Guest Author - Susan Thompson

I have put together some more great, inexpensive gift ideas for you and the kids to work on.

Inexpensive, Meaningful Gifts for Others

Calendars – There are many online sites that offer free, printable calendar templates. There are many different formats available from desk size calendars to wall calendars. Find one that suites your needs and print it out. You can personalize it with a years worth of personal photos. Don’t forget to add special dates such as anniversaries, birthdays, and family events. This is a great gift for people who constantly forget important dates.

Scrapbooks – Who doesn’t love pictures? The vast array of scrap booking products available, it is extremely easy to create a book full of memories for any special person on your list. This gift is especially great for out of town relatives. You can put the pictures in the book and let the kids go to town decorating the pages with stickers or even drawings. Don’t forget to leave a few blank pages at the end for the recipient to add future memories of their own.

Memory Jars – This is one of my personal favorites. Use a clean mason jar, or any recycled jar with a wide mouth. Decorate the lid in a pretty fabric or lace. On small strips of paper write down memories of things that happened with you and the person you are giving the jar to. You can write as many as you want. The idea is that they will open one memory a day, so if you do 30, they will have a gift that lasts 30 days. Roll the slips up into little individual scrolls and put them in the jar. The kids can do this for any person they have memories with, you can help them if your need to.

Inexpensive, Meaningful Gift Ideas for Kids

Pillow with sport or team logo on it – Does your child have a favorite sports team? If so, you can buy or make several pillow forms for their bed and decorate them with the team’s logo. You can even make a comforter and curtains to match if you like to sew.

Quilt from fabrics your kids would recognize – I am adding this idea now so that you can start saving your son/daughter’s first team uniform shirts. I have been saving my son’s favorite shirts and team shirts since he was little. For graduation this year, I will be making him a quilt using the front or back of all of the shirts I have saved. Even someone who doesn’t know much about sewing can create a memory quilt. Here is what you need: Two flat sheets in the size you prefer, batting to fit between the sheets and decorative fabrics to embellish the top part of the blanket. Lay the two sheets together with outsides facing one another. Place batting on top. Sew around all four sides as close to the edge as possible, leaving about a six inch opening to turn inside out. Turn blanket inside out so batting is now between the two sheets. Sewing by hand, close the six inch opening. Now for the embellishment, if you wish, you can purchase swatches of fabrics that contain characters your child likes, such as Disney characters or other cartoon characters. Cut out whatever embellishments you want to use and hand sew or you can use fusible web to iron the embellishments to the top of the quilt. I did this for my sister when she graduated from college and she loved it!

Remember to have fun with your kids creating wonderful gifts while creating memories with your kids!