Cool Gifts for Kids
When you're making your list and checking it twice, don't forget to check out these cool gifts for kids.
All Dolled Up …
Gifting Glitches
Button-and-spool dolls are not recommended for children under six because the pieces could present a choking hazard. This project also takes some patience and manual dexterity and would be more appreciated by kids over eight years old. Consider making button dolls for adults who like to decorate with a country theme.
Give the older kids and country buffs on your list these cute country button-and-spool dolls. Don't stop there, though; make a gift out of the supplies and teach them how to make their own country dolls. Don't forget to present your gift in a small wooden crate or plastic storage box.
Time frame: Two to four hours
Level: Moderately easy
What you need:
- Yarn or cord
- Masking tape or nail polish
- Doll head bead (This is a round wooden bead with facial features that can be found in craft stores.)
- Buttons, plastic or wooden
- Wooden spools of different sizes
- Large wooden button for skirt
- Cut 20 6-inch-long strands of yarn for the hair. Then cut one strand of thin cord 30 inches long for the body and another piece 12 inches long for the arms. Roll a piece of masking tape on the ends of the cord or harden the ends with nail polish to make it easier to thread the buttons and spools.
- Place the middle of the strands of yarn on top of the wooden bead head. Thread the cord through the top of the head, catching the yarn in the knot in the middle. You should have a head with hair and two long strands of cord approximately 15 inches long. Thread several small buttons onto both strands of cord to form the neck. Tie a knot and thread a larger button onto the neck buttons for shoulders. Bring the cord through a larger wooden spool and large wooden button to form the body and skirt. Tie a slack knot under the skirt.
- Separate the cord into two legs. Tie a knot in each leg about one inch away from the skirt. Leave this area as string only so the doll can sit down on the skirt. Thread buttons and spools onto the legs, ending with a spool for each foot. Tie a knot at the end of each leg.
- Tie the 12-inch piece of cord under the shoulder button, making two 6-inch arms. Thread buttons and spools onto the arms as desired, ending with a spool for each hand. Tie a knot at the end of each spool.
Budding Artist
Here's what to give that creative kid on your list who seems to have everything—a storage box full of art supplies. All it takes is a little time to assemble the ingredients and paint the child's name on the box.
Present Pointers
A college student would appreciate a “movie time” basket—the latest video releases wrapped up with a box of microwave popcorn, hot chocolate, and soup mixes.
Time frame: One to two hours
Level: Easy
What you need:
For the box:
- Plastic storage box (The see-through plastic ones are nice to paint on.)
- Acrylic paints
- Paintbrush
- Stencils (optional)
To put inside the box:
- Sketch pad
- Watercolors
- Paintbrushes
- How-to-draw books (for example, how to draw animals or how to draw faces)
- Crayons
- Markers
- Coloring books for younger children
- Construction paper
- Blunt scissors
- Stencils
- Use acrylic paints to write the child's name on the box. If you like, you could include some simple flower designs, or you could use your stencils to create a special effect.
- Assemble all the supplies and place them in the plastic storage box.
It's Showtime!
Present Pointers
If you enjoyed making puppets out of foam sheets, you might want to try making a Nativity scene. Use blue foam for Mary's gown and brown for Joseph's garments. Include a manger and baby Jesus, three wise men, an angel, and barn animals. Fashion a stable out of the shoe box and add a large white foam star on top.
Get the creative juices flowing by giving the kids on your list this puppet show in a box. Make these easy finger puppets from craft store foam and include the ingredients to make their own puppets to add to the fun.
Time frame: Two to four hours
Level: Moderately easy
What you need:
- Several different-colored foam sheets, including six sheets with sticky backing for the stage
- Scissors
- Foam sheet glue or glue gun
- Shoebox for stage
- Extra foam sheets, glue, feathers, pompoms, blunt scissors
- Make the body of your puppet by cutting a 31⁄2 x 2-inch rectangle of foam. Glue the two ends together to form a body that can slip over your finger.
- Make a head and decorate the puppet following the samples or use your imagination to create your own designs. (You can also buy precut foam animals and shapes and glue them onto the puppet body.)
- For the stage: Cover a shoebox with the sticky back foam inside and out. Cut a hole in the bottom of the box, large enough for your fist to go through. Decorate the opening with foam stars. Cut out lights and microphone shapes and glue them inside the box.
- Assemble several foam sheets of different colors, glue, feathers, pompoms, and blunt scissors so the kids can create their own puppets to add to the cast.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Great Gifts © 2001 by Marilee LeBon. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
