If you want to free your child from blind obedience to brand names and designer labels, start with handmade holiday gifts.

It doesn’t have to be fancy – it just has to be from your kid – and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember: Imperfections add piquancy.

“The most meaningful gifts are the ones we make ourselves,” says Karen Waldron, Ph.D., author of Unleashing Kids’ Potential: What Parents, Grandparents, and Teachers Need to Know.

“As adults, I think we’re often too busy running around the mall with ads from the stores and we think a gift has to be big and expensive. The best gifts come from the heart – not the store.”

Peg the handmade gift to your child’s age, interests and ability. For small kids, start with something that requires crayons and, at most, use of scissors and paste. Chances are your child will be brimming with ideas. If not, suggest a picture of your house or the family pet. Be sure to date your child’s art because the kid will be off to college before you know it.

Making holiday gifts will give your child a sense of accomplishment and build confidence. Your child will learn the importance of an honest effort and almost certainly derive great satisfaction from completing the project.

With a little planning, your child’s gift will fit a frame available from your local discount store. Discuss the type of frame with your child and introduce the ideas of material, shape and contrast. After all, the point of the frame is to show off the artwork. You don’t want a fancy frame that will overwhelm your child’s efforts. And behold, this will keep the cost down, too.

If your child is a bit older, photographs of them at play or school may be just what grandparents or other relatives need. You can take a fresh round of pictures, or dig through your files to find a suitable shot. If your child is old enough to handle a camera, grandparents will delight in seeing the world through your child’s eyes. Suggest a montage of photos, but let your child decide how to display the pictures.

If your child is old enough to write a good letter, consider a short note to grandparents to accompany the photos. It can be something as simple as your child recalling a recent visit with the grandparents or a commentary on the photos.

Unusually skilled older teens might want to consider more complex handmade gifts such as furniture or clothes. Service coupons can be a good gift for retired folks or those who live alone. The coupon’s design should be the teen’s own and the language should be as straightforward or as grandiloquent as the kid wants to make it. The service offered can be basic household chores such as mowing the lawn and watering the plants, changing the oil in the car or help with a long-term home improvement project.

“This builds a sense of charity and responsibility,” says Waldron, professor emeritus of education at Trinity University in San Antonio. “Encourage people to redeem the gift coupons quickly because kids may forget about them and performing the task then becomes a chore.”

Handmade gifts also get your children thinking about others and what’s appropriate for them. Getting children to see beyond themselves, especially during the holidays, is a key holiday lesson.

Adults can also make appropriate holiday gifts. A food basket is inexpensive and easy to prepare. It would almost certainly be appreciated by a lonely neighbor.

Homemade gifts will consistently beat a striped shirt grabbed at the mall – and your kids will have more fun, too.


Check out our collection of the very best in parent-friendly personal finance, Shopping With a Purpose, for ideas and information on helping your children learn and grow through finance this holiday season and beyond!