My husband and I have tried to teach our children since they were very young that Christmas is not all about them. First and foremost, it is about Christ. But this season does give us and our children a prime opportunity to practice loving our neighbors. We can show our love to family members, music teachers, Sunday school workers, and people in our neighborhood by giving them gifts for Christmas. My children have no difficulty coming up with a list of gift ideas for everyone, but they do have one problem—they lack money.
So, in order to participate in gift-giving, they have to be creative and make the gifts themselves. Here are some of our favorite do-it-yourself gift ideas. Most of these projects don’t involve any expensive materials and need little-to-no supervision.
1. Decorated Mugs
We tried making our own mugs for the first time this year, using the tutorial from 5mintesformom, and they came out great! I could hardly believe how easy and inexpensive they were to make. I bought the mugs for less than a dollar apiece at Walmart. The oil-based Sharpies are a little pricey, but they’re worth the investment because the water-based Sharpie ink washes off quickly.
2. Dish Towels
My three-year-old loved making dish towels for her grandparents this year. We loosely followed the instructions from icanteachmychild.com but skipped the part about using contact paper. My daughter enjoyed using a pencil eraser to make polka dots and a foam stamp to add butterflies. The flour-sack towels necessary for this project are available at Walmart for under a dollar each, so this also ends up being a very inexpensive gift.
3. Bookmarks
Any child who can sew on a button can make these adorable ribbon bookmarks featured on DYI Joy. They make perfect gifts for booklovers and can be completed very quickly with just a few supplies.
4. Coasters
A couple years ago, my children made coasters similar to the ones found on thefrugalgirls.com. We used tissue paper to make ours, but I love the idea of using photos.
5. Treats
Almost every year, my children and I make some special treats to give to our neighbors. We’ve made truffles like the ones on Snack Works using mint Oreos and dark chocolate for the coating. We’ve also made white chocolate pretzels like the ones on geniuskitchen.com.
6. Mixes
Mason jars filled with homemade chai tea mix (see the recipe on thekitchenismyplayground.com) or hot chocolate mix (see livingasunshinelife.com) are also great gift ideas. My kids like to help mix everything together and decorate the jars for the lucky recipients.
Does your family have any do-it-yourself gift ideas that you love to make and share? We would love to hear about your children’s creative adventures! Share a link or a photo in the comments below or tag us on Facebook or Pinterest.
Happy gift-making!