What Gifts Can Kids Make for Parents?

The Card

• Making a pop-up card is easy once your child gets the basic idea. A simple way to start is with a card that uses a pop-up strip. Fold a piece of paper in half. Cut two parallel lines about 2 inches long and 2 inches apart into the creased edge of the paper.

  Next, fold this 2-by-2-inch square back and forth a few times to create a crease between the ends of your cuts. Now open the sheet of paper like a tent and push the 2-by-2-inch cutout strip through to the other side of the paper. Close the paper again, then reopen it to see how the square you cut out will "pop up" when the card is opened.

  Now is the time to get creative. Cut out a heart, or whatever shape seems like fun, and glue it to one face of the pop-up square. Use marker or crayon to write a message inside the card. Practice with plain paper, but try to use a card stock for the finished project. Glue a piece of paper to the outside of the "pop-up" to serve as card's front and back. Be creative with the cover art.

Picture Frame

• It's easy to turn a CD jewel box into a picture frame. A good way to start is to find pretty wrapping paper. This will serve as the main mat and the backside. Cut two pieces of the gift wrap to fit perfectly inside the jewel box. Glue one piece of the wrapping paper to the backside of the jewel case facing outward.

  Find a fancy paper doily smaller than the jewel box. Cut the solid paper center out of the doily, leaving the lacy border. Cut a hole the same size as the open center of the doily in the center of the second piece of wrapping paper. Glue the doily over the top of the wrapping paper and the photo to the underside of the wrapping paper, so the lace doily frames the image.

  After the glue has dried, put the photo into the front of the jewel box and close it up. You can glue a bow or other decorations to the case.

Coaster

• Simple homemade coasters have always been a popular gift for mom and dad. One of the simplest ways to make one is to start with a discarded plastic lid from a jar. Cut a piece of felt so it fits down inside the lid. Have your children take marker pens and draw on the felt. To finish it off, glue the decorated felt to the inside of the lid and glue some ribbon around the outside edge of the lid.

Mini-easel

• Another simple way to display a picture is to make a mini-easel out of three tongue depressors, one popsicle stick and a small piece of felt. Use marker pens to color the sticks however you want. Glue two of the tongue depressors together to make an upside-down "V." Glue the popsicle stick across the "V" to serve as the support for the picture. Use the third tongue depressor as the rear support, gluing a small piece of felt between it and the "V" as a hinge.

  Mount and decorate a personal photo on a little piece of construction paper, or have your child create a "mini-masterpiece" and set it up on the mini-easel.