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A hug in a jar
Cassie from Wholefully offers six wonderful recipes for homemade soup in a jar. Help the kids measure out the ingredients, write the label and pick out some festive ribbon. This gift idea couldn’t be easier to make and will definitely be appreciated on a cold winter’s day.
Stuck on you
It’s hard to believe that Unoriginal Mom‘s adorable photo magnets are made from just recycled Mason jar lids. We love this idea for a holiday gift and truly believe that one can never have enough magnets; especially personalized ones.
Cheer up a cook
We can’t get enough of this clever idea for handmade kitchen towels from It’s Always Autumn. What a fantastic gift idea to bring some Christmas cheer to your kitchen.
Your kids will love getting their hands painted and making this creative gift for loved ones. To make this craft, you’ll need a white kitchen towel, acrylic craft paint, a foam paintbrush and a star template (which is provided on the blog).
Crunchy and sweet
Private chef and blogger Sarina of Dinner Then Dessert has a fantastic recipe for crunchy peanut brittle. This peanut brittle is a cinch to make and your child will LOVE smashing it into pieces after it has cooked and cooled.
Early bloomers
Maya*Made shares a great and simple holiday gift suggestion for planting paper white bulbs and giving them as presents to family and friends. Keep in mind that these bulbs take about four to six weeks before they bloom into beautiful flowers, so you may want to speed up your process at the beginning of the month. But, boy, do these flowers ever turn out to be gorgeous.
Christmas cookie cheer
Some of the best homemade gifts that we’ve received in past years have been recipes in jars.
Needless to say, we love this idea from Sally’s Baking Addiction for a super-chunky Christmas cookie recipe in a jar. Just look at the ingredients! Simply find a cute jar, have your child help you measure and add ingredients, and pin a cute card with the recipe onto the jar with a festive ribbon or string. So absolutely easy and yet such a fun gift idea.
Patchwork pretty
Jazz up a plain notebook with some cute fabric and — ta-da! — You’ve got a personalized journal that is perfect as a thoughtful gift for friends and family.
Amber from Crazy Little Projects gives a great tutorial on this quick and easy kid-friendly project. And we have a feeling that the writer or journal-keeper in your life will love receiving one of these beautiful patchwork notebooks as a Christmas gift. That is, if you can bring yourself to part with it!
DIY bath bombs
Part science experiment, part craft, DIY bath bombs are a craft the kids will love making. Maggy from Red Ted Art offers this wonderfully simple recipe that features essential oils and dried lavender. Wrap these beauties in some pastel-colored tissue paper and you’ve got the perfect gift for Grandma.
Block printing masterpiece
Seattle mama-blogger Daria of Glittergoods has a fantastic tutorial on how she created this styrofoam block printing artwork that she’s even done with a group of kindergartners.
We love how they’ve incorporated some of Seattle’s funky landmarks into the pictures (we see the Space Needle and the Smith Tower right away). To make an art piece such as this, you need scratch foam or styrofoam food trays, not-too-sharp pencils and block-printing ink. Overall, a great gift idea for artsy families and surely one that your tots will love personalizing.
Editor’s note: Jen Betterley and Vicky McDonald contributed to this article, which was most recently updated in December 2021.
