Hello,
I have a Christmas gift giving question. I know you have answered these plenty of times and yes, I did look for previously asked questions of this nature. None of what I could find seemed to be something to work for me. So here is the question "What can my children give their god parents"?
The problem that I have is this, one of the set's of god parents has teenage children and is really "over" the child made gifts. They are also particular about many things and have a list of allergies. The other set have no children and usually seem happy with what they are given, hand made or not. The issue is we only see both sets once a year at the same gathering and $$$ funds are limited this year. Do you have any ideas of inexpensive gifts to give from the children? The children are 8yrs old and 6 yrs old.
Thank you for your help :)
While I appreciate all takes on this thread, please remember that I am asking for ideas and suggestions, not criticism. I am merely looking for inexpensive gifts "that my children" can give. I am not looking to give gifts myself that has never been the intention and I don't believe it was mentioned in my post. As for the poster who questioned my "how do I know the godparents are over child made gifts". It's because the items are never seen again and the facial expression and body language when the gift is opened are obvious. I never claimed to have a great family, I merely asked for suggestions on gift giving. The ornaments are a great idea and we have done those in years past. I was hoping to find something we had not already done to try for this year. Thanks to all who are answering with ideas and not passing judgement.
Thanks to every one for all of your suggestions. We ended up going to a paint your own pottery place and each child painted a gift to give. If it not well received then that is too bad because the kids had a blast painting them.
We have usually given portraits -- this year is senior year, so I might include a frame. On the "tight" years, we gave a smaller version -- the 3x5 of the school pic.
To combine ideas from other posters...shutterfly sells ornaments that they will print a photo on, so you could give a photo ornament. I don't remember how expensive they are, but I don't think its too much.
If you really want your kids to make something...oriental trading (& some craft companies) sell ornament making kits. OT's selection is huge & includes a lot of religious options & are cheap, but look really nice. Using a kit may help it look less "homemade" & so be more acceptable to the one set of godparents, yet still be "from the kids".
Good luck...I know how hard it is to pick the perfect gift for everyone!
A picture of your child in a nice frame would be very appropriate and special since they are godparents. And it won't cost you an arm or a let. Kohl's has nice frames and coupons.
i think they should make something or you give them 20 bucks or certain amt of money to split between everyone they have to get gifts for, and take them to the store to pick something out. It shlould not be from you! I feel strongly about it, its not about if the other person really gets a valuabke gift from a 6 year old, its to teach the child the gift of giving and also they shoul be getting something from the kid since the kid is getting something from them. My daughter is 5 and will make gifts and then i will give her money to get a few people gifts, which she'll think about what they'd like and pick them out. I think its silly when the parents buy a gift and say its from the kid, it doesnt teach the child anything. If you want to add a gift from you as well I think thats fine but I think at that age its more about learnig to think about others and get them something. f they;re not happy with their gift tan baaahumbug to them! =) if your child picks them out a hammer or a xmas mug or paints them a picture, atleeast its from them. Sure they might trash it, but your child is learning something valuable
We do a Christmas Ornament each year for our Godparents. Doesnt' have to be dated but sometimes our are
2 suggestions for you. You could give the kids money and have them pick something out (with help of course). Kids get so excited when they are involved in picking out something. It could even just be something small from the '5 and under' store.... Or you and the kids can make cookies and put them in a really nice tin with a bow, or make candy. When I worked full time, a gal did that... Put cookies all nice and wrapped in a tin with bows and a few Hershey kisses in it. I loved it. Or you could do fancy chocolate dipped pretzel logs and put toppings on them and wrap them up in a mug. And make sure you are getting suggestions from your kids so it can really feel like 'their' gift.
What about a picture of the children in a nice frame? You could even hand make/decorate your own frame.
What about having your children write a poem for their godparents? It could capture the sentiment of the holidays or of their appreciation of the holidays. They could also "make" some Christmas candy by pouring melted chocolate into molds (or pulling some taffy if there's a chocolate allergy).
I guess some part of me wonders whether you are doing gifts every year because...
A) you want your children to place emphasis on their relationship with their godparents
B) you feel like it's the "right thing to do"
If your answer is A, then I suggest that your kids do something that is meaningful for them even if the recipients aren't very grateful. If the answer is B, then I don't think that once a year friends get a gift even if they are your children's godparents. This is not me being judgemental, just me expressing an opinion that you're doing too much as a mom ;)
Give pictures of the children (either school, sports or something you took recently) in a cute frame with an expression written on either the frame or put into the frame itself.
While I don't have any suggestions based on the info you have provided I do have these questions or thoughts for you: Why have you discounted the first God parents as being 'over' children's handmade gifts. Isn't it the thought that counts? And the fact that it was made with kindness and care should be where the real value of the gift comes from, not the dollar amount, especially since you are on a budget. I am not trying to pass judgement, please know that but in this situation it seems a tad shallow that one family is not seemingly accepting of a handmade craft from a child (who is younger than their own) which is really who the gift is from. And if they don't appreciate it, why do you care? I guess it seems like you are more concerned with pleasing them (ie saving face) than what the true meaning of Chritsmas is...especially when dealing with a God parent....Sorry to be so abrupt but that is my take.
I was going to give the same suggestion SusanB did. I love the photo ornaments. I actually buy a photo ornament for each of my nephews and my niece with their pictures on them each year for Christmas. It has become a traditional gift now and the older ones are always eager to see them.
LOVE the ornament idea - just had to pipe in here :) Combine it with a "homeade" ornament, perhaps.
My kiddos made about six or seven stars our of popcicle sticks, painted them yellow and sprinkled gold glitter on them and they look really neat for a kid's craft. . . pick appropriate colors that match the GP tree decore and put in a nice box with tissue paper.
:)
