I have received some great gift ideas off of here for adults. However, I need some ideas for cheap homemade gifts for children ages 6 months to 12 years. Last year I made tie blankets. Any other ideas? Thanks for the help.
Anne from Troy, OH
You could make everybody a Christmas stocking with their name on it. (10/13/2008)
By Judi
If you sew; you are set. Last year I bought a cute little stuffed bear at the Dollar store for my 5 year old granddaughter then sewed her a bunch of cute little skirts, dresses and tops for it. I bought her a little "dresser" to put the clothes in. It was really one of those 3 drawer plastic tote-bins from Walmart. She is still playing with these doll-bear clothes to this day and re-dresses "Smiley" the pink bear in a new outfit every day. The dollar store (Dollar Tree) also has outfits that you can buy, so I also bought her some of these too. The nice thing about sewing Barbie and stuffed animal outfits is they cost you nothing, because you can use your sewing scraps. If you don't sew, but crochet or knit, you can make sweaters for dolls and bears.
Another thing I did was buy several T-shirts in colors at the dollar store and sewed ruffles on the sleeves and appliqued "cute" on the front. The fabric I used I also made a skirt with, so they both matched. By buying the T-shirt already made for only $1, you save all kinds of time. If you have scrap fabric, make a scrunchie to match.
If you are good with wood working, you can make girls doll swings. I bought a cute handmade doll swing at the thrift store several years back and painted it sage green with flower vines on it. The person who made it used chains like on real swings, but rope would also work. The swing I bought is about 14 inches high. My granddaughter can sit for hours pushing her dolls and animals in it.
Another of my favorite things I like to buy/make for my granddaughter is a craft basket. You can buy the supplies at the dollar store and each time I visit we make something with the supplies. Every once in a while I'll add to it, if I find a discounted craft item. Thankfully they have lots of craft supplies at dollar stores these days. She now knows how to sew on buttons and make roses out of scrap fabrics.
For boys aged 5 and over, if you can spend $10, you can put together 10 tools for the start of a real toolbox for them with real tools at the dollar store. I did this for my daughter and now she has the basic tools to fix things around the house. We did this for my son and by the time he moved out he had quite a collection of tools.
There are recipes for making playdough on ThriftyFun and online. This stuff is fun for all ages and you can buy some cookie cutters at the dollar store to use with this. Just make up a batch and split it into 3 or 4 different colors. The nice thing is homemade playdough cleans up fairly easily, whereas homemade silly-putty doesn't.
For the baby, I'd crochet sweaters. (10/13/2008)
By Cyinda
We have 7 kids and 14 grandkids with # 15 on the way. I'm basically the Queen of inexpensive gifts. One of the gifts I like to give is a gift certificate for that child and I to go to the dollar movies for some special one on one. They enjoy your time and the movie. (10/17/2008)
By Amy Higdon
One of the best cheap gifts I ever did was a new set of lots of markers from dollar store and a whole ream of cheap printer paper. 500 sheets of paper-all your own-to draw, scribble, make airplanes or whatever seems amazing to a 4-10 year old. Crayons or colored pencils could be substituted. (10/17/2008)
By Linda
There are paper dolls and toys you can print out right from the PC. Make folders for the paper dolls and little girls would enjoy them. There are color pages you can print out and just a lot of cool stuff if you don't mind searching. (10/17/2008)
By Lori
Look up how to make magic sand on You Tube. I bought some for my husband a couple years ago and my kids still want to play with it. It is hydrophobic sand, it stays dry in water using Scotchgard. Go to the 3M website, you can get a coupon for $1 off. It is so fun to play with. I just found out how to make it, and will be making some for my kids this Christmas. (10/22/2008)
By Amy
Try making some stuffed/plush animals gather.com There's a listing of patterns.
Or maybe hand puppets. When I was little, one of my favorite toys for a few years was a Santa Claus hand puppet someone made for me. You can use old or mismatched socks, or scrap fabric for the puppets. Try things like Harry Potter or Pokemon characters or whatever the kids might like, for either the plush toys or the puppets. (11/07/2008)
Thanks everyone for the great ideas. I found a pattern on sale to make the girls ponchos. And with my 40% Joann Fabrics ad I got the material cheap. For the boys I found on another web site to make play mats and draw familiar places on them. And I found some cars on sale for them. Thanks again for all of the great ideas.
By Anne Case
Also there are many great gifts that you can purchase at the dollar store from dolls, to cars, and puzzles. Why not put together a collection of crayons, paper, and coloring books for young ones? How about the dress up clothes they feature? I start collecting stuff at Halloween, because they have lots of different outfits for both girls and boys.
Just decorate a cardboard box to store them in. How about the many different cards they sell like Old Maid and Go Fish? Buy the story book CD's for little ones. If you got teenagers no worries. You can buy candles and perfume for both boys and girls. I have found diaries, journals, and all kinds of pretty stationary and pens. Browse the dollar store first before buying elsewhere you may find it cheaper. (11/18/2008)
By LC
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