[guamvixen]

With a baby on the way due on Dec. 20, but I'm betting she will come a lot sooner, I find myself needing to get my 9 year old to get her "homemade" Christmas gifts done early.

Do you all have any cute ideas that a 9 year old can make and give to our family members? I'd appreciate anything that you can throw my way! Thanks!

[kateleestar]

With my neice and nephews, I always go to Oriental Trading's website, and get the kits that make picture frames and things like that. And they make one for each family. They are fairly cheap, and pretty easy too!

And good luck having a kid in December!! My b-day is 12/11 and its pretty tough as a little kid sometimes!

[joyc21]

I was also going to suggest picture frames

[AnnieDrews]

How about those little weaving kits to make potholders or that type of thing? You could probably find them at craft stores.

[suetalks]

I have been looking at sites to make ornaments...Just one of the many:

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/index.shtml

[ghostgirl811]

when i was in 5th grade as a project our teacher bought clear christmas trees ornaments and we had markers and decorated the front with ours names and just whatever and then she had green and red confetti for us to put in, i still have mine and it was really fun lol

[lizziep]

i agree i like the home made christmas ornament thing. so many you can do- the clear ones that you can fill, the plain satin kind my mom used to get those and a bunch of like sequin and little straight pins and we'd decorate them... umm... there's the old standard cinnimon dough ones that you cut out and bake- then she can decorate. picture frames w/ a school pic inside is good too.

[WebRover]

I've collected an ornament annually that included a photo of each child. Some years they made them, some years I bought frames. (As our tree gets smaller each year these are the ornaments I most want to see.)

A nine year old could record a favorite book or their own story.

Placemats made with artwork, handprints, hand cut-outs, photos, covered with clear contact paper front and back.

[krampus]

Ohhhhh I love arts and crafts! Chances are your family will appreciate anything your daughter makes. Ornaments with googly eyes, pipe cleaner and those little foil snowflakes/shapes you can stick on are always a good bet. Depending on time and budget, maybe she could paint some ceramic dishware/decorations and have them glazed at a craft store or pottery place too.

[NiteNicole]

These are easy things I've done with my four year old (with a lot of help from me) so a nine year old should be able to master it on her own:

Embroidery is SO easy. You can get free instructions anywhere. I have embroidered my daughters drawings on pillow cases and tea towels (she can kind of stitch, but it would take her two forevers) for grandparents and such and they're always a hit. This is an example of someone's embroidered drawing
http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot....s-artwork.html

You can also make ornaments out of apple sauce and cinnamon. You just kind of make a paste, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, then punch a hole (for hanging) with a straw. Dry slowly in the oven. Makes your house smell amazing. Directions easy to find.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/scente...ts/Detail.aspx

One year we did hand print ornaments. Dip her hand in white paint, then have her make a print on a blue round glass Christmas ball ornament. The "hand" is on the bottom so it looks like snow and she can draw faces and things on the ornaments for snowmen. These aren't mine, but this the idea.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/astanse/3048226782/

The Crafty Crow has a LOT of ideas for kids crafts http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

[JackieHollow]

Oh I *LOVE* the embroidery drawing idea!!! I will have to do that this year! Thanks Nicole.

Some of the things my kids have done are drawings, photo drink coasters (these are neat!), picture tiles (easy to do), picture frames and ornaments like PPs have mentioned. The coasters and picture tiles are made the same way, only the coasters have a couple extra steps. WIth the picture tiles, you can purchase the tiles from Home Depot. I used 8x10. Have pictures printed in 8x10 size. Take some mod podge, and glue the picture down. Let dry. (I like to occasionally rough up the edges, but that is a personal preference). After glued, take more mod podge and using you brush make all your strokes go up and down (leaving "lines" in the mod podge). Then after that dries, do it one more time making the "lines" go sideways. Once this dries it will have a canvas texture on it. These are great to sit on plate holders on a shelf, and definitely unique. Coasters are made exactly the same, except you buy 4x4 or 6x6 tiles (up to you) and cut your pictures to fit. Then at the end use a waterproof spray over the top. She could use photos of herself, pictures of flowers (or whatever) that she finds in magazines, etc. This is an example (one I just quickly found online) of the tiles (they used glass, I didn't...) http://weddingplaques.com/photo.php OR if that seems like too much trouble, she could paint on "glass" tiles, like this... http://bmore-urbanforestproject.org/.../jes-tiles.jpg

Last year I just let them loose and do whatever they want. They came up with several miscellaneous crafts (one made a canoe with fishing poles in it out of popsicle sticks and toothpicks for his grandpa who loves to fish with him, one made a stuffed heart that he sewed together for his grandma who had heart surgery, etc). It was actually pretty neat since it was something just from them.