My daughter actually started this tradition for us a couple years ago when she was only 5. She came to me one day and said that since her little sister adored the Cat in the Hat, she wanted to make her her very own book for Christmas. So, we printed off some coloring pages online and she used the computer to type out a few lines of text to go with each one. When it was all colored and ready to be assembled, she carefully cut the pages to fit in a photo album and proudly wrapped it up for her baby sister.
Since then, the kids have always made Christmas gifts for one another. My favorite part is that when it gets close to Christmas, the kids aren’t talking about what they want for Christmas…they are asking, “What can I make for my brother and sister this year?”
And on Christmas morning, those are the only gifts that are opened as we wait for the egg casserole and some sort of yummy cinnamon bread to finish baking. The rest are saved for after breakfast, so that their gifts from the heart can be savored and enjoyed and not lost among other shiny packages that wait under the tree.
This year’s homemade gifts are already finished, wrapped and waiting.
When my oldest received this sewing kit for her birthday, after her initial ooh’s and ahh’s, her first response was, “Now I can sew something for my brother and sister for Christmas!” And that’s exactly what she did! The first and only projects she’s made thus far, she’s lovingly giving away.
My middle girly decided to make these donuts for the play kitchen for her sister. They are actually made from a pair of socks and were supposed to be no-sew, but she opted to sew the beads on…because that’s what we had on hand, but also because she wanted to try sewing with a needle just like she knew big sis was! You can find the tutorial for no-sew donuts here.
Then for her little brother, we lucked out when we came across the airplane project that was part of this year’s Build and Grow Clinic at Lowe’s. Not only has Little Brother has been fascinated with airplanes since he was a wee little one, but it also turned out to be a very cool ”daddy – daughter date” on the day she made it!
And Little Brother? He wasn’t about to be left out. During a stroll through the craft store with me, he grabbed hold of some strings of beads, so we went with it and made bracelets. It of course required some assistance to string the beads since they were so tiny, but it proved to be a successful project as we talked about big and little and he helped make a beautiful pattern with them.
Now I’m just wondering how long it will be before someone accidentally “spills” their secrets!
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I just bought that sewing kit for my oldest! She had a week at camp last summer dedicated to sewing and asked for a sewing kit for Christmas this year. I picked this kit because of the cute case and the fact that it came with some projects to do right away:)
I wanted to let you know that I have added the special Christmas ornament purchase and wrapping to our Christmas traditions. I have taken my oldest out already where she picked a little white praying angel. I will take the boys each out this weekend and we will open them on Christmas eve.
Oh, she’ll love the kit! It’s perfect for beginners and has such cute projects in it! It was the first time Hannah ever used a needle and I was surprised how she just picked it up and got started nearly all by herself! I just helped with tying knots!
Oh, I bet that little angel is precious! We had fun opening ours and sharing them with one another! My oldest chose a snowman snowcone since she desperately wanted a snowcone machine for her birthday this year and for all the snowcones that we enjoyed at the fair with her cousins this summer! My middle girly chose a measuring cup that had kitchen utensils in it…both because she enjoys baking with me and because it reminds her of the measuring cup that’s in the rice sensory table they have at her preschool. And my little guy chose a Chuggington train ornament becuase he is all about trains this year and loves a couple Down by the Station books we found at the library. In fact when he picked it out, he was singing, “Puff, Puff, Toot, Toot, Off we Go!” And my husband chose one that’s a doctors shirt with a stethoscope around it and a heart on the pocket. It’s perfect! When he went to Haiti this year, they built a clinic for the people in one of the remote villages and the organization that they worked through was called Heart to Heart International! I smile every time I see them on the tree!