Since our girls were about two, I’ve been working to involve them in our holiday gifts, at least in some small way. I took a quick trip down Memory Lane to find pictures of some of our creations.
Our longest-running tradition is gift tags. The first one we did was a fingerprint wreath. The girls finger painted big sheets of green. I used a scallop punch to make a wreath shape. I used a hole punch to make “berries”, and the girls glued the wreaths on red card stock for the berries to show through.
[The girls’ involvement has evolved over the years. “Gluing” with a two-year old, at our house at least, meant that I used a tape runner to apply adhesive to the item to be glued. I handed a piece at a time to the girls — nestled securely in their highchairs — to place where I pointed. My girls are almost seven, and I finally (sorta-kinda) trust them with actual glue.]
Since then, we’ve used finger prints (using washable ink pads, which I LOVE!). At four years old, the girls were old enough to make these reindeer themselves. I love how different they all turned out!
The following year the girls made snowmen using non-toxic washable paint. After the paint dried, they used markers to make the snowman’s features.
And this year we’re in the process of making penguins. I love seeing some of our relatives keep these as ornaments year after year.
We’ve also made gift bags. I cut out the hat and mouth from card stock. We used buttons for eyes, orange felt for a nose, and a bright rhinestone for the holly berry. The girls glued everything onto a brown craft bag. They were so proud to give these to family and friends!
And we’ve been making these gift card holders for a few years now. I love the personal touch these add to the gift cards we give to the girls’ teachers.
And in the way of gifts, bookmarks have been big hits at our house. We’ve done these several different ways. When the girls were about 18 months old, they did some crayon scribbles, which I cut into strips…put the strips back to back (so they both had representation on the bookmark)…and had them laminated at the office supply store. I punched a hole and let the girls choose a ribbon and a bead to top it off. We’ve done similar bookmarks with fingerpaint and water colors. Most recently, the girls in kindergarten, they wrote notes to each family member.
I love my bookmarks so much. They’re a great little token of the girls’ art ability, and they’re very functional, too. Who can’t use a bookmark or two???
The girls look forward to our yearly projects. I relish the opportunity to involve them in making something from the heart!
I’d love to hear what other mamas have done to involve their kiddos in gift-giving. This is one of the great joys of my holiday season, for sure!
MandyE is mom to fraternal twin girls who will soon be seven. She blogs about their adventures, and her journey through motherhood, at Twin Trials and Triumphs.
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How I envy you, oh crafty mama! Since I’m not that cool, I’ll just bookmark your post and act like I know what I’m talking about when I have the kids do these! Thanks for sharing!
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