Homemade gift ideas for children
Buying birthday and other gifts for young children isn’t always as easy as it should be.
If you want to give something really special, it often costs an arm and a leg. And lots of parents today are trying to cut back on the amount of plastic in their homes, which eliminates roughly 104.9 percent of the toys on the market.
Lately, the predicament has sent me straight to my craft room, where I’ve created some homemade items for the children in my life.
Even though the handmade trend is hot right now, not everyone is feeling the heat. The gifts I’ve been making lately for friends’ children have been well received, but plenty of kids out there just want what they see advertised in between episodes of their favorite cartoons. Plenty? OK, most.
Sadly (to me, anyway), there are parents who feel this way, too. Some apparently have certain expectations about what their children should be given.
A friend recently told me about a woman who complained to her about a gift the woman’s daughter received for her birthday. The mom said to my friend, “It must have cost $2. It’s like she just let her daughter pick it out.”
Geesh. Isn’t that the point?
If you’re on board with me, here’s a roundup of other gift ideas you could make for the young children in your life. Of course, avoid using small objects, such as beads, on projects for children still prone to putting things in their mouths.
Photo friends
My almost-3-year-old daughter has a few favorite “babies.” They include her stuffed giraffe and puppy, a red teddy bear and a Kewpie-like doll. One day, as she made up stories about her babies going to work, grocery shopping and taking naps, I took a few photos of the dolls in their element. I was careful not to disturb how my daughter had placed them, hopefully capturing her friends through her eyes.
We had the photos printed, we framed them and then hung them in her room as if they were just more members of our family. Which they are, really.
Dress-up
Another no-sew gift requires a trip to a thrift shop or antique store.
Purchase a small suitcase – something that’s light enough for your gift recipient to carry – and fill it with clothes and accessories he could use for dress up. Sunglasses. Bowties. Colorful scarves. You name it.
Interactive quilt
For a friend who just turned 1, I recently made a quilt that’s part blankie, part toy.
On each block is a different activity. One contains a pocket for a small book. Another has a simple house appliquéd on it with slots sewn to hold four wooden clothespin dolls, each representing a member of his family.
Another block has a “K” appliquéd on it so he can get used to seeing the first letter of his name. There are fabric “yo-yos” dangling off a few blocks away. (For instructions on how to make a yo-yo, visit www.heatherbailey.typepad.com and click on the yo-yo tutorial.)
The sky’s the limit on how you embellish the blocks. If you’re unsure what is age-appropriate for your quilt recipient, look at toys suggested for his or her age group for inspiration. Or, ask the real experts – the child’s parents.
Two standbys
Last fall, my standard gifts for little girls were bonnets I made following a pattern by Amy Karol of www.angrychicken.typepad.com. It’s not a frilly, fluffy bonnet pattern. It’s more like something Caroline Kennedy would have worn in 1961.
A new favorite project of mine comes from the book “The Creative Family,” by Amanda Blake Soule. It’s a wool-felt pencil roll that holds a dozen colored pencils inside. It can be rolled up and tied for easy transport, and then unfurled to show the individual slots where each pencil is placed.
I made one for a 5-year-old boy who spends a lot of time outdoors, so I gave it to him with a sketchpad hoping he could make some drawings the next time he and his family were hanging out with Mama Nature.
Craft kit
One final idea comes from my friend, Nissa Roberts, who suggested making a booklet of craft ideas that the child could do with their parents. The booklet could include photos of the steps and the final products. Along with it, you could provide the materials for a few of the activities.
If you don’t consider yourself crafty but want to give handmade gifts, choose projects that don’t require advanced skills. Or, purchase something made by a local artisan or by someone on Etsy.com, a site that allows crafters to sell their handmade goods.
Whatever you give could have a bigger effect on the child than you might imagine. Your gift can teach them that the most expensive or flashiest items aren’t always the best ones. It could also show them that with time and care, they too can create wonderful things with their own hands.
Make something crafty lately?
E-mail Megan Cooley ( megan.cooley@comcast.net) a photo and she’ll post it on her blog ( www.pennycarnival.typepad.com).