Kids are astoundingly innovative. Hand them a cardboard box and they will make a car out of it, or an ingenious doll house. Hand them a rubber band and they can turn it into a gun. My kid found a big rubber band that was used by the florist and before I knew it, he made it into a gun with the use of that rubber band and lego bricks. It shot out lego bricks across the living room.



Getting children to create Christmas presents for their friends and family members is a definite means to keep them happily busy and with any luck out of trouble. Here are a few ideas.

A Framed Art

Any kid can sketch. Hand them a thick white paper, some pencils, crayolas, or watercolors and let them draw a Christmas picture. Once the work of art is finished, have the picture framed efficiently in a classy looking frame. It may even surpass as fine art by a master, people act as if to appreciate but no one really does. That might make an excellent present for a snobbish relative, don't you think?

Seriously, an image sketched by a grandchild would be cherished by the grandparents. Place the drawing on a nice frame and let them offer it to their grandpa or grandma as Christmas present.

Activity or Picture Books

You could let the children make picture books or activity books as presents to those they adore. When I told my children to create a birthday card for grandpa, they created picture books inclusive with lift-the-flap cut outs.

Take the children to the library to flick through the picture books on hand for additional ideas. At the last part of the outing propose that they create their own picture books.

Get 5 pieces of A4 size paper and fold it up in half.

Attach them in the center to make a booklet.

Hand out a booklet to each child.

Let them decide what goes on each page before they really start working.

Supply them with colored papers, glue, pencils, scissors, colored pens and crayons.

The moment they get used to it, they can create a picture book for each person on their list.

They may even create a picture book for you.

Friendship Bracelets

Do you have a pack of inexpensive beads with holes big enough to fit a thick and stiff rubberized string?

Allow the children to have the beads and the rubberized string.

Instruct them to thread the rubberized string through the beads. When the string of beads is quite long enough, teach them how to fix a knot with the free ends to lock the bracelet. Allow them to have the rest of the beads and rubberized string to make Christmas presents for the girls.

A Few Friendly Stones

Let the children gather up smooth palm sized stones. Clean and dry them. Bring out some white, black, and colored art papers. Let the children to create eyes and mouth, by cutting out and pasting these facial features on the stones. Allow them to be innovative and include mustache, eyebrows, a bow tie or whatever they could think of.

Once the glue is completely dried, cut out a piece of velvet that is a bit smaller than the stone and glue it at the bottom of each stone for a final touch.

With some ingenuity, the holidays can be used up fruitfully, making presents for one and all this Christmas. The children may even astonish you with a few creation of their own.

Prepare yourself for Christmas