I'm sure you've not only made your list but are checking it twice. Just in case you have forgotten that random person or two, I have a few gift suggestions for you. The first are a list of previous posts that might make nice little homemade gifts from (or for) your kids. The second are a few of my favorite books to give as gifts to the many children in my life.
Come back Friday as I have a special treat: Fawnda from Fireflies and Jellybeans has asked me to blog swap! I'm going to guest post for her and she'll be dropping by over here. So come back on Friday and show her some love!
Craft Ideas
Felt bird ornaments
Wouldn't these make sweet ornaments? You can add a ribbon from the bird as well and hang something from it. Or put beads on the top ribbon to spell a child's name. When Little Page was in a class of 10, I was planning on making them as gifts for each of the kids in her class. (Not quite as keen on the idea now that she's got 17 classmates. Sorry, Heather!)
Felt cookies
Felt everything is all the rage right now, and these cookies are just too easy not to whip up. They'd make a great gift along with a toy baking set or kids apron. If you want more felt food ideas, my blogging friend Maman Tattoo has some incredible ideas.
MYO Stickers
So you probably don't want to do butterflies for Christmas, but the technique works for any cut paper. Have your kids make their own, personalized stickers to seal this year's Christmas letters. Or save them for all of those thank you notes you'll be making them write come December 26!
Crayon Initials
If you order soon, I bet you can still make these before Christmas. Heck, the molds themselves make great gifts for any crafty mom or preschool teacher. I love my alphabet molds and it's so simple to create these crayons. Tie the initials to presents or make a whole set in multiple colors to spell out a name.
Homemade Playdough
You can't get much cheaper or simpler, but this is always a winner in the 4 and under crowd! In fact, Little Page's first teacher made each of her students their own bag of colored playdough. She kneaded glitter into the dough to make it extra special. Although it's possible her counter just happened to be covered in glitter... she is a preschool teacher. (Photo: eHow)
Book Ideas
Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies
I couldn't wait until Christmas and purchased this book when it first came out. Not only is it a great anthology of some of the best-loved poetry of all time (along with some new poems by Julie Andrews and her daughter), but it also includes a CD. During playtime, I occasionally put on the CD for my daughters to listen to. Who better than Mary Poppins herself to teach my children poetry?
Baby Bear Discovers the World
My parents brought this book back from Alaska for my Littlest Page. We all fell in love with it. Nature photography beautifully illustrates this sweet and funny story of Baby Bear's adventure into the big, wide world. Toddlers and preschoolers will love watching Baby Bear discover new things as he ventures off without him mama. Mothers will love how accurately Marion Bauer portrays a troublesome toddler!
The Day the Babies Crawled Away
One of my favorites by Peggy Rathman, this silhouette-illustrated book tells how you saved the day when the babies ran away. You can read my full review here. It was one of the first non-board books we read to Little Page and remained a favorite for years. A great gift for the toddler who's ready to move onto bigger and better books!
The House That Jill Built
For the lift-the-flap lover in your life, this book has enough flaps to satisfy any child! It follows the rhyming patters of "The House that Jack Built" and tells the story of Jill and her cat who keep being greeted by homeless nursery rhyme characters. Each new addition to the family means a new addition to the house, creating quite an interesting structure! The end of the book includes a very cool pop-up.
Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up
I reviewed this cookbook not too long ago, but thought it was worth another mention. I love how it is specifically geared toward preschoolers and allows them, through the use of illustrated instructions, to make their own dishes. This would make a wonderful gift for any child, whether or not her parents cook... maybe especially if they don't!
I am glad you did this round up gave me an opportunity to go back into archives from before I was reading your blog. I love that cookbook suggestion. I've been looking for one to use with ER but none of the ones I've seen at the store have been quite right for a toddler. I'll look into that Julie Andrews CD, when little page turner is older you might want to read the Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by her. It's a fabulous fantasy/imagination book. My fourth grade teacher read it to us and I was enthralled. Cute felt birds too BTW.
ReplyDeleteThat little bird is just precious. That's what I want for Christmas. Really! :)
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