Think about your talents
What do you like to do?
For example, do you like to make different kinds of knots? Boys and girls both like hemp jewelry, made by tying knots in hemp twine of different colors.
Do you like working on art or craft projects? Try these special crafts.
Special CraftsHand-print animals. Put a dab of washable paint on a paper plate, and dip your hand into the paint. Create bugs, flowers, trees, and monsters by making thick lines with the side of your hand and thin lines with your pinky.
Use a pen or pencil to make eyes for your creatures. Try using vegetables as painting tools to make unique animals, like a carrot to make a fish!
Octopus designs. Use paint and your handprint to make octopuses. Or make giant flowers using your handprints for the petals. Put the design on paper or plates.
Sock puppets. Use an old sock—one without a partner—to create a puppet. Use yarn for hair, buttons for eyes, and felt for clothing. Add glasses, freckles, and a hat. For fun, make the puppet look like the person you are giving it to.
Toothpick sculptures. Use flat toothpicks, paper plates, and white glue to create a sculpture. After it dries, apply paint to add color to your work of art!
Flower leis. Use the flowers blooming outside (including dandelions) to create a beautiful necklace (lei) for someone special.
Cut straws into one-inch pieces and, using a needle with thread, carefully string the flowers together. Use the straw pieces as separators. Add beads, pinecones, or items from nature to create a beautiful lei for someone special.
Close 
Create a happy birthday comic strip!
Do you have other creative talents? Often the best gifts are ones from the heart—like writing a special song or poem, or creating a talent show.
Write a Song When you give gifts from the heart, you get even more enthusiastic about doing the things you love. With experience, you may want to create music or crafts that you can sell.
Leo Sidran began writing songs when he was six years old. When he was in the seventh grade he made a tape of his music and gave it to friends.
His tape got heard by someone in the music industry and, by the time he was 13, Leo was recording music professionally!
Close Special handmade gifts
Use your imagination to develop these ideas for holiday gifts:
- Gift cards and wrapping paper using a homemade stamp
Gift Cards and Wrapping Paper
Don't buy, make your own.
Carve a simple design into a potato half or a block of wood. Put printing ink on waxed paper, and press the design gently on the ink.
Then, press the potato or wood design straight down on a piece of smooth paper. Try other vegetables, pinecones, and other objects from nature to create unique printing designs.
Close- Picture note cards made from colored paper
Picture Note CardsGlue and/or copy school or family pictures to colored paper to create note cards.
Use craft glue and decoupage sealer (available at craft shops under various names, such as "Mod Podge") to make the pictures stick.
Use colored pencils to add special effects—like giving your sister blue hair.
Close- Clothing and jewelry decorations using buttons
Decorate Clothing and Make JewelrySew colorful buttons to elastic, hats, and clothing.
Make rings out of old buttons with pipe cleaners.
Use paint pens to add items like leaves, stems, and teardrops to clothing.
Close- Bedazzling beads of all shapes and sizes made from an easy clay recipe.
Easy Clay Recipe
Mix two cups of baking soda with one cup of cornstarch in a large pot. Add one-and-one-fourth cup of cold water and stir.
Cover a cookie sheet that has sides on it with aluminum foil.
Ask an adult to help you cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it looks like mashed potatoes—about 10-15 minutes.
Pour onto the cookie sheet; cover with a cloth dishtowel and cool. Keep covered or put in an air-tight plastic bag to keep moist.
To make individual beads, tear off a piece of clay about the size of a large marble. Shape the bead to your liking, and create holes for stringing. Lay the beads on a cookie sheet to air dry.
The beads will harden in about six hours. Decorate with paint, using a toothpick or a very small brush. Or add food coloring to the mix before drying to create attractive marbling patterns.
Close- Beautiful plants grown from seed
Beautiful PlantsGrow plants, flowers, and vegetables from seeds or cuttings to give as gifts.
Decorate clay pots with paints or markers for a bright look.
Close
How about a handmade gift certificate to give a service, such as:
- Wash your parent's car by hand, inside and out.
- Organize a relative's desk and/or work area.
- Do the dishes or other household chores.
More gift ideas
For more gift ideas, look for these books at your library:
True or False: Before he was president, Lincoln asked his friends to take his letters to the post office because he didn't know how to get there.
Click Abe's head for the answer.
FALSE: Lincoln ran the post office in New Salem, Illinois, before he was president of the United States. He must have known the way to get there!
- "Making Things: The Handbook of Creative Discovery," by Ann Sayre Wisemann
- "More Incredibly Awesome Crafts for Kids," by Better Homes and Gardens
- "Making Cents: Every Kid's Guide to Money: How To Make It, What To Do With It," by Elizabeth Wilkinson
- "50 Rainy Day Activities," by Fiona Watt
