DIY Personalized Christmas gifts

When a person looks back on childhood Christmases, it is not always the biggest or the most expensive gift that sticks in his or her memory. Most Christmas presents for kids do not make it into the New Year intact, and those that do more often than not end up as garage-sale items within a few years. If want to give your child a memorable present, consider a personalized Christmas gift you make yourself.

A popular way to personalize a gift is to put the recipient's name on it. And if you have some time and some great family photos, you can turn your photos into a scrapbook, personalized bedding for a child's room, or a book where your child is the hero of his or her own story.

Assemble a Scrapbook of Childhood Memories

Delight your child with a scrapbook that chronicles his or her life so far or showcases the highlights of the previous year. Collect photos and other memorabilia to illustrate your child's milestones.

Because of the dizzying array of scrapbooking tools and materials available, it is important to plan the layout of the scrapbook before you start shopping at craft stores or online for scrapbooking supplies.

If the theme of the scrapbook is charting the course of your child's life, do not fill all the pages of the album with content. Consider leaving a few pages blank for future milestones. More than just a Christmas gift, the scrapbook can be a project that you and your child can work on together.

Create Personalized Bedding Out of Family Photos

If you have a sewing machine at home, consider making a personalized comforter set for your child out of photos printed on fabric. Search the family photo archives for suitable photographs. Use a family portrait, a group photo of your child with friends, or an action shot of your child for the comforter cover. Alternatively, select an assortment of photos if the idea is to make a patchwork quilt.

Find a printing company that performs photo-to-fabric transfers. Some printing companies supply the fabric, while others ask that customers provide their choice of fabric. Before submitting your photos, make sure that the photos are the correct size and format.

Either upload your photo(s) to the printing company's website or email them. Specify the amount of printed fabric you need. You can make a simple slip-on comforter cover from the printed fabric or two or more pillowcases or slips for throw pillows.

Personalize Your Child's School Backpack

Send your child off to school after the Christmas break sporting an eye-catching backpack. Start with your basic canvas backpack. Decorate the backpack with fabric patches, button pins, and fabric paint. Both Crayola and Sharpie offer sets of fabric markers in assorted colors.

Each patch you sew or iron on and each button pin you pin to the backpack should represent different aspects of your child's life, from family and friends to activities he or she enjoys. There are mail-order companies that produce custom photo button pins from personal photos that you supply.

Put Your Child in a Personalized Storybook

No doubt you know of the personalized books for kids that put a child in the story. The publisher customizes a storybook by substituting the character's name with the name of your child. You can order these books online, and they come in the mail.

If you are feeling especially creative, you could try writing a one-of-a-kind storybook for your child and have a mail-order photo book publisher produce the storybook as a photo book. Choose an event from your child's life, or dream up your own story for your child where your child is the hero of the story.

Write up a story and gather photos to illustrate the story. You can layout the book online using photo-book creation software, which you can access for free on a printing company's website. Simply upload your content, and the publisher prints and binds your child's story and sends it to you in the mail.

How to Buy Craft Supplies on eBay

For the parents who want to make Christmas gifts for their kids, eBay offers a whole universe of affordable craft supplies. If you are looking for scrapbooking materials, simply enter a description of what you are looking for into the search bar. If you would rather just browse a category of related items, enter a generic search query like "scrapbooking supplies." Instead of doing business with several eBay sellers, try getting all the supplies you need from one seller. This way you save on shipping. Many top-rated eBay sellers have their own eBay Stores.

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