Imagine a Christmas with a little less stuff and a little more heart.
Imagine bringing homemade bread or a plate of cookies to your neighbors, giving grandparents the gift of an afternoon together, and helping your children make something for someone special. Watching them grow just as excited about giving as receiving.
Imagine a Christmas with room to slow down, love one another, and remember the birth of our Savior.
Doesn’t that sound like a Christmas we could use more of?
December fills up quickly with wish lists, shopping, activities, and endless errands. Sometimes these things can take over before we’ve thought about how we really want the season to feel. This season also gives us an opportunity to help children discover another part of Christmas: having something of their own to give.
Making room for the reason we celebrate
As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we can help our children experience the love, generosity, and care for others that He taught. A simpler Christmas makes room for that. When we leave space for making, sharing, and spending time together, we have opportunities to talk about why we celebrate and ask, “How could we show someone love?”
Baking for a neighbor, making a grandparent’s gift, or giving someone our undivided time can become meaningful ways to put that love into practice.
Giving starts with thinking about someone else
When we invite children to make a gift, start with a person. Who would you like to make something for? What do they enjoy? What could you make that they would use or love? Maybe Grandpa loves watching birds. Maybe a neighbor spends all summer in her garden. Maybe a younger sibling would treasure a story written just for them.
These questions help children pay attention to others. Their project takes on meaning when they can picture the person receiving it. As they work, they can imagine how the gift might be used and how that person might feel opening it.
Need ideas? Our Homemade Gift Ideas handout includes gifts from the kitchen, projects to make by hand, and gifts of time and memories.
Get the free Homemade Gift Ideas
Children have something valuable to contribute
Adults handle so much of Christmas that children can spend much of the season waiting for things to happen. Making a gift gives them an active role. They get to plan, choose, work, and prepare a surprise. Their contribution matters. They may need help gathering supplies or learning a skill, but they can still make decisions and do meaningful work. A younger child might paint a flowerpot. An older child might assemble a wooden tray. Both can choose personal touches with their loved one in mind.
We want children to know that generosity is within their reach. Their time, attention, ideas, and effort are things they can give right now. It’s also a chance to remind them that God has given each of us abilities we can use to care for others.
Our My Made-with-Love Gift Plan worksheet helps children think about their person, draw an idea, list supplies, and identify where they need help. Younger children can draw or tell you their answers while you write.
Making something gives confidence a place to grow
There’s a lot of learning tucked into a handmade gift. A child might try a screwdriver, thread a needle, measure ingredients, or figure out how to hold pieces together while glue dries. Some parts come easily. Others take a few attempts. With suitable materials, instruction, and adult supervision, children can practice new skills and see their progress.
At first, they might say, “I don’t know how.” Then they try, ask questions, and adjust. Eventually, they can look at something that exists because of their effort.
“I made that” is a powerful thing for a child to say.
They don’t have to work independently from beginning to end. An adult can demonstrate, steady a piece, or help with a difficult step while leaving room for children to discover what they can do.
Want help getting started with real tools?
Our digital storefront offers woodworking lesson plans to purchase, including birdhouses, bird feeders, plant stands, and more. Step-by-step directions and how-to videos help you guide children as they learn to build with real tools.
Choose with the recipient in mind. A bird feeder could surprise someone who loves watching birds. A plant stand might be perfect for a grandparent with a house full of plants.
Thoughtful work takes time
Dough needs to chill. Paint needs to dry. Rough wood needs more sanding. A stitch might need to be pulled out and tried again. Those moments can be frustrating. They’re also opportunities to practice patience and problem-solving with a caring adult nearby.
Ask, “What do you think we could try?” or “Would you like me to show you that part again?”
Resist the urge to fix every crooked edge. Giving children ownership means allowing some of their learning to show. Their gift carries the care and effort they put into it.
Start small enough to enjoy it
A simpler Christmas shouldn’t become another overwhelming task. Choose one person and one manageable project. Use supplies you have when possible, and consider your child’s interests, abilities, and attention span.
Let children help wrap the gift, write a tag, and decide how to deliver it. Our free Made-with-Love Gift Tags give them another way to add their own touch.
A Christmas children help create
At Project Wild Rooted, this is the spirit behind our Christmas Workshop on the Farm experience. We read A Simple Christmas on the Farm, talk about the people we love, and help children use real tools to prepare a handmade gift.
But this kind of giving can happen around any kitchen table, in any workshop, or on a living room floor.
As we celebrate the gift of Jesus, we can help children share His love through their hands, time, and thoughtfulness.
Start with one question: “Who would you like to make something for?”
Then leave a little room in the season to see where it takes you.
