". Jail was changed to "The Death Star detention center." We even found/made a play piece to represent each family member (apple for teacher, tooth for orthodontist, fish for swimmer, Luke Skywalker for lego/SW kid, etc). This ended up being more time consuming than I originally planned, but it's come out great and I just know they will love it and play it often. (They are a game family anyway.)

 

Good luck! I love when kids want to make gifts vs. just buy something. It shows they really get the give part of christmas. Not only is it giving of a gift, but giving some of themselves.

[Chris in VA]

They can make peppermint lollies by putting 5 starlight mints in a circle, sides touching, on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, and putting them in a slow oven for a few minutes until they melt. Take them out when they are JUST melting, swirl them together a bit, and immediately add a popsicle stick.

 

Dd is making fabric rectangle rice bags for the members of our family that work out (you heat it in the microwave and put it on sore muscles). You can put lavendar oil in it to make it smell nice. You can also sew a mug mat the same way; you heat it and put your coffee mug on it and it keeps it (a tiny bit) warmer.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Some things we have done ...

 

Cookie mix in a mason jar. Just layer the dry ingredients in the jar. Put the flat disc on the top, cover that with a piece of festive fabric (usually a circle about 2x's the diameter of the disc) and then screw on the lid over the fabric. You can make pretty labels for them with directions and maybe a poem and attach them with pretty ribbon.

 

Hot socks. Get a package of men's plain tube socks and fill the socks with plain dry rice. We made a funnel out of a piece of construction paper so we wouldn't get rice all over the place. Tie or sew the end closed. You can make a handle by folding the end of the sock over a length of drapery cord and sewing it closed. These can be heated in the microwave for 3 minutes and they stay hot for 1/2 hour or more. They are great for reading on a cold winter's night or preheating the bed. We usually put another sock over it as a washable cover. If you want to get really fancy, you can make iron-on logos on the computer to iron on the socks. I recommend making them slightly larger than the completed image. Then, before you stuff the socks with rice, you put a "sock form" inside the sock before ironing the image onto the sock. These were greatly appreciated by the elderly people in my family (and most of the women, who are always cold.) When my dad was going through chemo and could not get warm, my mom would surround him with hot socks.

 

Trail mix. We have a special blend that we came up with as a family. We mix about 5-7 lbs of mixed nuts with about a pound each of raisins, dried tart cherries, dried sweetened cranberries and a couple bags of chocolate chips. Yum!!!! I think this makes 10 - 12 presents. We use festive cellophane bags from Michael's and decorate with pretty ribbon and a tag the kids make on the computer. Trader Joe's has really good nuts. You might find them inexpensively at Costco or Sam's.

 

No sew fleece blankets or scarves. We are making a bunch of the blankets for a needy family. I am sure that you can find instructions on the internet. The blankets can get pricey if you are trying to make a lot, but they are SOOO warm. Basically, you get 2 yds each of coordinating fleece fabric (we like to use a print on one side and a matching solid on the other.) Lay them out with wrong sides together. Then trim them to be equal size then cut fringe 4" long and 1" wide along each end. Tie the ends with square knots. I haven't made the scarves, but these are a cheaper option.

[annlaura]

My DS is only 4 so maybe these are too young for your DS, but this year he made cinnamon/applesauce ornaments for everyone. He was very cute as he deliberated over which cookie cutter to use for which recipient. He will also make birdseed ornaments for households to hang on their trees or bushes.

[Renthead Mommy]

Some things we have done ...

 

Cookie mix in a mason jar. Just layer the dry ingredients in the jar. Put the flat disc on the top, cover that with a piece of festive fabric (usually a circle about 2x's the diameter of the disc) and then screw on the lid over the fabric. You can make pretty labels for them with directions and maybe a poem and attach them with pretty ribbon.

 

 

 

These are great. But if you are going to use chocolate chips, m&m's, nuts or something that will leave space in between the pieces, divide your brown sugar into two parts. Layer it brown sugar, chocolate chips, brown sugar. The brown sugar packs well enough that it keeps the chips from settleing into the flower or sugar on the bottom, and it keeps the flour or white sugar from settling down into the spaces and making your chips or candy all white and dusted with flour. Plus it's just a more noticeable layering, which I think makes it prettier.