ideas needed for handmade gifts from children

[iloveholidays]

I want to start making some gifts with my girls to hand out to relatives. my siblings and I have come to a decision to just buy for the kids from this year so seems a nice year to start making something.

The only things I can think of are cookies wrapped in festive cellophane (how long would these last???) and festive shaped chocolates.

any other ideas?

thanks

I'm going to make some salt dough christmas decorations with my DS (2yo). This year i'm going to do his hand or foot print into a salt dough circle, paint the whole thing red or gold and add glitter to the imprinted bit. If you google salt dough there's loads of recipes.

Other thing is to make your christmas cards & the kids decorate them with their own drawings, paintings, glitter etc.

How old are they? What is your budget?

Fabric bags/ t-towels with pictures/handprints in fabricpen/ paint

Plant in plant pot - can get kits from 99p shop.

Cookies/ truffles are great too.

I'm getting DD (3.3) to make and paint salt dough decorations - a bit like this but messier!

She's also going to be making cards for her grandparents, and posting them.

Should add that i'm intending to give some of the decorations to the grandparents. If your DD's are a bit older let them loose with festive shaped cookie cutters as well.

Baker Ross always have some lovely ideas

Papier-mâché decorated flowerpots with a poinsettia planted in it?

I've been making jam and marmalade with dd1 today for this purpose. I've also got some sloe gin on the go, and will probably do some infused vodka too.

If you want an easy cheat, do marmalade made with this . It's ridiculously easy, just chuck the tin of orange gunge in a pan with sugar and water, simmer for a bit, then jar. It suits dd1's short attention span, and doesn't ruin if I have to sort baby dd2 out in the middle. One tin makes 6 big jars of marmalade.

Closer to christmas I'm going to make peppermint creams with the dc and do some decorations for grandparents. For the latter I've bought some precut wooden trees like these , we will paint them green and do fingerprints in different colours to be baubles.

We've just made some felt hearts with buttons on, stuffed with lavender and stitched together with blanket stitch. You can add extra fabric hearts in gingham and corduroy, ribbon bows and they look lovely. Ours are red, green and cream combinations and are going on the Christmas tree.

Washing soda crystals in a towel bash to little bits add essential oil and food colouring,put in airtight jar and paint it..personalised bath crystals, very cheap to make.

For the teachers we're making chocolate truffles in fancy bags this year.

Probably jazz them up a bit with some amaretto.

These chocolate brownies are really good. Your DD's can help weigh the ingredients and write the cards.

No food - lots of people don't eat kid made food.

But lovely hand print stuff, pictures in decorated frames , hand made cards and little felt decorations - yes.

I think it's a matter of knowing the recipient. Yes, some people don't eat food made by kids,

Bugger, posted too soon.

I was trying to say that some people don't eat food gifts, but others (like my db) will happily tuck into food gifts if they're nice, but don't want handmade decorations messing up their trendy interiors.

We only do handmade gifts for close relatives who are happy with food.

We have done the heart lavender decorations...dd is 8 and can cut them out and sew them up easily.
Glass decorating pens look pretty if you do something like shot glasses with tea lights in.
Chocolate slabs look very good with cellophane and ribbons...google how to-very easy.
If they're very young then handprints on mugs/canvas bags and so on.

Dd has made these and these. They are really easy, you just need a flannel, soap, pipecleaners and felt. last year she made these and these with buttons and thread. (buttons are really cheap on ebay)

Have a look on the imagination tree blog. Some lovely Christmas ideas last year.

thank you all, there are some fab ideas on here. I think the decorations ideas will suit the grandparents and food ones for siblings.

does anyone know how long cookies, peppermint creams etc will last? ie would I be able to do them the week before Christmas?

Buy a cheap plain, butcher's type apron. Get some fabric paint and let your little one's decorate it with hand prints all over. Grandma loved that one some years back.