How To: Thoughtful & Affordable Gifts for Children

So it's birthday season again. You know how it goes, the school bag comes home stuffed with hundreds of little envelopes containing invitations to your child's friends birthdays, of whom until now you have never heard of let alone met. It is often these occasions that I somewhat dread, as you never know what to get the child and you don't know the mother from a bar of soap and so can't ask her what they might like. Then there's the obvious trip to the toy store, but this always seems to end in tears as I undoubtedly buy the same Barbie as Sally's mum!

Does this sound like the unfolding drama of your life? Well how about trying some of these handmade ideas instead, and guarantee a truly unique and cherished gift!

DIY Flower Pots

You will need:

1 x Terracotta pot, big enough to hold the following items within (purely for presentation purposes)

1 x Paint brush

1 x Small set of washable acrylic paints (or else the mother may hurt you!)

1 x Pair of children's gardening gloves

1 x Packet of seeds or flower bulbs (depending on the season)

I also like to include a small garden gnome, pinwheel or other garden ornament to jazz it up a little.

Assemble all of the above in to the pot and wrap in cellophane. Embellish with ribbon and a handmade birthday card. Voila! The perfect kids pressie and for well under $20!

image credit foxifaeri.

Button Jars

Believe it or not kids LOVE collecting. If you're a crafter with kids like me, you no doubt have had them pine over your jars of lovely buttons or beads or whatever your material of choice is. So why not encourage this fascination of collecting by giving them the beginnings of a collection all of their very own! It doesn't have to be buttons either see below for some other simple ideas:

You will need:

1 x Recycled jar. Jam jars are fab for this, be sure to wash them out thoroughly beforehand.

1 x Square of fabric to decorate the top of your jar and an elastic band and ribbon to hold it in place.

Half fill the jar with the collectors item of choice. Some ideas include:

Buttons, shells, stamps, beads, marbles or alternatively fill it with jellybeans!

Perhaps include a short note on a swing tag, explaining how the child could add to their collection and where they might find more buttons/marbles etc.

image credit kellie.

Swap Cards

No I don't mean the ones emblazoned with the latest football stars or Pokemon. Remember the ones from the good old days with images of horses, kittens and ballerinas? Well they're still out there! Search your local Op Shop or thrift store, search under the 'vintage' section on Etsy or even check your local newsagent - mine still stocks them (Granted they're a bit dusty!) Another sweet addition to this could be to slip in a couple of cut to size photos of your own child, or the birthday boy/girl. You wait, it'll be the new craze in the school yard.

image credit Vintage LOVE.