Make Your Own Christmas Gift Tags

By Abigail Beal, published Oct 18, 2007

Christmas is Coming! Make Your Own Christmas

Gift Tags for Your Gifts!

Christmas is coming and we all know what this means: time to decorate and gift wrap all of the presents! If you are the crafty type you probably like to put your own special touches on your Christmas presents. But even if you don't consider yourself particularly crafty, making your own gift tags is an easy and simple craftthat most can do in an hour's time. These gift tags are a great way to make yourChristmas gifts look unique to others that are given during the holidays.

For this craft you will need:

Below is a list of suggested supplies. Please note that you will probably not need all of the supplies to make gift tags, but these are all of the supplies mentioned.

Dover Clip Art books

Dover sticker books

Dover Victorian Angel or Santa mini picture books (often used for decoupage projects and card making)

Glue sticks (the clear kind)

Metallic paint pens in gold and silver

Glitter pens

Stickers, holiday themes and other themes that appeal to you

Gel pens of all colors

Card stock, especially white, ivory, red and green - can use other colors if they appeal to you

Scissors, another idea is to use Fiskar scissors to get fancy edges

A hole punch

Calligraphy pen

Stencils for lettering

Free Printable Gift Tag as promised! See Below

Click on the picture to download

the .pdf file in a new window.

Top 10 Gift Ideas

By Tracy Christensen, published Nov 21, 2006

For Stocking Stuffers for Teenage Boys

Teenage Boys Tastes Change and Stocking

Stuffers Can Become Much More Expensive

As my children get older, I have a harder and harder time trying to finding stocking stuffers for my boys. I think part of the reason, is because I feel that I am getting them the same thing year after year. Also as they get older, their tastes change and stocking stuffers become much more expensive. It gets difficult to be creative and thrifty at the same time when selecting stocking stuffers for teenage boys.

When they were little, I was able to go to the dollar store and get a variety of small items for stocking stuffers. 

Things like jacks, balls, card games, small cars, bubbles and wooden airplanes were perfect for my young boys. As they got older, my kids loved gift cards as stocking stuffers because they were able to get exactly what they wanted. They were at the age where they thought credit cards were cool and they pretended they were using a credit card to make their purchases. It was kind of cute, but disturbing at the same time. They used the gift cards to purchase clothes, music, candy and weapons. Yes, weapons, like sling shots, soft pellet guns, bows and arrows, BB guns and paint ball equipment. Now they are into ”man“ weapons and enjoy hunting and target practicing. So again, I am left with the dilemma of what to get without spending an extraordinary amount of money and time to find the perfect stocking stuffers for my teenage boys.

I am half tempted to go the easy route and fill the stockings with a music download gift card and candy.

Sure they would enjoy that, but would they remember their stocking stuffers years later? I don’t think so. I want to make the holidays memorable so years down the

road they can share their holiday memories with their children. Also, as they get older and want more expensive items, they will get less ”packages“ to unwrap. That will make their stocking stuffers all the more special.

I could go to the dollar store and get a variety of small items like tools, themed dishware, vehicle accessories, food and candy. I could also go practical and make a little basket that includes the necessities like razors and deodorant. They could leave it on the bathroom counter where it is easily accessible to remind them to actually use the items I included; like soap. This might seem like a pretty large stocking stuffer, but we have pretty big stockings. I also could go retro and get items that remind them of yesteryear like wooden airplanes and bubbles to stuff their stockings with, but I don’t think I’ll go that route either.

I still could go the easy route and fill the stockings with candy and a couple of gift cards from their favorite stores. They LOVE Wal-Mart gift cards as stocking stuffers because they are so versatile. They can use them in the store and get anything from clothing and music to ammo. They can also use the gift card online where there is a larger variety of items to choose from or they can use it to download music. It is pretty much their favorite gift card and their favorite stocking stuffer. They also like i-Tunes gift cards. They like i-Tunes because thesongs are not edited like the majority of Wal-Mart songs and there is a larger variety.

I could go personal and get items for the stockings that are easily personalized like a watch or bracelet with a name or inscription. Little picture frames are very inexpensive and can easily be personalized. My teenage boys like the little magnetic frames that they can put in their school lockers. Additional stocking stuffers in this category would be pens or pencils, stationary, diaries, CD cases and personalized or handmade Christmas ordainments. My kids have got a Christmas ornament every year since they were born in their stocking. They love getting a new one and placing it on the tree. It has become a family tradition and when they have families of their own, I will give them ornaments to continue the tradition with their family. I imagine there will always be a Christmasornament in my future grandchildren’s stockings.

I could go with a practical joke or gag gift theme and get coal for their stocking stuffers. But that is messy and I don’t really want to see tears onChristmas morning. There is also the snowman poop and reindeer food I could put in my teenage boys stockings, but I really don’t think that they would appreciate that. I could go goofy using items that they could have fun with like a hand buzzer or a fake snake. They definitely would have fun with those items, but I don’t think their sister would appreciate that idea at all. I’ll keep thinking about stocking stuffers for my teenage boys.

I could also go with a group of items that have a similar Theme. Themed items make great stocking stuffers for teenage boys. If your teenage boys are into hunting like mine are, choose items in the hunting department. Stocking stuffers can be anything from wildlife t-shirts to ammo depending on the size of your stocking. Small items that are available in the hunting department include survival stuff like snake bite kits and waterproof matches to floating key chains and pocket knifes. There are also rain ponchos and survival blankets, food barsand small flash lights. There are even windup radios that do not require batteries. There is also a ton of camping items that would make perfect stocking stuffers. The mind boggles at the unlimited ideas you could choose for a teenage boy who is in to fishing. Other themes include a favorite movie, car racing, art supplies or tools. One year, we used a movie theme for stocking stuffers and got each child their favorite DVD, microwave popcorn, a bottle of root beer, movie tickets and of course, lots of candy. They adored it and are still talking about their cool stocking stuffers.

So, what will I be using for my teenage sons stocking stuffers this year?Sorry, but I can’t tell you, they might read this. Just remember to enjoy your search. Sometimes the best ideas come from just walking around. When you see a particular item, the light bulb goes on and there it is; your idea or theme for your teenage sons stocking stuffers. Have fun!

Easy Holiday Crafts for Kids

By Pam Gaulin, published Dec 18, 2007

Kids can make their own homemade Christmas gift tags with these three simpleChristmas Crafts.

These are free and easy Christmas crafts that can be done by toddlers, preschoolers, or older children. These homemade Christmas gift tagswill keep kids busy, and they add a personal touch to Christmas gifts.

Note: any of these stamping and decorating techniques can also be used to make homemade Christmas cards, homemade bookmarks, and other paper decorations for Christmas.

Here we go!

#1. Carrot Stamp Jingle Bells Gift Tags

One simple Christmas craft for kids is to make gift tags with festive little jingle bell decorations.

Materials:

card stock

a ruler

a pencil

one raw carrot

one adult to cut the end of the carrot

gold or silver ink or poster paint

silver glitter

a black marker

Step One: Fold the paper in half the long way. Fold it again . Fold that in half. That will give you the lines for the gift tags, without having to use a pencil. Unfold the paper.

Step Two: Have an adult cut the tip off of a raw carrot. This will be your stamp. Dip the carrot into the paint or the ink. Press the carrot onto a paper towel or scrap paper. Then stamp two or three circles on each gift tag. Let dry.

Step Three: Use a black maker outline the jingle bells. Be sure to draw a little hook at the top of each jingle bell. Write "To:" and "From:" on each tag.

Step Four: Cut out each gift tag.

Step Five: Use a hole punch to make a hole in the gift tag, tie on a ribbon and add to a gift.

Simple Christmas Crafts for Kids:

#2 Finger Panting Snowman Gift Tags

Another simple Christmas craft for kids is to make finger painting snowman gift tags.

Materials:

one piece of black, blue, red or green paper

white poster paint

colorful markers

your fingers!

Step One: Follow step one above. (Folding the paper)

Step Two: Squeeze some white paint onto a paper plate. Dip your thumb or a finger into the paint. Dot the paint in circles to make tiny snowmen and snow babies, snow women, or even a snow dog. Let dry.

Step Three: Use the markers to decorate the tiny snow people. Write "To:" and "From:" on each tag.

Step Four: Cut out each gift tag.

On….

Tape

There are so many different ways to make this project, it all depends on what type of design and personality you would like your gift tags to have. But most gift tags have some type of holiday greeting (Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays) and also a To and From listing so that people know who the gift is for and who the gift is from. Your gift tag can be designed in a card style, where you fold the card stock over and make a mini card out of it, or you can simply make it postcardstyle and have it be one sided or use both sides of it.

The best way to make your gift cards is to begin with an image that you like. For example, Dover makes a book of Victorian Angels that you can cut out and use for a variety of craft projects. These can be used for cards, for decoupage and lots of other ideas. These are very pretty for gift tags. Select an angel or two that you like and cut them out, cutting carefully to not miss any details.

#3. Sticker and Foil Gift Tags

Kids love stickers, so let them use stickers to make gift tags. This is a simple and fun Christmas craft for kids. For toddlers, make the tags for them. You can also skip the foil to make it even easier.

Materials:

aluminum foil

plain card stock

glue

variety of Christmas stickers

Step One: Follow step one above. (Folding the paper)

Step Two: Cut out each tag.

Step Three: Cut out a piece of aluminum foil that is twice as big as the tag. Put glue on the front of the gift tag. Wrap the foil around the gift tag.

Step Four: Decorate with stickers.