Personalized Placemats...

Since my kids have uncommon names I usually have goodluck getting personalized items through Miles Kimball or Personalized Creations. Both are catalogs with compatible websites.

Hi Chrissy -
Get a roll of clear contact paper <Target/Walmart/Jewel all carry them> USE construction paper - print out ABC's or cut them out of mags. use photos of grandparents, pets, things you want them to know or learn - Put each childs name on it vertical one time - diaginal the next etc. HAVE FUN with it - the kids LOVE THEM - as they get older change it up. REMEMBER they are TWO sided - so you can have a 'calmer' one for dinner time then morning etc. SAVE them!! 5+ years from now you will wish you had - ESP. if you use things they write or color!!! GOOD LUCK.

Hi Chrissy,
I design hand painted placemats for kids. Here are some:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5825353&amp;section_...
I can add your sons names as well as do a custom designs for you. They are painted on one side and chalkboard surface on the back.
Also, search http://www.etsy.com for childrens placemats and will will find lots of other options by other artists as well. (all different price points)

Happy new table,
A.

Hi Chrissy,
There's a really nice shop in Crown Point on Main Street called Memory Keepers. Just about anything you can think of can be personnalized!!! She has made me the cutest place mets over the years with pictures/drawing/ names/ photos/ etc.!!! I'm sure they have a website - check it out. the phone # is ###-###-####.
Have fun!
P.

Get plastic placemats and then get puff paint decorate them with their names and their special interests on them, that way they can be changed with little or no cost!!!! Hope that helps!!! Good Luck

You have gotten great ideas on where to look. You could use photos of them and put them on construction paper and go have them laminated at one of the office or copy stores. You could cut photos from magazines too, use pics of family, favorite characters, etc. Personally, at this age, my son, who is 2, only gets plastic placemats! Otherwise I am washing them daily! :) I have one for him that has airplanes, one with cars, one Sesame Street, and when he is bigger one to write on and wipe off to practice his letters and numbers. I don't know where they came from, my mom bought those.

One Step Ahead has personalized placemats. I can't remember how much they are, but I think it was around $12. I think they are only available online. I think I have also seen them in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, but I am sure they are much pricier!

let them color on pieces of construction paper, and then use clear contact paper to laminate them. That way the placemats are incredibly cheap, and are made by them. You can't get more personal than that.

personalcreations.com

I have found some really great inexpensive ones at a homeschool store actually (not that I homeschool but they have great educational and fun things there):

http://www.bnbhomeschoolstore.com/webstore/pc/home.asp

or

I know someone who has an etsy shop that makes all kinds of personalized things for children including placemats. Her stuff is very nice and can be found here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5825353

or by searching on etsy for whirleygirl designs (amanda). Tell her K. with Shaklee sent ya.

My own daughter isn't old enough to do this yet, but when I was a kid, my mom made placements for each holiday. She went to Jo-Ann's and bought a yard or two of the foam place mat material in whatever color went well with the holiday. She made a template out of cardboard and then cut out the shapes. Simple things...hearts for valentine's, ghosts for halloween, xmas trees for christmas, leaves for fall, etc...then, she used a permanent marker to write our names on the placemats. We loved them! As an added bonus, when it came time to teach us how to set the table, she started out with placements that had the shapes of the different items on them, so we could set the table on our own without her help. Eventually, she stopped putting the shapes on them...with the exception of knives/spoons...I think I was sixteen before I stopped putting those two backwards! :-) Have fun with it, I know we got really excited when it came time to make new place mats...we also used handkerchiefs printed for the different holidays as napkins...with simple wood napkin rings that we painted/decorated for the different holidays/seasons.

If you live NWI, there's a place in Cedar Lake on Rt. 41. It's now called HSI, formally "Monograms by Sharon". You can buy cloth placemats anywhere and take them to the shop and they will put their names on them. They do a nice job.

Another idea is cloth napkins to go with their settings. I like www.fabkins.com

Maybe try personalizationmall.com. My brother in law's work here and they have great stuff. Not certain on placemats, but check out their website

Try Lillianvernon.com.

This is what I do for my girls and the kids I watch.

Get small poster board about the size a placemat.

Have the kids decorate...

or

Let them glue magazine pictures to it (did this at the beach with all the brochures we got and they made their vacation mats)

or

I once copied a practice sheet of the alphabet where all the letters were dotted to be traced and glued it to the poster board and then dotted their first name on it too.

or

glue on a coloring book page

THEN use clear contact paper from any store like Walmart (you know the stuff you line your drawers and shelves with) to cover front and back.

I unroll the contact paper to the right size and cut it. Then I take the backing off. Now I stick one edge on the counter when I'm pulling the backing off to keep it from sticking back on itself. Then I lay it flat on the counter sticking side up. I carefully place the mat on the sticky side starting on end and slowly laying it flat.

I always do the back first in case I get a wrinkle in the first try. The second and third try is always neater.

It can be a little tricky at first, but if you have a steady hand and you are a little crafty, you can do it.

It is inexpensive and the contact paper roll will make lots and lots of mats.

OH, and I forgot...then let them use washable markers or white board markers if you trust them not to do the table to trace the letters, write their names, and color the mats.

I also use these mats when they want to play with their play-do on the table or when they want to paint.

olivekids.com has tons of personalized placemats to choose from

I don't know where to get them but I'll pass on a word of advise since this just happened to me and you said you have a new table. My mom bought my daughter a cute Christmas place mat. I wiped the table, then put the place mat back in place. When I went to move the mat a while later, the damp table caused the backing of the mat to stick to my table and it will not come off! I have an old table so I don't really care, but wanted to pass this on to you since you said your table was new. Cheers!

You could have them make thier own using construction paper and art supplies and then use clear contact paper to cover both sides. This is very cheap and you could make different ones for holidays etc. It is also a great way to spend some time together.If you don't like this idea, check out Kohls, they always have fantasic sales and often you can find them on clearance.