Last Minute Gift Ideas for Kids You Can Make in Three Hours Or Less

It never fails that you forget someone each year on your Christmas shopping list, and it seems to be particularly bad when you forget a child. If you’re on a budget and in a bind, you can still make a great Christmas gift for a child for little to nothing and in only a few hours.

Terrarium kit

If you have a child on your list that loves science and gardening, this is a cute way to keep him or her occupied in the coming months. Fill a jar with a lid full of potting soil. Top it with some lightweight pebbles or even wood chips. Place a bag of seeds (for flowers, herbs, fruit, or vegetables) in the jar. Seal it and attach a tag with instructions on how to make the seeds grow, as well as what they are. This is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the coming months.

Animal Pull Train

It’s classic and oh so easy to make. Hit up your local craft store and buy small wooden wagons, thin rope, spray paint, ribbon, and wooden animal figures that fit on the wagons. Spray paint the wagons any color you’d like and attach them with a rope in between each wagon. Place a longer piece of rope in the front wagon. Then, spray paint all the animals white and tie a ribbon around the neck of each one. Glue them each to a separate wagon. This is a classic toy perfect for younger kids and your budget.

Chalkboard Mug with Cocoa

Get a cheap coffee mug and paint the bottom half of it in chalkboard paint. Fill the mug with packets of homemade cocoa recipes and a few pieces of chalk. Now they can personalize their mug as they enjoy a nice treat. This is definitely a gift that the child can use over and over again.

Personalized snow globe

Take an old jar with a lid and unscrew the lid from it. Glue a figurine of some sort to the lid so that it will fit down into the jar (if the jar is upright, the figurine would be upside down). This can be anything the child who will receive the globe likes. If it’s a girl that’s into ballet, find a ballerina Christmas tree ornament for the figurine, or a train for a boy. Fill the jar up 1/3 of the way with fake snow (bought at a craft store and usually found in the model city section this time of year). Reattach the lid and turn the jar upside down. You now have a home made snow globe fit for a child.

Story with Stuffie
Take a drawing the child has given you and turn it into a teddy bear or “stuffie” for them. Write a short story to go along with the stuffie and print it out on card stock. Frame it in a $1 frame from any discount retailer and package the two together for the child. For a cute touch, attach a fabric tag to the stuffie that says “Created by___” and the child’s name in the blank.

Do you have any easy gift ideas for kids that are easy and affordable?? Please leave a comment below with your ideas!