| Are your kids invited to numerous birthday | | | | cross-stitchit onto a cover for the lid, and I had a great |
| partiesthroughout the year? Buying a gift, paper to | | | | gift! |
| wrapit in, ribbon and a bow, plus a card every timecan | | | | This idea would also work using recycled boxes or tins. |
| get expensive and tiresome, can't it! | | | | Garage sales are a good place to pick up tins of |
| Through the years I have discovered some easy | | | | allsizes and colors. Just spray paint if needed. You |
| waysto save money and time and always be | | | | don'teven have to decorate the top or sides, just wrap |
| prepared forthose invitations. | | | | ribbonor raffia around the tin and tie a bow on top. |
| My three children are older now, but when they | | | | Little girls always enjoy receiving more clothes fortheir |
| wereyoung, it seemed as if one of them was invited | | | | Barbie dolls. If you sew, you can make giftsyour |
| toa friend's birthday party almost every week! | | | | daughter's friends will love from your scraps offabric |
| Usuallythe invitations didn't arrive until 1 or 2 days | | | | and lace. And the clothes you make are muchbetter |
| beforethe party. I got really fed up with running to | | | | quality than the ones you pay premium pricesfor in the |
| thestore in our small town and trying to find | | | | store. |
| anappropriate gift on short notice. | | | | One last secret to giving great birthday gifts |
| I realized the first thing I needed to do was to | | | | is:remember that children love to open a package! |
| getorganized. So I set aside a box in the hall closet | | | | Justtaking tissue out of a gift bag is not the same! |
| andstarted to fill it with gift items suitablefor children | | | | But wrapping a package doesn't have to break the |
| around my children's ages. | | | | bankeither. At garage sales, always look for |
| Each time I went to the discount or dollar store, Ilooked | | | | anythingthat can be used to wrap gifts--wallpaper, |
| at the clearance sales; especially after | | | | drawerliner,even scraps of fabric. Look for yarn and |
| Christmas. I tried to keep at least one gift for eachchild | | | | piecesof lace or other trim to use instead of ribbon. In |
| on hand at all times. | | | | otherwords, just use your imagination! |
| I have always loved to make things so I was | | | | Dollar stores are a great place to pick up |
| alwayson the lookout for anything I could craft that | | | | inexpensivewrapping paper in a pinch. The flat, folded |
| kidswould like. One item I came across that the | | | | kind ischeaper than buying it on a roll, just cover |
| kidsreally liked was gift jars. I would fill a pint orquart jar | | | | thecreases with ribbon. Kids aren't going to take timeto |
| (reused mayo or pizza sauce jars) with smallitems. | | | | notice, anyway! |
| Some of the things I used were pens, | | | | Even an inexpensive gift will bring raves from |
| erasers,notepads, small cars, toy soldiers, hair ribbons, | | | | thebirthday boy or girl when it's wrapped imaginatively. |
| stickers,candy, gum. Anything I found that would fit. I | | | | Tie a lollipop on top or write their name in glitter. |
| wouldoften buy in bulk and divide the items between | | | | Use your imagination and get creative! |
| severaljars. | | | | Your children will love it when the gift they bring isthe |
| Children love anything with their name on it, so I | | | | hit of the party! |
| wouldpaint their name on the side of the jar or | | | | |