The fall is when I start working in earnest with my kids to help them make Christmas gifts for our many relatives. There are about 20 family members on our gift list, so mass production and assembly line strategies help a lot. (Get it? X-mass production? heh).
I have a couple of self-imposed constraints on these projects. I try to keep costs low (but of course). I do my best to avoid those cutesy things that are just going to clutter up somebody else's home. And, of course, the project also has to be something within the capabilities of my boys. These three constraints require a lot of creativity on my part.
Here's a gift that worked really well two years ago: decorated soap bottles. I had a bunch of supplies left-over from a "stained glass" project -- really, painted glass that looks sort of like stained glass.
I bought a bunch of soap dispensers (in the store, I surreptitiously checked one corner of the label on the bottle to verify that it really could peel off). At home, I removed the labels and then got out the leftover arts and crafts material that inspired this project.
When we did this, my son was at an age where he was enthusiastic but not particularly neat or artistic, so I "drew" the design on each bottle with the black tape (fake lead) myself. My son then colored mostly in between the lines with the stained glass paint.
This soap bottle was for my son's basketball-playing older sister. We also did butterflies, owls, rainbows, and suns, based on what my son thought would fit well with the intended recipient.
I have a couple of self-imposed constraints on these projects. I try to keep costs low (but of course). I do my best to avoid those cutesy things that are just going to clutter up somebody else's home. And, of course, the project also has to be something within the capabilities of my boys. These three constraints require a lot of creativity on my part.
Here's a gift that worked really well two years ago: decorated soap bottles. I had a bunch of supplies left-over from a "stained glass" project -- really, painted glass that looks sort of like stained glass.I bought a bunch of soap dispensers (in the store, I surreptitiously checked one corner of the label on the bottle to verify that it really could peel off). At home, I removed the labels and then got out the leftover arts and crafts material that inspired this project.
When we did this, my son was at an age where he was enthusiastic but not particularly neat or artistic, so I "drew" the design on each bottle with the black tape (fake lead) myself. My son then colored mostly in between the lines with the stained glass paint.
This soap bottle was for my son's basketball-playing older sister. We also did butterflies, owls, rainbows, and suns, based on what my son thought would fit well with the intended recipient.
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