Infants and Toddlers Can Make Holiday Gifts
Best Christmas Craft Ideas for Young Children
Nov 15, 2009
Having children make the gifts they give to relatives and friends is a great holiday tradition, and it is never too early to start. Taking the time to make something special helps children understand the meaning of gift giving. With a little help from the adults in their lives, even infants and toddlers can make personalized gifts.
Make Infant Foot and Handprints
Even the tiniest humans can give of themselves with a little help from mom and dad. A great gift idea for infants to “make” is a print or impression of their tiny hands and feet. Many retailers sell do-it-yourself kits that guide parents with step by step instructions for taking and framing the impressions.
Another option for creating footprints is to contract with an online company to do part of the work. Usually, parents take the impression in clay and then send it to the company to create a ceramic keepsake. A third option is to hire a ceramic artist to create the keepsake from start to finish. Many playgroups host artists together, thereby lowering the cost of each individual session.
Create a Calendar of Baby’s First Year
Another creative infant-created gift is a calendar of baby’s first year. Photo-sharing websites like Snapfish and Kodak Gallery have easy to use templates. Be sure to include pictures of baby with each relative that will be receiving a calendar and to match pictures to months of the year. These sites also offer photo books, ornaments, mugs, and other small keepsakes personalized with pictures.
Toddlers Give and Learn
Toddlers can learn to think about the recipient while they make personalized gifts. However, successful projects for toddlers need to take into account their limited attention spans and fine motor skills. Crafted gifts work best when the finished project can look good without needing to follow specific steps or directions.
Bake Cookies to Give as Gifts
Toddlers love getting messy in the kitchen. Put them to work baking cookies for all of their special relatives. Children can help parents measure ingredients and shape the cookies. It is best at this age to stick with cookies that can be rolled into balls, since complicated shaping and cookie cutters may be too frustrating at this age. Pressing thumbs into thumbprint cookies, decorating gingerbread men, and dipping pretzel sticks into chocolate and sprinkles can also be fun.
Make Ornaments
Purchase transparent acrylic ornaments in a variety of shapes, paint, ribbons, and some glitter. Remove the top of an ornament. Let children choose colors and glitter to squirt into it. Put a piece of tape over the opening to temporarily seal it, and then have children shake and roll the ornament to distribute the paint in swirls. After the paint dries, put the top back on and tie a ribbon on top of the ornament.
This Christmas, help children create a true keepsake for adult relatives while learning the joy of giving by sharing their time and their talents. Even infants and toddlers can make homemade gifts with simple craft activities that capitalize on their abilities and with patient adults to assist them.
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