grandparents site
this is been one thing I was hoping to see. howdy all we got one thing in common and that is our gbabies
I have 3 from my dh kids and 3 from my dd. we got 3b and 3g
Homemade puzzles are fun and can be adapted to any age. Use heavy backing such as the cardboard inserts from packaged sheets or heavy poster board. Find a colorful picture from a magazine or old book you don't mind tearing up, preferably something of interest to the child. Firmly glue the entire page to the cardboard. When it is dry, cut it into creative shapes. The number of pieces and degree of difficulty are up to you!
could use cereal boxes for the cardboard or to make it even easier use the picture on the cereal box. After you get the pieces cut use an emery board to sand down the rough edges.
2kind of puzzel
I blow up a picture of the child glue it on cardboard then cut it up into pieces according to child's age. Large pieces for the very young child and smaller pieces for the older child. Then print a collage of smaller pictures in black and white to cover a coffee can for your puzzle. Also have glued pictures inside a clear plastic Christmas bulb. Every age likes to see themselves in pictures. Bulbs come from the craft department at Wal-Mart. Hope this helps.
Personalized Placemats
I have made stuffed animals, such as dinosaurs from patterns out of magazines just enlarged them on a copier and if I needed it even bigger do a free hand out line. You can buy material with the pattern already laid out or find patterns online. Do a key word search such as turtle pattern to find a pattern online.
Placemats made from old calendars or magazines are easy. Just cut out the pictures and lay down on clear laminate. Then put a layer of laminate on top making sure to smooth it out to prevent air bubbles or wrinkles. The little ones will love seeing characters from their favorite magazines when they eat.
Bath Paint Pleasure
A great inexpensive gift for young kids is to make a bath paint set. You will need a brightly colored plastic bucket in which to put the goods. Make your bath paints with liquid hand soap with a drop or two of food coloring to make the various colors. Put your paints in snack size disposable containers with covers. You may want to include three or four different colors in each bucket. Include a sponge paintbrush, a rubber duck that can be purchased at the dollar store, and a small plastic paint palette tray. The kids will love it!
For young girls, dress-up clothes are always fun. These can be found at garage sales and second hand stores. Often the best dress-up clothes are silky nightgowns that Grandma wore and her old shoes, purses and hats. Many things we consider out of date are a treasure to a little girl.
If you have time to spend with the children and don't live too far away, certificates for TIME are a great gift. Make colorful "coupons" they can redeem for a day spent with you. You can specify the activity or leave it to their imagination, within reason and the budget. An example would be a day baking cookies, a picnic in the park, a trip to the museum or zoo, a tea party, a matchbox race, or working in the garden. Children love it when adults take time to enjoy being with them and often the activity itself is not important.
Gifts from Fleece
You can do a scarf pretty easily as well as a blanket, mittens, hat, stocking, and pillowcase. Fleece does not fray at the end, so you needn't worry about sewing the edging because it won't unravel. To make a nice finished edge, either do a yarn blanket stitch, which loops from one side to the other, hooking the last stitch as you go so there is a line going along the top. Experiment because it's easier than it sounds. Easier still is to cut in from the edge about three inches and 1/4 inch apart and you have a fringe. To get fancy, put two different fleece together, two solids or one pattern other solid color, sew them together or blanket stitch on the sides, then on the ends of the scarf cut the fringe. Take one fringe from each side and tie them together. It looks great!
Stories
Do the children have cassette players? If so, record yourself reading a selection of classic kid favorites. You can tailor each tape to the age and interest of the child. If the books are inexpensive you might include them to make your own homemade story and tape set.
my kids still has their tape that was done by dh when they were small, it was truly a treasure for them could do any kind of a theme from a stuffed bear with a tape of stories featuring bears, a small race car with a tape of stories about racecars, a small doll paired with doll stories, etc!
Pillowcases
One inexpensive gift, which my kids love, is making them pillow cases. You can choose material that you know they like.just sew up the sides and machine hem the bottom. It's a gift that lasts
I guess I made my son back about 8 yrs ago maybe longer and he still has it and sleeps with it and he is almost 22 in a few days. IN fact he wants another one. also did this for grandson, but the way I did both of them was to make the oversize more like the body pillow and stuff it with rags that was shredded up. this way they just gather it where they want the pillow to bunch and sleep like a baby.
hope this helps. and my gd loves to play dress up eveery time they come over, and you can also buy cute dress up thing at 1 stores.
