Introducing...

a mini-series, just in time for Christmas!  

Last month I was thinking about homemade Christmas presents and what I'd be making for everyone... and I realized how fun it would be if bug could make his own presents this year. I know I'm every bit the biased parent, but bug has a long list of talents - among them an artistic ability with crayons and markers that I'm even a bit jealous of.  What if I could prompt him along into using this and other abilities to make special items for our loved ones?  It's certainly not a new idea, but one I hadn't considered yet since my kids are still so young.  At four years old, I figured there had to be a number of things he could make with little or no guidance and help.

I was excited at the prospect of how much these little treasures would mean to our family members receiving them, but even MORE excited about what it would mean to bug.  I'd venture a guess that almost all Christmas presents are giving in a spirit of love, and that's awesome.  But I think bug will understand that spirit of love and Christmas giving even more when he's poured himself into his own little presents.

We may even throw in a few made by the girl, if I can wrangle her up long enough to finish anything...

I had some criteria for the gifts.
* They must be made from things I have on-hand, or at the MOST very inexpensive craft ingredients (i.e. something I can pick up for no more than $2 or so.)
* They must come from the heart and be something that got bug excited.
* They must require very little of my attention and hands-on guidance.  Not that I don't want to craft with my son, but I wanted him to be really proud of his achievements.  Also, I have gifts of my own to make!
* They must take little time - usually only an afternoon, no more than two.  We are on a time crunch until Christmas, AND his attention span is... well... that of a 4 yr old.

So there you have an idea of what I was going for when he and I planned his gifts.  I understand that not all kids have the same talents/interest levels, so a lot of these can be tweaked to fit your own child.  Also, the older the child, the more of each project he can do by himself, obviously.  In each post I'll leave you a summary including how much time he spent on it and how much time I had to spend on it, and various other key details you may want to take into consideration (besides the actual tutorial details, of course.)

Furthermore, since I'm sure this isn't a foreign concept to you crafty chicks, I'm opening up a link party so you can share your ideas for kid's Christmas creations - gifts and decorations alike!  So look for that tomorrow.

My plan for his gifts was only solidified when I heard President Deiter F. Uchtdorf speak at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on Sunday December 2nd.  You can read or watch President Uchtdorf's message here.  I highly recommend it.

This likely won't be an everyday post, but I hope the little ideas we share throughout the coming days (and possibly weeks, depending on what we have time for...) help inspire you!

PS, if you are a family member, you may want to skip those posts... unless you don't want to be surprised on Christmas.  In which case, you're a Scrooge.  

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!