Good Graduation Gifts that Won’t Cost a Fortune
Got a graduation to celebrate? Here are some good gift ideas that won’t cost a fortune.
gift ideas
Make Christmas Ornaments from Toys
As many families do, we give our kids new Christmas tree ornaments each year. These are designed to be their personal ornaments so that when they leave home someday, they have Christmas-in-a-box to take with them. My mom did this for me and my siblings, too. One thing that I like to do is choose…
DIY Christmas Gift Canvas Tablecloth
Our Great Gifts series continues with this tutorial on how to make this personalized tablecloth for from guest poster Kelly. I love making Christmas gifts, especially gifts I customize for the receiver. One of my favorite gifts to make is a custom-made tablecloth, using only a painter’s canvas drop cloth and some Sharpie markers. I…
DIY Three Men’s Morris Game Board
Homemade games can be fun and inexpensive gifts for children. Learn how to make a “Three Men’s Morris” Board Game from Life as MOM contributor Janel. Two summers ago, my girls and I visited Yorktown Victory Center as an end-of-summer field trip. During our time in the Continental Army Encampment, one of the docents showed…
How to Make A Reusable Drawstring Bag
Need special packaging for a gift? Make a drawstring bag! Life as Mom contributor Janel will show you how to make a custom drawstring bag from fabric as well as one from a store bought pillowcase. Sometimes you’ve got a gift and it just calls for a little special packaging…especially if the gift calls for…
Easy Homemade Gift Tags
Create easy, homemade gift tags to label presents and to add a little personal touch to the gifts you give. In the age of insta-everything, it’s sometimes nice to step back and do a little home crafting. Whether you make gifts and wrappings yourself out of economic necessity or just a love for handiwork, the…
An (Unusual) Book Gift Guide for Kids
This fall reading finally “clicked” for my fifth child. As a homeschool mom, this feels like a huge relief. The experiment is working! Reaching the stage of reading independently is a huge milestone for every child, every person. Literacy is the key to understanding so much about our world. While we have our fair share…
Wrapping Paper That Kids Can Decorate Themselves
As the gift-giving and gift-wrapping season approaches, let your kids customize your wrapping paper for a fun and crafty presentation. About 20 years ago as I was finishing college, I lived with a family from my church. Kathy had three boys and modeled all kinds of great characteristics for me, frugality being one of them….