Every year I strive to come up with gifts that my kids can make for their grandparents for Christmas. Ones that mean something or at least are useful. :)
Some years are more successful than others, but this year I think we’ve stumbled on some fun ones.
The first one came when I passed by the Hallmark section in Walmart and saw these recordable Christmas books for under $18. They are normally twice that, so it’s a pretty good deal.
I guess they were originally created so that adults could record themselves reading for children, but I thought it would be fun to have my kids read to their grandparents instead. Especially since we live far away and see them maybe once a year.
Owen is our budding reader so he did most of the ‘work,’ but we also had our 3 year old pipe up with a line here and there that we coached him on. You can record and re-record {and re-record again} each page separately which is nice when your kids fart in the middle of it or something. :) You don’t have to go to the very beginning or anything like that.
It turned out to be a really fun activity for us to do as a family and I just know their grandparents are going to love it.
Another one, I found on Pinterest here. I would love to share the original credit for the idea but it doesn’t link back to them. If anyone knows then please pipe up. Thanks.
It’s just pictures printed on transparency paper. I don’t go out and buy a whole pack. I just slide on over to a local print shop in town and have them do it. Their print quality is usually better any way.
I wanted to put both boys in the bottle at once so I made the pictures smaller. They float around a bit and sometimes overlap so maybe next time I think we’ll just put one boy in a bottle at a time.
My boys LOVED this. The pictures were so simple to take. I just laid out some white butcher paper by a bright window and had them lay on it. I told them to ball up or pretend they were…well floating in a soap bottle. Afterward though, my three year old kept asking when he was actually going to get in the soap bottle. ha.
I did all the cutting but then let them put their pictures in.
This coconut ginger soap has a nice holiday smell to it. I just took the labels off with some goo gone.
And now you can see the boys whichever way to turn them.
Do you have some great ideas to help kids make meaningful gifts?
I would love more ideas.
Merry crafting!
Love the soap idea!!!! And the pictures of the boys right side up or upside down—simply brilliant.
HERE’S ANOTHER IDEA FOR CHRISTMAS USING THE SAME IDEA..MAKE A SNOW GLOBE WITH PHOTOS…ADD GLITTER,ETC. USE HALF WATER HALF CLEAR GLUE SO EVERYTHING FLOATS SLOWLY. PUT FAMILY PICTURE INSIDE. THIS IS ALOT OF FUN AND A GREAT KEEPSAKE
I absolutely love the soap idea!! When you had the pictures printed out what size were they (4×6?)? It looks like it was in a collage form.
cool!!!
That is awesome!!! I saw somewhere that rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover – can't remember which – will take off the printing that is on the bottles. I've been wanting to use plastic or glass bottles for things but the printing always bugged me… haven't tried it yet, but I might have to after seeing this amazing idea!!
That is awesome!!! I saw somewhere that rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover – can't remember which – will take off the printing that is on the bottles. I've been wanting to use plastic or glass bottles for things but the printing always bugged me… haven't tried it yet, but I might have to after seeing this amazing idea!!
I must try this…maybe next year!
How adorable! You are always sharing so many creative ideas :)
These are so cute, love them! What a fun idea! We have been doing a lot of hand made stuff this month…. clay snow men and trees http://buzzmills.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/fun-with-air-dry-clay.html
snow globes and yarn wrapped stars…http://buzzmills.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/preschool-projects.html
stick stars http://buzzmills.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/sticks-for-stars.html and
ok, the cutest thing I have ever seen!
This is GREAT!!!! Such a neat little idea :)
Oh my gosh Delia! That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. I'm going to have to do that for my mom and my mom in law. They will think I am a genius! Thanks for sharing!
so cute! great idea!
Transparency "PAPER" or transparency film???? The stuff for overhead projectors or????? More details, please! Super amazing idea!
i have seen them before! thanks for reminding me about them! you can also laminate them.
i am sending these to my little brother on a mission. when he misses his nieces and nephews all he has to do is wash his hands!
love love love this! Definitely on my to-do list.
I used transparency film and after I put the picture in the bottle of hand soap, the picture just disappeared. What did I do wrong? Did I use the wrong paper? HELP????
Too cute!
I was just curious if the recordable books have held up over time. If you can still hear them okay and the sound isn’t warbled. Please let me know… I recorded my son’s heartbeat (in utero) on something that no longer works and we have also had trouble with build a bear recordings. Thanks!
Ours have been fine so far but I have stored them under our bed and we have only had them for a couple years. I hope they stay for longer, but I can’t be sure. I have heard that if you store them in a garage, the temperature changes can affect the recordings or cause the recorder to quit working. We also only let the kids handle them at Christmas time for the one night that we read that book and then we put it back under our bed for storage. That way the recordings don’t wear out. Oh and I almost forgot. We remove the batteries when we store them. Hope that helps!
What is the best material to use for the photos in liquid? Does the laminate have to be the thicker sort?
Thanks for getting back to me
You want to use transparency paper. Just the standard kind. Many print shops, especially a place like Staples carry it by the sheet so you don’t have to buy a whole pack of them. Make sure they print them out on a laser printer, which pretty much every print shop does, (so don’t print them at home on an inkjet computer) and you’re all set. Hope that helps! Happy crafting!
Hello, These are my idea. Thanks so much for sharing them! I don’t blog or have a website, just an art teacher with kiddos. ;-)