5 ideas for simple, sustainable and inexpensive homemade gifts for kids.

1. Laundry Day

I was a little surprised when I saw how captivated Heppy was by the simple act of hanging up scraps of fabric with a peg, taking them down, folding them and putting them in the basket, only to then repeat the whole task again a few minutes later! All you need is some string, some pegs, some scrap fabric (old t-shirts or towels)- you could even go as far as cutting into the shape of items of clothing, and then maybe a little bag or basket for it all to be kept in.

This would make an awesome alternative gift for future kids birthday parties!

2. An invitation to play: Role play

After taking Hephzibah to ‘little street’ role play (check it out if you haven’t already), I was so captivated seeing her engaged in play that I thought- I could definitely do this at home. I’m mid way through creating this one for her but I got my mum to send me an old keyboard she was no longer using, sourced an old school phone on FB marketplace for £5 - have moved her table into her room and plan to set them up as a vets- the station she engaged most with when we were at the play centre. There are tons of ideas for this on pinterest. I plan to gather all her stuffed animals, create some bandages from old scraps, and some neck cones from paper. You could go as far as sourcing things like an old pair of glasses, or a costume (FB marketplace has loads). There really is no limit- from cardboard you could build a little cage for the animals to go in or use old bottles and tins as pretend food. I am super excited about this one…can you tell?

3. Wooden Blocks

Before I had Hephzibah I wanted to create something more personal for a gift that could be passed down for each potential child and something I knew that would last. I found some plain wooden blocks online (FB marketplace has a ton) then I used a sweet little company that I knew had non-toxic safe paint, but I can’t now remember the name! I love how the blocks turned out as well as the fact it was super therapeutic for me to paint them over a few days and then I repurposed some old fabric I had to make a little bag for them! They’re still going strong almost three years in and Heppy loves them!

To finish them off I made some homemade beeswax polish but I think you could also probably rub some coconut oil into them!

I just saw via instagram that @gabriella_agnes recently did the same but dyed hers with fruits and vegetables and they turned out AWESOME! I actually have a ton of natural dyes lingering in my fridge (probably lingering too long) made from things like onion skins and blueberries and wish I’d of thought of that a few years back!

4. A “sorting box”

Granny B arrives to our house regularly carrying her sorting box and Hephzibah peers out the window with great anticipation for it to arrive inside so she can begin playing with it.

This was a genius idea thought up by my Mum-in-law and truly shows that sometimes what is our trash is our kids treasure. Those random things laying around the house that we have no idea what to do with them- they’re often the very things that our kids want to play with!

Inside the box was a number of utensils, small pots, then jars and tins filled with everything from cardboard rectangles, dried pasta, marbles, corks etc.

I have overheard them many times, sorting, selling, imagining and cooking and is one of the things that really has kept Heppy engaged for a solid amount of time!

I LOVE this idea as it can easily cost nothing. You could easily ask family and friends if they have anything they’re not using too that can be added to the box!

5. Homemade game

We ordered ‘lunch lady’ magazine a few months back and it game with a homemade game idea which got my mind racing to other games that are easy to make.

I ordered some super thin wood and stuck the game they had included onto them and Heppy LOVES it. We could have also painted dominos on the Balsa wood, for a game when she'‘s a little older, or made up our own game!

Again, Pinterest has a ton of ideas but I love how personal you could make this one- you could even print off pictures of family members.

Do you have any ideas?