I know it is a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but I like to be prepared. I am in a pickle this year! I like to make homemade things, or at least things with a homemade touch. We usually spend $10-15 on our nieces and nephew. This year, for the nieces I am buying them each a pair of slippers, then filling them with foot lotion, salts, pumice stone, etc.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
I have a 7 yr. old son who loves video games too (these are pricey!!) Here are a few suggestions:
1) maybe you could make a homemade puzzle of a photo of him or his family. Take the photo and have it enlarged. Glue on sturdy card board and then cut shapes with an exacto knife. 7 yr. olds still like seeing pics of themselves and it could be a fun project for him.
2)They are also at a great age for calendars...maybe a homemade photo calendar with birthdays and holidays of his family written in. Lots of pics with him and his family or friends on the calendar pages.
3) A wall clock for his bedroom. If his bedroom has a theme (baseball, basketball, soccer, Yu-Gi=OH, Spongebob...you get the idea). Craft stores sell the clock parts and they are very inexpensive. Just use your imagination to "decorate" the background. I made my son one using Spongebob that I copied in color off the internet then enlarged at a copy center and used as the background. He loves having his own clock hanging on the wall in his room.
Hope these help.
Hey---its great to think ahead for the holidays!!
Some ideas that I had:
1---Homemade treats in a neat container that he can reuse
2---make your own art kit (if he likes drawing/painting,ect) put markers/colored pencils/crayons/neat pens/notebook---anything crafty in a "rubbermaid" container. This is great to get the items now---because school supplies are on sale!! I've been stocking up on that stuff to use as stocking stuffers!!!
how about a pogo stick or something else physical? my daughter had a pogo stick at that age and she loved it. she got to where she could bounce with no hands, just balance.
maybe a sand box with some cars or trucks....anything to get him interested and away from the tv screen a few hours a day would be great.
high power water guns are fun for that age too. just be prepared to be fired on if you are in the yard!
Do you sew? How about making him a large checkerboard. There are free patterns on the web for these and you make the checkers out of yo-yo's .. If you don't sew, but I'm sure you are crafty, try making up one and using iron on fusing to apply the different color squares to the background fabric and use craft foam pieces (two glued together) for the checkers... just a thought ... hmmm ...now you got me thinking ... ut oh ... !!!
Science craft stuff. Go to a teacher store and you will be amazed at some of the stuff you can buy. And if you buy Back to School you are sure to get some good savings.
Good luck.
How about a disposable camera, photo album and a $5 giftcard for developing the pics? Kids love taking pictures and you don't have to worry about him breaking the family camera.
Since he likes video games maybe he would like puzzle books (word searches, sudoku, etc.) I think the dollar store has game cards the size of flashcards that you can write and wipe off.
If he's into cars, you could make him a play town. Fabric stores have fabric panels that look like streets and a town. He can drive his cars and trucks on it. My son had a rug like this that he just loved. He would tell us not to move anything because he had a story going. He played with it until his early teens. We eventually made a board for it so it could be easily moved. He later made "trees", styrofoam hills, buildings, etc.
how about a bottle of foaming monster puke (bubble bath) with a washer,towel,and some monster figurines bought from dollar shop the website for making bubble bath is www.craftbits.com/
It is never too early to think about Christmas. I know because I think of it 12 months a year. I have four sons 10-17 years old. So I have been through the boys 7 th year a few times.
One of the best cheap gifts I think I ever gave my neices and nephew was their own ream of printer-type paper (put it in a box from the print shop so it stays nice, and a set of markers and drawing pencils. All together around $5. 500 sheets of fresh white paper, all their own, was a big hit, and by Christmas EVERYONE needs new markers and pencils.
how about making him a stamp book collection book. and start him with a few stamps. let him know that several stamps can be gotten at the post office, separately or in themes.
7 year old boy...yup...three words
Bug collection kit:
Fish tank net (you may be able to get something bigger at a dollar store, but I usually see these at garage sales for a dime)
How about a Marshmallow Gun made from PVCpipe?
These are popular items at craft shows. You can find instructions, complete with photos at pack002.com/
or just "Google " Marshmallow Gun and there are several sites with instructions...and even a few where you can purchase one of these.
Harlean from Arkansas
I don't mean to offend, but as a kid who grew up a gamer, I'm not sure if a stamp book or something of the like would appeal to him. Yes, video games are pricey, and it is good that you want to branch out his interests. However, I don't know if stamps or bugs are the way to go. If he has a Gameboy/Gameboy Advance/Nintendo DS, a good idea would maybe be a custom-made carrying case for it. There are plenty of good instructions on the internet, and it is something he would use. Also, as tacky as it sounds, if you can find Perler beads (the tiny cylindrical beads that you iron together to make stuff with, you can find them at most any craft or hobby store.) you can go online and find some neat "sprites," or video game characters or objects from early 8-bit or 16-bit games. Simply find a picture of one and use it as a guide to put the perler beads onto a pegboard. When you're done, cover with wax paper and use a clothes iron to melt them together until they hold. Once it cools, stick a magnet on the back. Yes, it sounds tacky, but they often turn out to be VERY cool looking.
I sell marshmallow guns. From snipers to bazookas i got them all. These arent the ones that you buy at the store these ones are made from 100% pvc pipe. From snipers to bazookas i sell them all. I even spray paint them. If your interested in buying one check out my site at www.freewebs.com/klaymmguns
I bought my seven year old brother a star wars action figure
and I'm going to make him a "battle station."
For Christmas last year, I made my bro (10 almost 11 y/o) a jean cover for a little plastic box. (those ones that you put in your drawers or whatever to organize your stuff. They don't have lids.) I just measured the dimensions of the plastic box and sewed a jean cover for it! (And I sewed on a top, too that he can velcro down.) I also embroidered his name on it. He loved it! He uses it as a school pencil/pen/school supplies box and still uses it! You can also fill it with pens, pencils, a mini stapler, tape, etc. Any kid would love this. Oh, and you don't have to use jean fabric, you can use anything you like, but jean fabric is very sturdy and I always have scraps left over of that after making a quilt! hth
Maybe make your little brother a homemade colouring book, if not maybe fun cookies in car shapes. I made the colouring book for my 4 yr old brother, and he loved it.
The way to any man's heart is through his stomach! Those cookie mixes in a jar (soup, brownie, etc.) are perfect for a first time cook. There are tons of recipes online, put it in a cool jar with a decorative label and instructions. Don't forget the special candies mixed in. This is usually VERY cheap. Maybe you could include a shaped muffin tin or something. Craft stores (Michael's/Joann's) often have licensed character pans and you can use their 40% coupons to make the prices reasonable.
How about a fun board game to play with the family? There are LOTS out there! Also, you can find a mp3 player that is around $20 if you shop for it!
When I was a kid my parents farmed and being a dairy farmer in the '80's wasn't very profitable. One year my dad made rubberband guns for my four brothers. They LOVED them. Last year he gave one to each of my nephews, and they still love them. This year I'm going to sew them a target so they don't shoot each other all the time...though that may be part of the fun.
I am having trouble this year with making something for my brother but I cant think straight. It doesn't help that my mom died about 6 months ago. She has always been there to help me with gifts. I am breaking down.
Why not do the same the thing for him you do for the girls. Only use a ball cap of his favorite team or sport, fill it with maybe hot wheels if he likes those, or are there any kinds of books he likes. I have a 9 year old and he loves WWE wrestling, dinosaurs, his favorite tv show is river monsters, so he likes books about snakes and fish. He thinks he is all grown up and likes to use the Axe products so he smells good like dad and papa. Just a few ideas that might help
My bros love Lego and Star Wars so what bout a cuddly lego block or star wars toy?
^--^
- -
<
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
