This may seem like an odd title for a gift guide, but one of the toughest categories for me during the holidays is sentimental gifts. The gifts for grandparents, godparents, aunts/uncles, etc that are technically “from” the kids. I’m not totally sure if this is a tradition for most, but it’s been a tradition in our family since we were little kids. I remember taking part in crafts around the holidays and being so proud when gifting them. Here are a few ideas we’ve used with our own kids over the past few years…
1. Christmas Plate – This is probably the most expensive on this list, ranging anywhere from $30-$50, but it’s also one of my absolute favorites. People gift holiday plates all the time, they’re cute and totally useful with all the holiday get-togethers. Add the kids’ handprints or footprints into the mix, and these can be a goldmine. If you aren’t super artistic, like me, most pottery places offer to finish the footprints/handprints off in a super cute way. This is also extremely helpful if you have small children and don’t want to stay long because a pottery place is SUPER stressful to hang out in. Like a ticking clock, just waiting for something to smash. I’ve included two photos of plates we’ve done in the past. There’s a bunch of other ways to do it, including finger prints used to make a string of Christmas lights. Any pottery place you visit should have examples to show you.
2. Handprint Ornament – When we gave this a try, it was borderline above my pay grade as far as crafts go. We were first time parents, so what did we know? In theory, this is totally ADORABLE. The hard part is actually getting the adorable, squishy baby hand to cooperate. If you can get their hand to “hug” the bottom of the ornament, fingers pointing upwards, you can use the fingerprints as the bodies for snowmen. Then you just top it all off with the details using a sharpie or black paint! I’ve linked one of the handprint snowmen blog posts here. There’s even a bonus reindeer ornament idea in there!
3. Letter Photos – This is a cute idea to spice up the normal framed photo of your kids. You get large letters at a craft store for them to hold in a photo to spell out the name of whomever the gift is for. Buy a cute frame with the appropriate number of slots, and voila!
4. Photo Ornament – This is a great mini-gift idea for aunts/uncles, grandparents, and godparents, maybe even in addition to something else. The possibilities are endless, and a lot of the photo websites (like Shutterfly) offer photo ornament options as well. The great thing is that these never get old, even if you give them year after year. Kids change so fast, and it’s a fun way to watch them grow!
This cookie cutter photo ornament is absolutely adorable! But it definitely requires a little more patience. Depending on the amount of kids, it’s sometimes hard to find a cookie cutter that’s the right shape or size to fit the photo. Also, if you look closely around the edge, the glue has yellowed over this past year which I’m bummed about. I chose to do a black and white photo to help match decor better, and the backing is a pretty page of scrap book paper from a craft store.
5. Photo Keychain – This was such a random find last year, but I LOVED it. It’s another one on the expensive end, but the quality of the leather was so nice, and the photo printed amazingly well on the metal. I could tell Joe loved it also, which is what mattered!
There are also a million gifts you can get off of a site like Shutterfly, and photo calendars are another yearly tradition in our family. My mom makes them for each of us, and we’ve done desk ones for the dads before as well. The possibilities are endless, but hopefully these ideas help get the brainstorming started!