What kind of godparent are you? Are you the type who enjoys shopping for Christmas gifts for kids? Or do you instantly go into ninja mode on December 25, hoping that nobody could track you down?
Every Christmas season, the struggle of godparents is real. As much as you’d like to be the cool ninong or ninang and give awesome presents, your bank account just can’t.
But there’s no escaping pamamasko in the Philippines—it’s a yearly tradition that will never fade away. To save money and avoid the holiday stress, consider giving DIY gifts. Malls and crafts stores are accessible from your condo community, so buying materials for your handmade presents is easy and cheap.
Try these 12 charming DIY gifts to spread holiday cheers to your inaanaks without hurting your budget.
1. Personalized pillowcases
Give your godchildren gifts they can literally hold onto, like a cute pillowcase with a personalized touch. Put the kid’s name or favorite character on a plain pillowcase by sewing cut-out scraps of cloth on it or through an image transfer technique.
2. Sweets in Christmas socks
The Yuletide spirit is all about sharing, and the best Christmas gifts often come in small packages. You don’t have to go all out just to make your inaanak happy.
In a nearby grocery store, buy assorted sweets like chocolates, candies, marshmallows, gummy worms, etc. Place a handful of these goodies in small Christmas socks or in small boxes with cool and creative gift wraps. Easy as pie, right?
3. Christmas cookies
Love baking? Be a Santa chef and whip up something delish for kids this holiday season! Toddlers will really love snacking on homemade cookies baked with love. Make Christmassy shapes and designs for the cookies, like a snowman, reindeer, candy cane, bell, Christmas tree, and more.
4. Crochet baby socks
Babies can never have enough socks. Give your newborn inaanak crochet socks to keep the feet warm and toasty. Your kumare will definitely appreciate your thoughtfulness.
If you’ve never crocheted before, it’s time to start learning! It’s easy to learn how to crochet with online video tutorials for beginners. There are also free crochet patterns on the internet to guide you through crocheting baby socks.
5. Storybooks with your inaanak as the main character
Worried that your godchildren are spending too much time on their iPad? Give them something old-school and educational as a distraction. Depending on your artistic skill, you can draw a princess or prince (with your inaanak as the main character) and create a storybook that will make the kid want to read more. You can also try other DIY storybook ideas: pop-up books, comic books, and picture books. Don’t forget to include a moral lesson!
6. Children’s activity books
Kids get bored easily. During long trips or idle times at home, they need something that will keep them preoccupied. Help your godchildren develop their creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills by making them activity books filled with puzzles, riddles, and other interesting activities. All you need are sheets of paper and coloring materials. If you have a printer at home, it’ll be faster to create DIY activity books using your computer and print them afterward.
7. Coloring books
Another idea for DIY Christmas gifts for kids is a custom coloring book that features your inaanak’s favorite animals, toys or characters. You can either draw the contents of the book or print them out.
8. Number or alphabet blocks
Got old cardboards and appliance packaging boxes in your condo unit? Instead of throwing them out, recycle them into fun educational blocks that make great Christmas gifts for kids. Simply create smaller boxes of same sizes, wrap them with colorful papers, print out pictures, numbers, and alphabets, and glue them on the boxes.
9. Plastic bottle bubble blowers
Did you love blowing bubbles as a kid? Let your godchildren experience it, too! Recycle unused plastic bottles in your condo and convert them into containers for your DIY bubble blowers. For the bubble solution, just mix water and dishwashing soap with straw. See? It doesn’t take much time and money to provide kids with simple joys.
10. Hair ribbons
Crafty ninongs and ninangs will never go wrong with DIY hair accessories as Christmas gifts for kids. Creating hair ribbons for your inaanak can be both enjoyable and therapeutic.
Buy your materials (such as ribbons, lace, glue, sequins, and beads) from a nearby bookstore or arts and crafts shop. It won’t cost you as much as ready-made ones from gift shops.
11. Plush dolls
How to make Christmas gifts extra special? While it takes some effort to choose stuffed toys to buy for your inaanak, taking the time to create something unique from scratch is more meaningful and thoughtful. Plush dolls or plushies, for example, make great DIY gifts for kids.
To start off, find a picture of an animal or doll that will be your reference for the plushie and then make patterns for the head, arms, body, and legs. Based on the patterns, cut out a canvas fabric and stuff each part with cotton or any filling of your choice. Then sew all the parts together. Accessorize the plushie if you want.
Making plushies requires some effort, but the smile on the little girl’s face after unwrapping your gift will be worth it.
12. Knitted baby mobile
Baby mobiles are typically given to expectant moms in baby showers. But you’re free to craft one for your newborn inaanak if you want to give something special and meaningful this Christmas. A DIY baby mobile could be one of the best Christmas gifts your godchild could receive this holiday season.
There you have it—12 DIY Christmas gifts that will surely delight your inaanak without stressing you out and ruining your budget. Is there an item or two you’d like to create? Start now while you still got time! Enjoy!
