hello lovelies!
christmas is just 2 weeks away – are you ready for your holiday adventures? i’m finished shopping, but am still putting the finishing touches on a big batch of handmade gifts for my loved ones. this year, i decided to challenge myself to create 100% of poppy’s christmas presents by hand, and i’m proud to report i’ve stuck to my goal! my girl is only 2.5, and doesn’t yet care about things like clothing brands or fancy toys, so i thought it made sense to take advantage of the built-in flexibility of her age and stick to creating all her holiday offerings. as i’ve posted my handmade gift making progress on instagram and twitter over the last few weeks, i’ve gotten a lot of comments from friends saying they’d love to give more handmade this christmas, but that it’s often difficult to know where to start. so i decided to post a little round-up of possibilities here for you all to check out!
here are 23 creative and very affordable handmade gift ideas for kids. the first 12 can be created without any sewing whatsoever, so anyone from any skill set can easily make them. the ones that require sewing are very easy to follow and wouldn’t require more than an intermediate level of ability to create. the majority of these ideas would cost $5 or less to make, so they should be friendly for any budget. let’s get started!:
1) get festive by making your kids some gingerbread play dough!
2) alternately, here’s a great recipe for classic play dough. this is the exact recipe that my mom and i make for poppy and it really is the BEST play dough! very soft, inexpensive to make and lasts for months in an air-tight container.
3) encourage art in your home by making your own fingerpaints!
4) here’s a great explanation of how to make moon sand with just 3 simple ingredients. if your kids have never played with moon sand, DO THIS! it’s a real treat!
5) a perfect stocking stuffer for kids of any age: grab various colors of ink pads (found at craft stores/dollar stores) for endless fun making thumbprint characters!
6) here’s a great tutorial for making no-sew felt finger puppets. you could also make hand puppets using the same method, by making the characters large enough to fit over your child’s hand.
7) i love suzanne’s roundup of pinecone crafts. one of poppy’s presents is a little package of supplies for creating these cute pine cone bird feeders, to make together to hang in front of our kitchen window!
8 ) put together a package of supplies for your kids to to make their own snow globes, then spend an afternoon creating them together.
9) here’s a really easy & inexpensive felt board tutorial. the possibility for themes & characters are endless!
10) make your own bubble solution. if it’s too cold in your area for outdoor bubble play, your kids can still enjoy their homemade bubbles during bath time!
11) try making various sensory bottles for your little ones to explore and enjoy. i found perfect containers in the scrapbooking section at joanne’s, and filled them with dyed rice, poms & feathers, and made a “lava lamp” with vegetable oil and dyed water!
12) create a rice table for endless hours of fun sensory play! visit your local dollar store to include various animal figurines, scoops, funnels and containers with your play table. you can keep the whole lot in a large, shallow tupperware container with a fitted lid, for easy storage & cleanup.
13) check out this fabulous tutorial on making a fabric dollhouse! so precious and you could use your child’s favorite patterns/flowers, or coordinate it to the decor of their room for a special, personalized touch.
14) here’s a great felt food tutorial round-up – eco felt is extremely affordable (found in the children’s section of craft stores for around $o.30 cents per 8×11 sheet) and it’s very easy to work with, too! so if you’re limited in sewing experience, felt is a great medium to try out.
15) make a cuddly baby/kiddo blanket for your sweet little one to cozy up with! this is a VERY easy pattern to follow, and is wonderful because you can make it in any size you desire. i made poppy a cozy quilt using this technique, with printed cotton & polar fleece. so snuggly and perfect for these cold winter months!
16) here’s a great design for making a kids apron from a single fat quarter of fabric. so sweet!
17) love handmade plush animals, but haven’t tried your hand at making one? here’s a tutorial for making a sweet owl plush that looks quite simple to follow!
18) love the idea of giving your little one a special hideaway space or reading nook? why not make them a play teepee or an a-frame tent!
19) i love these whimsical handmade magic wands. i’ve made similar ones for poppy, and she just adores them!
20) does your little one treasure their special dolls & stuffed toys? how about making some sweet bedding for their little pals!
21) here’s some easy instructions for making pretty flower hair clips.
22) more fun with felt: adorable tool box tutorial!
23) it’s a bird! it’s a plane! it’s SUPER-KID! make a superhero cape & mask for your little ones so they can embark on adventures and save the world!
i hope you guys enjoyed this list of handmade gift ideas! if you have questions or need specific crafting advice, i’ll be more than happy to help you out by answering your inquiries in the comments.
happy holidays, friends!
cheers!
Thanks so much; what a trove of great links.
These are such great ideas! My family watches these 2 little girls quite often who are like the little sister’s I never got to have and I really want to start crafting and learning to sew in 2012 and I think these ideas would be perfect for me to start with and make for them. Love this gift guide. Thanks for sharing!
SO COOL!! i will be posting a tutorial this week on a native american inspired headdress i made for Luna today too
thanks for the links, I want to make so many of these now!!
specially the teepee!
here’s the photo of it
http://twitpic.com/7s7b45#
What a great ideas! THANK YOU!
My boy is 2 and I’m thinking now about making… Hmmm… Fingerpaints, finger puppets, bubbles, a package of supplies for bird feeders or a rice table?
The last one will probably win this year.
Love all the ideas! I am not quite as ambitious as you, but I love handmade gifts. I am making Liv some felt make-up this year! I am considering making a tee-pee…maybe, possibly…if I can find the time
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thanks so much, emily! LOVE your ideas! definitely going to make a few!
xo
Thanks so much for rounding up so many great ideas! Now I feel overwhelmed and want to do a bunch by Christmas, ack! Hopefully I can squeeze in a few…thanks again!
Katy
Love this, lady! Even added it to my Friday Faves!
The number one thing I LOVE about what you did is that you didn’t give her anything PLASTIC!! Our kids are inundated with plastic in their lives in all their toys, as was mine her first Christmas. I would love to try doing the diy thing at some point…