When it is the thought that counts, Grandma would prefer a homemade gift made especially for her. Nothing is so precious to Grandma as a little ones hand print.  This Christmas hand print wreath is a beautiful picture wall hanging that relatives can enjoy for many years to come.  The sweet hand prints that help create the circle of the wreath are sure to be cherished as a memory keepsake.   Help your children get the true spirit of Christmas with family Christmas Eve  activities .  For supplies you will need;

A large bottle of evergreen fabric paint (the washable kind)
A square of unbleached muslin fabric or sturdy woven fabric suitable for paint
(21 X 20 inches)
A large paint brush
A paper plate
An 18-inch red ribbon
Fabric glue
A sink and cloth for washing hands
A big well rounded mixing bowl
A pencil
A 24-inch slender wooden dowel or circle rod
A 35-inch piece of green string
Sewing machine

Step One: Lay the muslin or woven fabric flat on a table.  Place the mixing bowl upside down in the center and lightly trace a circle in the center of the fabric.  Be sure to leave some space between the wreath and the top of the fabric for the dowel.

Step Two: Position your child in front of the fabric and fill the paper plate with the green paint.  The fabric paint will not come out if it gets on your child’s clothes, so be sure to put them in old clothes or cover their clothes with a large bib or a paint smock.  Take one of your child’s hands and with the large paint brush, thoroughly paint the hand with the green paint, being careful not to drip.

Step Three: Carefully position your child’s hand at the bottom of the circle and make a hand print with the paint, carefully following the curve of the circle.  Press firmly on top of the little hand to make a definite print and ask your child to be careful not to wiggle their fingers during the hand print process.  This helps avoid smudging.

Step Four:  Paint your child’s hand again and make another hand print just at the end of the first one.  Continue this process until the top of the circle is reached.  Begin the same process again at the bottom of the circle on the opposite half, going the opposite direction while continuing to the top.  Continue making the prints until you have an entire wreath circle of hand prints.

Step Five:  Wash your child’s hands and let the paint on the fabric dry.  Take the red ribbon and tie it into a simple bow.  Glue with the fabric glue onto the bottom center of the wreath between the opposite hand prints.  Let dry.

Step Six:  At the top of the wreath fold the fabric back 1 and ½ inches.  Sew a ¼ inch seam across the back on the edge of the fabric.  Feed the dowel or rod through the tube seam so that both ends peek out at the ends.  Tie the green string securely on each end.  This hand print wreath made with your little one’s precious hand print is now a beautiful wall hanging that will be enjoyed for many years to come.

For friends and cousins, give the game of snowman tic tac toe.  This crafty gift is sure to bring smiles and hours of Christmas fun.  For supplies you will need;

White cardstock or foam board. (Foam board works best.)
Red foam board
Black foam board
Orange foam board
Fine black felt marker
A ruler
7 red buttons
7 green buttons
A set of mixing bowels, large, medium and small
A pencil
Scissors
Tacky glue

Lay out three pieces of white foam board and trace three circles (large, medium and small) using the pencil and mixing bowls.  Cut out the circles.    Position the circles like a traditional snowman with the small circle on top; (head) the middle circle in the middle, (body) and the large circle at the bottom (foot area.)  Glue each circle at the bottom, overlapping slightly and keeping the glued portion in the back.  Let dry.  While drying, have your little one create a snowman’s face.  Using the black foam board, trace and cut eyes, eyebrows, mouth and hat.  Using the orange foam board, trace and cut a carrot nose.  Using the red foam board trace and cut a scarf.  Position the facial pieces on the small circle (face) of the snowman and glue.  Position the scarf on the dividing circle line of the face/body of the snowman and glue.  Glue the hat on the top of the small circle (head) overlapping at the top of the circle.  Let dry.  Take the ruler and the pencil and help your little one draw two 3 inch straight parallel lines on either side of the middle circle (body) with two inches of space in between.  Turn the ruler horizontally and draw two 4 inch lines across the parallel lines with a 1 and ½ inch space between, creating 9 tic tac toe squares.  Go over the lines with the fine black felt marker.  More suggestions for just the right Chrismas gifts for the new mom or dad.  Demonstrate to your child how to play tic tac toe on the cute snowman squares using the different color buttons.

For a gift that keeps giving year after year make a sparkling Christmas stocking ornament.  This craft is designed for older children and can help them learn a basic sewing whip stitch.  For supplies you will need;

White scratch paper
A cookie cutter shaped like a stocking
A pencil
Scissors to cut material
Squares of felt material in different Christmas colors
Clear sewing thread
Hand sewing needles
Tacky glue
Sequins, ric rac, small bits of lace and other decorative finery
A spool of gold ribbon

Take the white scratch paper and position the cookie cutter on one side of the paper.  Trace and cut.  Turn the cookie cutter opposite and trace across on the other side of the paper.  Cut.  Put the two patterns together and make sure that both sides line up.  Adjust by snipping if necessary. Select a square of felt and with a pen trace the pattern on one side and the other across on the other side.  Put the two cut pieces together and make sure that both sides line up accordingly.   Adjust, if necessary, by snipping.

Take the clear sewing thread and thread one of the hand sewing needles.  Make a medium sized knot at the end.  Putting both sides of the felt stockings together, have your child begin sewing at the top of the stocking by bringing the needle up from the bottom side of the stocking.  Have your child
continue to sew, whipping the clear thread around the stocking by bringing the thread around and up through the bottom side with the needle.

Continue until the opposite side of the top of the stocking is reached.  Show your child how to make a sewers knot by leading the thread into the last stitch and making a small hole.  Lead the needle into the hole which will automatically knot as the needle is pulled through.   Have your child select the sequins and other decorative finery they would like to use to decorate their stocking.  Have them position it on the stocking and then glue.  Let dry.

Take the gold thread and measure an appropriate hanging amount across the top of the stocking.  Have your child glue or sew the thread on each side of the stocking leaving enough of a loop so that it will hang beautifully on a Christmas tree.  Your child will be excited to give this dazzling gift of their own handiwork away.

True joy in the Christmas season comes from thinking of others and watching them be surprised with the perfect gift. Children get so excited when they get to help with Christmas planning and preparations. When a child gives a homemade gift, they give the most precious gift of all, the gift of themselves.

This site offers more fun Christmas crafts for kids.

This site offer free printable Christmas cards that kids can color.

This site offers free printable Christmas books for kids to put together and color.

Favorite gifts are often little luxury’s the parents may not buy for themselves. Courtney, mom of Lucy, 4 months, loves the baby wipes warmer she was given “It’s comforting to the baby instead of shocking her with the cold wipes. It was given to us otherwise we wouldn’t have bought it.” Another of Courtney’s favorites is a baby bunting that covers Lucy’s car seat to protect her from cold winter weather.

Deborah, mom to Cameron, 7 months, says her Boppy pillow makes breast-feeding a breeze. “It wraps around you and is comfortable and supports the baby.”

Many newborns hate baths because the water is too cold. The Mobi Digital Duck bath thermometer can make sure baby’s bath is also just the right temperature. It can also prevent scalding.

If safety is the number one priority for the parents you’re giving to, consider a Safety 1st child proofing kit. The 46-piece kit helps new parents baby safe places they never would have thought to.

A baby monitor allows parents to rest at ease, while their little one naps. A video and sound monitor, by Mobicam, allows parents to see their baby resting peacefully without disturbing her nap.

When baby is sick, the Accu-touch forehead thermometer helps get an accurate temperature without making the baby cry uncomfortably. Then the parents can give accurate information to the doctor and get the best care possible for their baby.

For the family on the go the Bugaboo Frog stroller can do it all. It converts to use as a seat or bassinet with three different reclining positions facing forward or backwards. The bassinet can be used as a car seat with adaptor. The wheel positions can be changed for use on the beach or rugged terrain. The Frog also folds down to fit in the smallest of car trunks.

Mike, father of three, says his favorite gift was a child carrier backpack he got his first Father’s day. The lightweight and sturdy construction allow him to hit any trail with baby in tow. The Kelty carrier is padded and comfy for the baby and includes a rain and sun hood.

For parents to be, a Bebe sounds pre-natal listener can be the perfect gift. Some models let you listen, talk and play music to your unborn baby. You can also record these precious sounds as well as the sounds of your own heartbeat to play and soothe your newborn baby. And, the two headsets let two people listen at the same time. The gift set comes with a classical music cd to help stimulate the baby’s brain development.

For more great gift ideas visit babyuniverse.com. Giving a gift that makes life easier for parents and little ones is the surest way to ensure your gift is appreciated and enjoyed.

For more parenting tips visit Child N Parent

1. Spend the day of Christmas Eve making treats with your children. Make simple things such as rice crispy treats, fudge, and cookies. Wrap the treats up on some festive paper plates, wrapped with the new holiday saran wrap. Take a dozen or so plates, pile the kids in the car, and have them each pick a few friends and neighbors they’d like to surprise this Christmas. Spend that evening having your kids drop the plates off at the homes of their choosing, knock on the door or ring the doorbell and run like mad. They jump in your hidden car and off you go…you definitely don’t want to get caught. That is part of the fun for the kids. Plus, it teaches them that they don’t always have to be recognized for doing good things for others. They will have fun and feel good about what they’ve done.

2. Spend Christmas Eve, or the lunch during Christmas Day, with your family at a shelter that serves food to the homeless. This is such a gratifying and humbling experience. This will help the kids realize just how fortunate they are and soften their hearts to those less fortunate. They can see the smiles on the faces of those they are helping during the giving season and really feel the warmth of the holidays.

3. Talk with your children about what the Holidays really mean. Tell them that some of the money you were going to use for their presents will be used for a child less fortunate. Take them to an Angel Tree or Toys for Tots and let them pick a gift for another child. Sometimes these events actually have names and ages of children in need so you can better personalize the gift, and personalize the child in need to your own children. Churches often have anonymous programs like this as well.

4. Every Christmas morning before we opened presents, my family would read the story of the birth of Christ. We would each take turns. This would help us remember what we are really celebrating and the meaning behind it all.

I hope this helps add a little more spirit of giving and peace in the Christmas Holidays, while bringing your family closer together.

Santa also has to deal with budget constraints. When my daughter excitedly showed me the $300 Bratz jeep in the Christmas toy catalog I had to say, “Santa has to buy toys for all the children in the world. Go find something cheaper.”

Here are some ways I’ve found to make sure Santa gets the job done right, with less hassle. My three kids have to put their requests in writing. Santa gets a list from each in the mail every year. My kids understand they will not get everything on their list. It’s just a list for Santa to choose from. The thing they want the most should be underlined, circled with stars drawn around it, or anything else to get Santa’s attention. After the letter is sent, kids are not allowed to change their mind. That would make too much work for Santa.

Little kids don’t understand when one thing is more expensive than another, so it’s imperative that Santa leave the same number of presents for each child under the tree, not the same value of presents. You can fudge by wrapping some presents together in the same box if one child is getting more, but cheaper, items and another less, but more expensive, items.

Pump your kids for detailed descriptions of the presents they want. “Do you want the blue one or the red one?” Look closely at product descriptions when buying on the internet. (Kids do notice when the blond Barbie princess is suddenly kickin’ it with her homies.)

If possible, assemble the booty before Christmas Eve. (Otherwise you may be up very late placing 30 tiny stickers in the their correct spots on the pony castle.) Some things are not that “easily assembled.” Assembling early also saves Santa from late night trips to the drug store for batteries. It also gives him time to return any items that are missing parts or don’t work.

Don’t forget the stocking stuffers! This is Santa’s chance to have some fun and get whatever he wants. One year I think my two year-old son liked the palm-size super bouncy ball he got in his stocking most of all. Lip gloss is always a hit with my daughters. ( Just don’t get a bright purple shade since you will be taking pictures the rest of the day.)

Santa’s final touch at our house is a note to the kids, thanking them for his favorite cookies and thanking them for being very good this year, making his job that much easier.