Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make for Parents, Grandparents, and Teachers

With the help of a pipe cleaner, a variety of colorful buttons can easily become adorable snowmen, elves, or reindeer ornaments for family members.

Kids can pack a pretty mug with tea bags and homemade sweets personalized with a teacher's initial.

There's no better gift for a teacher or neighbor than cookies or candy packaged in a keepsake tin. Print a child's drawing on a water slide decal (some decals have a transparent background; others, white). To protect the image, spray decal with the coating spray; let dry. Trim it to desired shape. Soak decal in water until backing separates from it. Then place decal on a tin; push out excess water with a tissue, and let dry. Spray with the coating again. Long after the sweets are gone, the tin will hold the memory of a child's gift.

This recipe is quite simple, which makes it ideal for helpers of all skill levels. Depending on age, a kid might measure, mix, and shape the dough, or simply decorate the cookies that you've prepared, adding a festive pinpricked message of "noel" or "joy" to shortbread dough just before it's popped into the oven.

Send sweet sentiments to Mom or Grandma by creating a tote bag using our iron-on flower clip art.

These practical yet playful covers make even the most mundane tasks more pleasant. Using a clear passport cover or clear checkbook sleeve as a template, trace over child's artwork. Cut out, and slip picture inside sleeve.

Children can use the shape of their hand to create a batch of holiday cookies for loved ones.

Give the teacher a stamp of approval with personalized stamps, ink pads, and blank note cards in warm, vivid colors. Print the wording from the computer and have an office supply store create a name stamp. You can also make a second imprint using an apple stamp, and give the pair.

A custom, kid-created calendar is a gift any adult can treasure all year long. To create, apply peel-and-stick laminate to a picture (follow package directions). Remove a calendar from its original backing, and attach with double-sided tape.

Handcrafted end papers featuring kid drawings transform basic journals into keepsakes. A journal of any size will work. Measure the book's original end paper, then cut picture so that it's slightly wider to accommodate the fold. Next, use a paintbrush to apply white glue evenly over the end paper. Lay artwork over glued area and press, starting at center and working out. Wipe off any excess glue; a parent can trim the edges with a utility knife if needed. Close the journal, and stack heavy books on top. Let dry overnight.

Here's a new twist on the familiar refrigerator-cum-art gallery: Let kids' turn their drawings into magnets that can be used all year long. They can draw helpful refrigerator reminders or a Christmas tree and ornaments. Print onto magnet sheets, and cut out. To give magnets as presents, affix them to a greeting card with double-sided tape.