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Christmas is looming ever closer and with the children back at school the party season has started again in earnest. Sometimes it can be hard to think of original and creative gifts, something that says more than “I ran to the store on the way here”. A gift that shows you thought in advance and also something your children can have a hand in creating as well. So here are a few suggestions of easy presents for your child to make. Subscribe to Type-A Mom articles

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Home-made Honeycomb

This is a great gift for children to make and give! Templates for boxes are easily found on the web, try this link for a square gift box

Your kids can decorate a box with whatever the recipient likes…football, fairies, you name it!

• 225g (8oz) Sugar
• 300ml (½ pint) Cold Water
• 1 tbsp Golden Syrup
• 1 tsp Warm Water
• ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• ½ tsp Cream of Tartar

Put the sugar, cold water, golden syrup and cream of tartar into a saucepan, and heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Boil the mixture, but do not stir…you can swirl the pan if necessary!

Remove from heat. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the warm water then add to the sugar mixture.

Pour this onto a non-stick baking tray and allow to cool. Once cool, break into shards.

You can now put this into the prepared box, and voila!

The gift of Time!

A great thing for kids to give their parents or grandparents alike! Get them to create a voucher for a video night, an hour spent helping out in the garden, washing the car, a shopping trip with mum, a nature ramble, trip to the zoo….what ever they would like! Each child can create a different voucher, and this ensures they get quality time if they want it.

Memories Album

Get children to create a book with bright paper or card. The can stick in photos, pictures, ticket stubs, brochures and written accounts of a special holiday or maybe just the past year. This will be a treasured momento for all aunties, grannies and parents alike especially in a world where families can live far apart.

The gift that keeps on growing!

Find a plain plant pot, and let your kids decorate it with paint, glitter, sequins etc. They can then either plant seeds or a small plant, with a tag that shows the recipient what the pot holds. This is a great gift for all age groups. Young children will love to help grow sun flower seeds, snap dragons or for the more gruesome, Venus fly-trap plants! There are lots of aptly named and easy to grow flowers, such as sweet pea “everlasting” for a wedding gift, or baby’s breath for a christening.

A hand-made present really shows you have thought about the recipient, and children get so much more out of the giving of a gift they are proud of. And many of these gifts keep on giving throughout the year, not just on the day itself…true value for time and money!