Christmas Crafts & Gifts for Children

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Caring Children Create! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gift giving can be very special when it is a homemade gift. The knowledge that someone took the time to make something personal and unique for the receiver always means more than an expensive or unattainable gift. Children especially may feel frustrated when they want to show someone that they care about them, but are unable to have a store bought present to give. They are delighted when they are able to make something with their own hands and personal touch to give to those they love!

Over my years of teaching, the most memoriable and treasured gifts have been ones that my students have made themselves. My heart absolutely melts when they say, "I made it just for you!" I can't tell you how many of their one of a kind presents decorate my home and teaching area! Years after receiving such presents, people ask me where I got these gifts, and I fondly tell of the children who created them.

My three children also like to make homemade gifts to give! They get so excited to have something they themselves have made instead of something Mom picked out at the store for them to give. My favorite part about watching them create presents is that they may make ten of a certain gift, but each one is slightly personalized to fit the receiver. It's adorable to see how they adapt the presents for every person.

Create crafts and presents that are relatively simple and inexpensive to make, but that children will feel like they have truly contributed to, and will have a lasting effect on the loved ones they make them for. Try some of these for children to give to parents, grandparents, siblings, other relatives, friends, teachers, and coaches.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Glitter, Glue, & Gladness! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Christmas Ornaments for Kids to Make ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ornaments can have extra special value when they are created at home by children. The greatest ornaments we have on our tree every year are not the fancy matching ones from the department stores. The ones we love are the ones that have a story behind them. When we start pulling out the decoration boxes, fond memories of who made them, when they made them, and the where, why, and hows of their creations come warmly to our hearts!

Delight in designing new keepsake ornaments with your children and students with the following ideas!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Squish, Shape, & Sculpt! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm probably going to embarrass one of my children, but I have to share something that is very special to me. One of my sons really enjoys art projects. He has a special gift to see things differently than the rest of us do and to find beauty in many things. When he was in 1st or 2nd grade he took a grandparent / grandchild art class that used many art mediums. The one that stuck out to him though was a clay type project using Sculpy. He and his grandfather formed the soft material into several objects in many colors during the class, and baked them the next day to solidify. Since then he has made statues, animals, cartoon characters, cars, boats, and even dioramas for school projects with Sculpy! Two years ago he asked if he could get some Sculpy for some new projects, but he didn't want to say what they were. I could see that creative mind going, so, I let him pick out several colors without asking (even though my curiosity was peaked)! When we got home he quietly took his package and his carving tools to his room for his mysterious art work.

I didn't really think anything about it again with all the Christmastime busyness going on, but on Christmas morning we were all delighted to find beautiful personalized Christmas ornaments in our stockings! He had everyone's favorite colors shaped into things that meant much to each of us. (Mine was shaped into an eighth note!) He had even created holes to put yarn through to be able to hang them on the tree. He had made other presents, too, for each of us from his Sculpy (one was a little Yoda for the Star Wars fan)! They were so delicate and precious to all of us. I know they will be items we treasure for a very long time!

Why not try your hand at creating something with playdough, clay, or Sculpy?

~ ~ Choose, Click, & Clip! ~ ~ Christmas Crafts Clipart ~ ~

Clipart can be so much fun to create with! Use it to decorate unique Christmas cards, posters, gift tags, and wrapping paper. Add extra clipart to ornaments, letters, gift boxes, plates of cookies, and so on! There is no end to what you can do with it. Have fun letting your imaginations go to work!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Cut, Construct, & Connect! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What can you create with paper and scissors? A blank piece of paper and ordinary scissors are all one needs to build something wonderful! From as simple as cutting out a paper snowflake to building a sophistocated model, paper only needs a little imagination in the hands of a child. Here are some ideas to get you started.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Christmas, Crayons, & Coloring! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What can children use coloring pages for besides coloring? Anything! The pages may be used for covers of notebooks, reports, or lapbooks. Cut out, they would make wonderful shape books for creative writing, stories, poems, Bible verses, vocabulary, research, or study facts. How about pictures to create a pop-up book or flap book? Changing the size of printables with the printer to shrink them into mini books or enlarge into bulletin board pieces or puppets when printed on tagboard are also fun. Use your imagination for how you will use them!