13 Christmas Gifts you can DIY for your child

Ariel

2 years ago

I don’t know about you, but there’s something special about a hand-made gift, especially for your kid. With that in mind, I’m sharing some things I’ve made for June in the past, that – if framed in the right context – might be just what you need to get started on your own gift making/giving this year. So here are 13 Christmas gifts you can DIY for your child.

Make sure you check out my project gallery for my DIY inspiration

Mindful and purposeful gifting

We’ve been tackling Holiday gifting in a very simple way: we only give gifts to each other and June. We are so fortunate to be able to provide (or make) what we want year-round, so we’ve decided to place an emphasis on other kinds of gifts during the holiday season.

We’d rather gift time together to our family and friends, or cover the cheque at dinner, or give a gift card for an experience, or gift our time. The memories created in those moments are the ones I remember more than what was physically exchanged.

Crazy eh? And even when we do gift each other, we’re keeping it to the following: something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. It’s worked-out well so far! Grandparents are usually jostling to get in on the gift giving for June, and Santa always sends a book or two.

13 DIY Gift Ideas for Kids

DIY Puppet Theater

“Everybody loves puppets!” and if they don’t, stuffies and dolls do the trick. I made this using scrap wood in our workshop, and June loved it.

DIY Felt Hand Puppets

Even if you don’t have a puppet theater to go with, hand puppets are lots of fun. You can make animals too, but here I focused on several skin tone shades, and fun colours and patterns.

DIY MCM Montessori Toy Shelf

This is also just a really handy shelf if you’re looking for something that kids can easily access, keep clean, and will look nice in “adult” space.

DIY Penguin Classics Book Cover Art

Bring a love for the classics to your kids at an early age. Put your favourite titles (and maybe theirs?) on canvas form using paint and your Cricut.

DIY Face planters with scrap vinyl

If you’ve got some scraps of vinyl lying around, you can easily add little faces to planters and jars or cups. Don’t have plants? what about adding a little personality to the cup that holds pencils and paint brushes, or your toothbrush cup? Have fun with it!

Create a Montessori Playroom

I’m including this one because you can do it with what you already have on hand. A revamped or re-thought play space will feel like new to a toddler discovering their space for the first time. Keep Montessori principles in mind, and your space will feel like new again.

DIY Bean Bag Floor Pillows

Got a reader? or a baby still doing tummy time? Heck, anyone who likes to hang out on the floor could use one of these. They’re easy to make, and will help keep any space kid friendly.

DIY Felt Banner

This is like a giant pennant flag, only it’s cooler and you have space to add all the felt details and trims that you could want!

DIY Bunny ear mirror

Who doesn’t love bunnies?! This one is still going strong, and I catch June making faces in the mirror.

DIY Baby Activity Table

This was a really cute toy for June, but the method I used to secure the rings to the board could have been better. If I ever made it again, It’s put feet on it so that it could be at her height.

Dyed wood toys

We really like wood toys, but wanted to keep colour as a part of her toy chest. So we experimented with dying wood toys! You can also use natural dyes if that floats your boat.