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