The holidays are here and its a gala time for the kids. So what are you guys doing to keep them busy?
Know what I came up with to keep my 5 and 7 year old niece and nephew absorbed this holiday season? Making Christmas gifts! With cute photo frames and CD boxes, felt and ribbon bookmarks, personalised clocks or ornaments for the Christmas tree and more unique gift ideas available on the net, its time to enliven the atmosphere with this wonderful opportunity for the kids to enjoy fashioning creative gifts.
- Felt and Ribbon Bookmarks
- Required
Scraps of felt and ribbons, PVA (white) glue, Sharp scissors, sequins, buttons or other adornments.
Mark and cut the felt into bookmark-sized pieces. Cut a length of ribbon for each bookmark so that it extends 5cm beyond the end of the felt, and carefully stick it down with white glue. Cut a heart shape out of matching or contrasting felt to cover the top of the ribbon. Stick the heart to the bookmark and embellish further as you like. The main part of the bookmark should be flat so decorations must be restricted to the top portion. Allow to dry thoroughly.
- Photo Frames and CD boxes
Required
Empty CD boxes, Scissors and glue, Craft supplies and household bits and pieces.
Cut a photo to a size smaller than the CD box. Fix the photo against the plastic with tape. Find a nice piece of cardboard/gift wrap. Cut this to fit snugly behind the photo and to the edges of the frame (4 ¾ inches wide, 5 ¼ inches high). Fix with glue or tape facing into the box. When the frame is finished, open the box out to stand it up, so that the backing protects the photo. Draw a line of glue on the outside edges of the front of the CD box and decorate with:
Tinsel, Little cut-outs of old cards, Small ornaments, Little ribbon bows, Gold and silver braid and ribbons, Red or green gingham ribbon. Christmas shapes of trees cut out of craft foam, Dried cranberries, Spices (cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks), Glitter, Miniature wrapped-up presents.
- Christmas Card Handle Holder
Required
Old Christmas Cards, Baby Food Jar ,Glue, Rubber Band, Salt
Cut out a pretty picture from an old card; small enough to fit on the side of a baby food jar. Cover the back of the picture with glue and stick it to the jar. Put a rubber band around the jar to hold picture in place till glue dries. Remove rubber band. Using a paintbrush, cover the outside of the jar with glue. Sprinkle salt over all of it to make the jar glisten. Let dry. Tie a piece of curling ribbon around the rim. Place candle inside.
Dip colored plastic spoons in melted dark, milk or white chocolate and top with glitter and sparkles. Wrap in clear or colored cellophane, tied with ribbon. For a special addition to this yummy gift, glue a photo onto a square of paper for a unique gift tag.
- Personalized Ornaments
Kids can paint plain glass or plastic ball ornaments with fabric paint to make wonderful snowflakes or snowballs for a white Christmas indoors. The balls can be filled with curling ribbon to add color. A holiday message can also be inscribed.
Pop the plastic cover off an inexpensive clock and remove the clock face. Cut prepared artwork to the same size as the clock face and add numbers around the edge. Slide the artwork in place and replace the plastic cover.
- Footprint T shirt
Step into a shallow dish with fabric paint in it (each kid in a differnt color) and then step on the t-shirt. Once the footprints are dry, a personalised message can be written using a black marker.
Kids can trace their hand onto a piece of brown craft foam or card stock. Cut this shape and add black mar
ker hooves to the fingertips. Next, add red glitter glue collar with gold sequins for bells, then glue on a googly eye, a red pompom nose, and a tail cut from the brown craft foam/card stock. For the reindeer's antlers, cut a brownpipe cleaner in half, bend each half into two and curl the ends. Glue together the pipe cleaner pieces, holding them in place with a paper clip or clothesepin until the glue dries. Finally, glue in the antlers on the reindeer.
Put sand in a bowl, pour water in it. Make a hole in the wet sand for placing the candle. Place shells on the sides. Take the smallest shell you can find and tie it to the wick and put it in the center bottom. Melt wax in a tin can. Pour the wax in the sand mold while holding the wick up to keep it straight. Hold the wick until the wax hardens. Dig about an inch away from the candle, a trench 6-10 inches deep and gently pull the candle out. Place the candle on the plate.
Find more ideas at
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/giftgiving/a/120400a.htm
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmasgifts_from_kids.htm
If you have any ideas and suggestions, feel free to share them with me and others as well by dropping them in the comment box.
Click on the links below for related posts on :
Christmas gift ideas for small kids.
2 comments:
thanks for sharing such fabulous ideas!
This is such a cool blog. Where do you get such ideas from? Great job.
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