2013 Gift Guide: For the Kids

Tis the season! Here's to supporting small business and the artisan community this year by shopping handmade! To make it easy I've be putting together a series of gift guides featuring works from makers on Etsy. Next up, something special for the people who bring wonder to the holidays. The ones that tear off the paper, open their eyes wide, and squeal with delight.

My top 5 for the Kids

 1. Stuff the stockings of the movers and shakers with a personalized hand kite from CakeInTheMorn. Bright, fun, and finished with a homemade, organic beeswax sealant. They offer price breaks on larger orders, gift wrap for an additional fee, and will even let you pick and choose the ribbon colors. What's not to love!

 

2. For the aspiring artist wrap up a set of Eco-friendly crayons from ivylanedesigns. Cast away bits of old crayons are transformed into something new and super fun! From fortune cookies, to unicorns, to the Eiffel tower, they've got a crayon to suit most any personality.

3. For the high energy competitive types think jump rope. Jump rope? Ya, jump rope. This 100% cotton, hand spliced and dyed skipping rope from jupiterschild is the perfect rope to get started. And who knows, after exhausting all the skipping songs and games in the back yard, maybe they'll want to move on to jump rope camp or competing in national or international competitions! Wow. There's a lot more to jumping rope than meets the eye. Check out the Wiki skipping rope entry for a crash course or visit the American Heart Associations website for a great list of Jump Rope Skills!

 

4. Have a curios kiddo? Then Jennifer from the theideaboxkids has just the thing: boxes of ideas. This particular box is full of science experiments and ideas, but she's got a box for just about everything. There's a Masking Tape Box, a Teachers Time-Filler Box, a Winter Activities Box,  a Story Box, an Airplane box... there's even a Wiggle Box. It's all about "child-led, play-based learning" and I think it's one of the best ideas I've ever seen. Love it!

5. How about something for the little chef? CreationByM has some of the best felted food I've ever seen. Ice cream, Sushi, Dim Sum, Banana Pancakes and more. I'm getting hungry just looking at it!

 

Man, that was fun. I could browse the handmade toys on Etsy all day. Such creative makers out there supporting active and creative kids. Kinda makes me wish I'd get a time machine this year.

Alright, now for the shameless plug. I too have been working on some imagination makers in the form of shadow puppets. Forest Creatures, Aliens, and Robots have made their debut in my Etsy shop and I might be having a little too much fun with them. But I guess that depends on who you ask and whether or not they have a fantastic robot voice.

Check out my other 2013 Holiday Gift Guides:

For the Host/Hostess

For the Jewelry Lover

Happy Holidays and thanks for reading!