Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 2: Preschoolers

A few weeks have passed since part one...I don't know where the time went! Busy, busy, busy with getting ready for my first craft sale!

So, at last, Part 2 of my Stocking Stuffer Series. Keep your eyes open for the school age list in the next week or so!

Preschoolers:

Baby Food Jar Matching Game: A friend shared this link with me, for how to make a matching game from jar lids! She even shares her images so all you have to do is print and paste!

Homemade Modeling Beeswax: Recipe- 1 cup of beeswax, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lanolin. Melt beeswax over low, remove from heat and stir in oil and lanolin. You can add grated crayon for color. Let it cool in a lined pan. If it's too soft, add a litle more beeswax, if it's too hard add a little lanolin. You can find all the ingredients at most health food stores

Mini Notebooks: It's basically as easy as picking one scrapbooking paper that you like for the cover, cutting it to size, cutting blank paper just a smidge smaller, fold in half, staple in the center and then stamp or embellish the cover!

Crayon Roll: This is a perfect mate to the mini-notebook! It's a great beginner sewing project and because it's small it's easily done by hand too. There are tutorials all over the place, but I like this one.

Funky Fleece Scarf: There's a great tutorial here for a fun, simple scarf. Preschoolers love funky accessories!

Bath Paint: A great way to get a reluctant bather into the tub! Mix 4 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/3 cup body wash and food coloring. Add extra cornstarch if it's not thick enough. Store in plastic containers with lids and top with a paintbrush!

Craft Kit: Put some googly eyes, popsicle sticks, feathers, pipecleaners, ribbon and yarn in a ziploc bag. This is a great thing for when the Christmas excitement wears off just before dinner and you need to distract them!


Lick-and-Stickers: Make your own lick and stick stickers! Cut out your images from magazines, coloring books, old art projects or scrapbook paper. Add a pkg of gelatin to 1/2 cup water. Stir to dissolve gelatin and paint onto the back of images. Let dry wet side up. When they're dry, they're ready to be licked and sticked!

Apron: Kids love helping in the kitchen and an apron makes preschoolers feel even more grown up! You can find all sorts of tutorials and patterns on line and in books. I use the kids patterns in The Perfect Apron.

Shape Crayons: I just bought a silicone ice cube tray from Ikea that I am going to use to make shaped crayons as gifts for Daniel's classmates. All you do is warm the oven, break up crayons into the mold, turn off the oven, wait until they melt and remove and cool. Simple and fun.

Next Week: School-Agers!

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 1: Toddlers

Last year we had our first handmade Christmas. It was awesome! And a LOT of work. I am not making everything this year, but from now on, I will always make some or all of our gifts. Here are some of my favorites for toddlers. Be careful, some are a bit chokey for little ones.

Toddlers:

Magnets- you have to be careful because they can be a choking hazard, but I scanned, cropped and printed Franklin Characters onto magnet paper from Staples. Daniel is still playing with them! There are probably all kinds of tutorials for other types as well.

Painted Wooden People- I  painted wooden people pegs to look like our family. They were a big hit but Daniel lost himself almost immediately.

Homemade Play Dough: Here is one site, with a million recipes. You can also pack it in a stainless steel conatiner like this and have a great, eco friendly way to pack snacks later.

Honey Toffee: I use Honey, butter and vanilla and boil to the hard crack stage (it doesn't come out hard because honey is pretty gummy) and wrap it in wax paper. It's one of those treats I don't mind giving Daniel because it has no sugar in it. For those of you who like recipes, there's one here.

Felt Cookies: There is a great tutorial at Prudent Baby, but really it's as simple as cutting felt into cookie shapes, sewing embellishments on the top side of the cookie (beware of small things that may come off) and hand stitch them together. Felt doesn't fray, so it's a great beginner sewing project to do by hand.

Crayon Roll: I made a mini one for Daniel's stocking. I recommend reading a few different tutorials and choosing what you like best, or making up your own! Who doesn't love new crayons???

Crocheted Headband: I made myself a headband from this pattern at Creative Yarn, and noticed that someone modified the pattern to fit her daughter. I made one for a friend and it's cute!

Neck Tube: Best thing EVER! No more scarves all wrapped around to go out and play. Cut a piece of polar fleece fabric about 5x20 (measure you child's neck and leave a little extra room to pull over head), fold it in half and sew it together, right sides together. Voila! We love ours.

CD from Daddy: Or mommy. Or whoever is not the crafty one! My hubby burned Daniel his own CD of favorite songs and it was a huge hit! In fact, he received another one for his birthday. This is a great way for older siblings to make gifts for each other or the non-crafters to get in on the handmade goodness.

Felted Balls: Ours were a bit awkward looking, because it was my first try. Luckily, wonky balls are still fun.

Foot Bath in a Bag: I put a bit of oatmeal, some lavender buds and a bit of loose leaf tea in a bag and Daniel enjoyed his very own relaxing footbath. Yes, he really did sit still! He still talks about it!

Add a candy cane and a Christmas orange (or is that just my family?) and you have a pretty well rounded, toddler stocking full of handmade goodies!

In the next few weeks, I will be posting ideas for Preschoolers, School agers and maybe even grown ups! I don't know if I'm brave enough to tackle a handmade teen stocking!