| Kids are amazingly creative. Give them a | | | | in half. Staple them in the middle to |
| cardboard box and they make a car, a | | | | make a booklet. Give a booklet to each |
| doll house or a robot. Give them a | | | | kid. Let them plan out what goes onto |
| rubber band and they make a gun. Mine | | | | each page before they actually start |
| found a huge rubber bad used by the | | | | work. Provide them with color paper, |
| florist and made a gun using that rubber | | | | scissors, glue, pencils, pens and |
| band and Lego bricks. It shot Lego | | | | crayons. Once they get the hang of it, |
| bricks across the room. Getting kids to | | | | they can make a book for each person on |
| make Christmas gifts for their friends | | | | their gift list. They might even make a |
| and family members is a sure way to keep | | | | book for you. 3. Friendly Stones Get the |
| them happily occupied and hopefully out | | | | kids to gather smooth palm sized stones. |
| of mischief. Here are some suggestions. | | | | Wash and dry them. Get white paper, |
| 1. Framed Art Any child can draw. Give | | | | black paper and colored paper. Get the |
| them thick white paper, pencils, | | | | kids to make eyes and mouth out by |
| crayons, or paints and let them draw a | | | | cutting and pasting these features on |
| christmas scene. Once the masterpiece is | | | | the stones. Let them get creative and |
| complete, Get the picture framed | | | | add in mustache eyebrows, bow tie or |
| professionally in an expensive looking | | | | anything they might think of. Once the |
| frame. It might even pass of as fine art | | | | glue on these stones are dry, cut a |
| by a master people pretend to understand | | | | piece of velvet slightly smaller than |
| but no one really does. That might make | | | | the stone and stick it underneath each |
| a fine gift for a snobby relative, don't | | | | stone for a finishing touch. 4. |
| you think? On a serious note, a picture | | | | Bracelets Do you have a box of cheap |
| drawn by a grandchild would be treasured | | | | beads with holes large enough for a |
| by the grandparents. Frame the picture | | | | thick, stiff elastic string? Let the |
| and let them give it to their grandpa or | | | | kids have the beads and the elastic. |
| grandma for Christmas. 2. Picture Books | | | | Teach them to thread the elastic through |
| You could get the kids to make picture | | | | the beads. When the string of beads is |
| books or activity books as gifts for | | | | long enough, teach them how to tie a |
| those they love. When I asked my kids to | | | | knot with the loose ends to secure the |
| make a birthday card for grandpa, they | | | | bracelet. Let them have the rest of the |
| made picture books complete with | | | | beads and string to make Christmas gifts |
| lift-the-flap cut outs. Bring the kids | | | | for the ladies. With some creativity, |
| to the library to browse through the | | | | the holidays can be spent productively, |
| picture books available there for ideas. | | | | making gifts for everyone this |
| At the end of the outing suggest that | | | | Christmas. Who knows? The kids might |
| they make their own picture books. Take | | | | even surprise you with some invention of |
| 5 sheets of A4 size paper and fold them | | | | their own. |