Holiday Gifts Kids Can Make for Teachers

(Which don't necessarily look like kids made them)

When I was growing up, I remember my mother, a teacher, bringing home a little bundle of gifts from her students right before the Christmas holidays. Of course, my sister and I immediately confiscated and gobbled up every single one of the packages that contained goodies. And of the crafty gifts...well, of course she appreciated the thought behind every single one of them, but she just couldn't keep all of them. The ones she kept tended to be those that were either very personal, like letters or poems written by her students, or those that looked professional enough that she could actually display them in the house.

So...give your kids' teachers the best of both worlds. Here are some neat craft ideas sent in by KidsOutAndAbout.com readers that will be fun for your kids to make and will make their teachers smile.

Note: We seem to be a little heavy on the Christmas-themed gifts here, so apologies to those who do not celebrate Christmas. I'll try to scout out some other ones, but I'm sure a little properly-applied creativity to adapt some of them will work too. Also, be sure to check out this nice article on Scholastic.com, which details thoughtful ways to show teachers your appreciation during the holidays.

Holiday Place Mats: A piece of thin cardboard covered with wrapping paper and decorations -- and, on the back, a note from your child and perhaps a small picture -- and then laminated makes a quick, memorable gift that will be set out under bowls of holiday goodies for years to come. It can be used for any holiday. If you prefer, you can use holiday-colored construction paper (although that often needs to be trimmed a bit before it will fit in a laminator. One neat idea is to print out the words to Christmas lyrics (here's a link to a Word document that has them you can print out) and cover the paper with them, also cut out Christmas motifs from magazines or print images from the Internet if you have a color printer. (Note: A hand-cranked laminator was one of the best investments I've made for my kids' crafts. If you don't have one, you can take your creations to Paul's Teacher's Pet where they will laminate anything within reason for a small fee.)

Votive candle holder type 1: Get small clear glass votive candle holder, cut up small squares of tissue paper, use a small paintbrush to "paint" glue on outside of glass holder, stick on tissue paper squares until entire surface is covered (some overlap is OK). Put in candle. Looks spiffy!

Votive candle holder type 2: Get baby food jar, affix holiday sticker to outside, use small paintbrush to "paint" glue on outside (it's better if you don't paint over the sticker, but it's not a big deal), roll jar in white/silvery glitter and/or table salt. Put in candle. Tie ribbon or rickrack around opening. very fancy! (This one comes from the book The Best Holiday Crafts for Kids.)

A hinged-lid box (looks like a treasure chest) that we bought at Walmart in the craft section for a couple bucks. My daughter used acrylic paints (which we always have on hand here, but can also be purchased in the craft/sewing section at Walmart for $.97 for a 2 oz bottle...which lasts a LONG time) and painted each side a different color, then with an alphabet stencil (that we bought in the same place for under $2), she traced the teacher's name on top (with a colored Sharpie marker... the paints tend to bleed under the stencil unless you want to spend $5 on stencil "cream" paints and more on special brushes). Freehand, she painted different color patches on the opposing colors, but you can do whatever you want--use stencils of flowers, hearts, etc. is an idea.

3x5 magnetic photo holders. The kids can put in a picture of the class or one you take of the class doing a special project and then decorate it by ho gluing related stuff (tiny abc's or seashells or animals or anything special to that teacher). They can put in other things like a small calendar recipe for a "reducing stress" or a poem. The possibilities are endless and they stick on anything metal. The smaller ones are nice also and easy to make them look cute.

No-sew lavender pillows: Click here for directions.

Decorative bookmark: Cut a bookmark shape out of some nice heavy paper. Decorate it with stickers, glitter, etc., hole-punch a small hole at the top and tie a nice piece of cloth ribbon on it. A nice touch is to have your child write a message on the and sign his or her name. We usually give this with a bookstore gift card. The teacher can choose her own book.

Decorated glass plate: For this one, leave the decorating to the kids and the decopage and spray to the adults to make a nicely decorated plate. Get a clear glass plate. Cut motifs from high quality wrapping paper or greeting cards. Secure to back of plate with decopage medium. For 3D effect, apply paints with sponging technique. As a final step, use aerosol acrylic sealer over the paint. Top it off with home-made cookies, then wrap it in celophane wrap with a nice bow for their teacher. (Make sure the teacher knows this should not go in the dishwasher.)

Ornaments

Bead wreath: This one is easy enough that the youngest children can make it, and it looks almost professional! Get some nice decorative, holiday beads...not too small...and string them on some flexible wire (pipe cleaners could substitute, but they don't look as nice). After they have strung as many as they like, use pliers to twist the ends together. Hide this twisted ends under a nice ribbon garnish and you have a nice small wreath to hang on the Christmas tree.

Peppermint wreaths: Take 6 of those round peppermints (sometimes called star mints) and place them touching in a circle on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake 250 for 10-15 minutes. They will melt together and create a wreath shape. You should probably should coat with a sealant. Tie a ribbon to hang them as your new ornament. These are simple and quite striking to see but also a bit fragile.

Cinnamon ornaments: Mix 1/2 cup cinnamon and 1/2 cup store-bought applesauce. Stir together until the dough becomes stiff; use your hands to form into a ball. Place the ball of dough on waxed paper, flatten slightly. Place a second sheet of waxed paper over dough, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick (use the heel of your hand). Use cookie cutters to cut out various shapes. Air-dry on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet for at least 24 hours until they are completely hard. Use a thin paintbrush to poke a hole into the top of the ornament after cutting out. When dry, string pretty ribbon or yarn to hang.

Unpainted plaster ornaments at Walmart's craft section for $.33 a piece. The extent of the professionalism depends on the extent to which your kids are good at painting!

Light-bulb Santa: This is the season of light, so celebrate it by making a Santa ornament out of an upside-down light bulb. Glue on some cotton for mustache and beard, googly eyes, and use some red flannel for the nose, cheeks, mouth, and hat. Top it off with some rolled up cotton glued on the top of the hat, and affix an ornament hanger.

Edible gifts to present nicely in jars or baskets

Chocolate almond bark: (my children will be measuring and pouring, spreading the melted chocolate and drizzling, obviously I need to do the melting on the stove) for their grandparents. Mixed seasoned nuts for the teachers. All to be placed in nice and inexpensive festive jars or tins (cost $1.00 - $2.00 for the tins).

Mixes in a jar: My son (at age 7 or 8) made colorful bean soup mixes in a clear jar. The finished product has colorful layers, a bit like colored sand art. Bonus educational value: He had to measure the ingredients, following a recipe I found online. With each jar, we attached the recipe for turning the mix into soup. Other times we've made cookie or brownie mixes in a jar. Same idea.

Holiday Candy Bouquet: Take an small basket of your choice and fill the bottom with green florist's foam, clay, or some other medium that will hold stuck-in items. Then, make your bouquet by using a variety of candy-on-a-stick (candy canes, chocolate lollypops, regular lollypops, etc) to stick in the foam, much like silk flowers, but tastier. Fill in the gaps with some other holiday candy. It will be an edible treat that is nice to display, plus the teacher will be able to keep the basket after the candy is gone.

Chocolate-covered pretzels: Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in the top of a double-boiler. Pour the melted chocolate onto a plate (careful, it's hot at this stage). Take pretzel rods (I like the 2/3 length ones that are available in the big plastic barrel at BJ's), and dip about 4/5 of the way in, rolling the pretzel in the chocolate until covered all the way around. Transfer it to holding it over a plate or bowl and shake sprinkles (we like nonpareils) over it. Transfer the completed pretzel to wax paper, taking care not to stick it to its neighbors. Cool completely in the refrigerator. When completely cool and solid, bundle them together and tie with a ribbon.

And remember, it's the personal note from you or your child that really helps your child's teacher understand how appreciated he or she is.