Wrap It Up

Wee ones love helping to wrap presents, but if their small hands make maneuvering the big packages more of a hassle, set the kids up with a quick art project that will hold their interest. Made from the cotton makeup cloths you have in the cabinet, these frosty lil snowmen gift tags double as ornaments for the recipient's tree. For directions on how to make these simple creations with items found around the house and for step-by-step pictures, read more

Newspapers normally end up stacked in the recycle bin so send your child on a lil mission to recover the black and white printed sheets and help wrap their holiday gifts. Simply pull a page, cut it to size and cover the present. Once that is finished, using their steady lil hand, some eco-friendly paint in the color of their choice (I like red for the contrast) and their own inspiration, have them "tie" a bow around the package. If they want more colorful paper choose the comics section. To add more pizzazz, use a glitter glue pen to create the ribbon.

My daughter's backpack is always filled to the brim with paintings, pictures, and doodles that I can't bring myself to toss. Rather than tuck them away to collect dust, I'm putting them to good use this holiday season — let's face it, we can only keep so many! We're using her lil masterpieces — including completed coloring book pages — to wrap small gifts. Tucking the artwork around books, videos, and boxes, we'll showcase her artistic talents for all to enjoy! We also added a bit of sparkle by wrapping bows around the goodies with a steady hand and a glitter glue pen. While this homemade paper costs pennies, the pictures are priceless!

If you've got a preschooler excited about printing or a child in elementary perfecting their cursive, use their new skills to create the colorful homemade wrapping paper for the holidays. Simply take a piece of newsprint or butcher paper and write across it using a marker. Give your child a lil creative license to come up with a family slogan like, "Warmest Wishes From the Wilsons" and "Seasons Greetings Love The Smiths" or snag the favorite line of a seasonal song — "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" — or holiday movie. It's a wonderful and ecomomical way to teach kids that practice makes perfect!