I love the years we have chosen to do all homemade gifts for each other! I think they're so much more meaningful! Just be careful. Last year I realized I was spending so much time on my projects that I was missing out on all the fun magical experiences all around me. I think from now on we'll do a combination of homemade along with thoughtful store-bought gifts.
I'm going to do a post later about the perfectly thoughtful homemade gifts I've received from my husband over the years and the ones I've given him.
But this post will just be a quick collection of ideas to get you started on your own magical Christmas. I made these before I started blogging so I don't have tutorial pictures, but I'll add links to everything I can.
Homemade Gifts for Kids
Simple and easy- pool noodle stick horse
Tension rod puppet theater. I love how this one turned out- my daughter didn't even recognize her old polka-dotted pajama pants upcycled into the curtains! I added a black back drop with a slit in the bottom to slide the puppets up through in order to hide little heads better!
Scrap material bean bags for my baby.
"Cooking with Mom" kit. This was a huge hit! I used this tutorial for the chef hat and just made up my own pattern for the apron. See the little bow attached to the hat? That used to be on one of Kaylan's sweet stretchy baby headbands! If you decide to gift this make sure to include fun food mixes or recipes appropriate to your child's age. These were mostly "just add water" type mixes.
Hand warmers. I had left over BYU fabric from our matching pajama pants, so using the same basic bean bag pattern I whipped these up real quick and filled them with rice. My poor freezing kids used these everyday when they went to the bus stop. Just pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Put 'em in their pockets and they'll be toasty all the way to school!
This gift has been the biggest hit! We bust it out anytime we're bored or stuck inside with bad weather.
It's full of all sorts of kid-friendly science experiments I found all over the web and at places like here and here. I keep adding to it anytime I see something new and neat! I printed a list of materials needed, step by step instructions and "why did it do that" scientific reasons to back up each experiment on nice-ish paper and glued it to cardstock. I had several things in my cupboards already so I just gathered what I had and put them into ziploc bags according to each experiment along with the description paper. Include with it rubber gloves and "science guy googles" (sold in the automotive section at Dollar Tree) for some extra fun!
Other ideas I don't have pictures for:
Wood projects of all sorts- fort-like bunk beds, dress up clothes trunk, doll house, slide (my brother made us the best slide for Christmas one year- I'll show a picture soon!), train table, car tracks, etc.
Kid Library- shop garage sales and clearance racks to build up a great book collection. You can go a step farther and build your child a personal reading nook and book case to go along with it!
DIY dress up clothes- even if you don't sew there are TONS of ideas for awesome costumes! My kids play dress up more than anything else (yes my boys too.) Tip: shop the Halloween clearance section for the best Christmas dress up clothes gifts!
Room decorations- what kid doesn't like a cool themed room! Make wall art, quilt with matching pillowcase and curtains and a fun lamp or light fixture to finish it all off!
"How to Draw" booklet- go online and print a bunch of step by step drawing instructions. Place a few blank sheets of paper in between each new picture. Punch holes in the side and fasten with ring or ribbon to bind it all together.
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