Help with Christmas

Last year I did a family calendar from one of those online photo shops. My husband's Grandmother cried when I gave it to her.

I agree with the other moms on the calendar idea. I did that for my mom last year. I went to Costco and made an awesome calendar of the pics of the children through-out the year and she told me she would always keep it (as a keepsake). But if you are wanting something a little more personable- I would do the ornament idea to where the kids can paint or design something on the ornament so grandma can keep it for years to come!!

Try this website:

http://www.personalizationmall.com/Search.aspx?searchStor...

They have some great personalized items specific to"Grandma".

We like to make calendars at Sutterfly.com. Very simply and reasonably priced.

This year I am making the grandparents a set of marble coasters with my childs pictures tranfered on them. It is a kit. I think the name is Tilano Fresco. I can't remember where I picked it up but I have seen them out there at place like Michaels. Good Luck

We are also doing calanders for the grandparents and great grandpartnts. I've been checking around, and although Costco seems to have a cheaper price individually, depending on how many you get, Office Max is cheaper. Right now, they are on sale for 12.99, but they have buy two get one free. I'm getting 6 calanders (more than just grandparents are getting on), and they said with that many, they would take at least $1 off the individual price. So, with the buy two, get one free deal, I would get 6 calanders for just over $50 (which is about $10 cheaper than Costco). Sounds like you have a ton of ideas, though, so good luck. I'm sure whatever you do, they will love! :)

What about making them a DVD with pictures of your children in a slide show with music? You might already have a program on your computer or you can purchase a program at the office supply store for a fairly reasonable price. You can put the dvd in an old cd case or buy new ones and then have the kids make or design the cover. You can also make a little book to put in it (like they do for the lyrics of the songs) but instead have the kids each write a special note or draw a picture for their grandma. Have fun!

Photo puzzles are fun! You can do it online, just shop around for the best deal.

We do the calendars every year.... if you belong to Costco they are only $10 each! Depending on what photos we have, we will do different ones with photos of our son with the grandparent or aunt they are going to. You can select different layouts to use just one or several photos per month. And the online software is very easy to use....

A couple of other more crafty ideas: Refrigerator magnets with the kids photos or coasters with the kids photos (i've seen ones where you just slide in the photos and others where you transfer the photo to the coaster).

Hi K.,
How about a calendar from snapfish? You can personalize it and add lots of pictures of the kids. They make great gifts. Also, last year we ordered christmas ornaments with our daughter's picture on them.

Merry Christmas!
Deb

target has some really neat ornaments you can put pictures in - you could do that with pictures of the kids and maybe a giftcard to somewhere she enjoys shopping.
you could have the kids (even the baby with your help) make her christmas ornaments as well... go with the theme.
she'll enjoy the pictures of the kids and their creations and will be able to indulge herself a little bit too.

just a thought
S.

I'm not sure how long it takes, but have you looked into making photo calendars? Good luck and let us know what you've decided! K.

If their pictures are on Digital, go to Shutterfly. The make AMAZING coffee table books where you can put their pictures in, put in the wording and make these amazing keepsake books with the look of a true coffee table book. It is very inexpensive and my mother in law actually cried when she got hers a few years ago. They also have keychains where you can download 8 pictures of the grandkids that are like $19.00 and Target carries these. Also go to Personalcreations.com They have the best stuff!

How about a calendar? A lot of photos sites (Kodak, snapfish, costco, walmart) can make it from the pictures you upload then send it to you. If you want a more hands on approach, Michaels has a small wall calendar in their dollar section. You just put in your own prints. I'm doing a collage on each page. For December will be the kids 1st Christmas photo along with this years. Grandma's always love pictures.

I have done annual photo books from one of the online photo stores. Also, Costco has a relationship with mypublisher.com and you might be able to get a better price that way. I was also thinking about digital picture frames or ornaments with my kids pictures.

Hope this helps. You sound very creative, I am sure your gifts are wonderful!

I agree with the calander idea. This is the first christmas for my daughter and we are just sending everyone in our family a calander of her. We are going to dress her up and do different things for each month.

Get a family picture done professionally, frame it and give it to the grandparents. You can go to Kiddie Kandids, Picture People, or even Walmart. Or my other suggestion would be to go to a pottery place and make something (plate, bowl, mug, picture frame, etc.) with the kids. As You Wish Pottery I think is a name of one of those types of places. Good luck!

Hi there!

Calendars are a great idea. I've done that too. But this year I bought digital picture frames (there's some great sales on them) and I'm filling them up with all kinds of pics of the family from when the kids were babies to now. I like the idea because the pics are always changing and after a year you can still have it out. unlike a calendar. Both are great gifts!
Good luck!
Have fun!

Another fun idea is going to a place like Mind Over Splatter or another place where your children can paint their own ceramics for Grandma....coffee mugs, plates, figurians. ect. We are going that for Grandma and Great Grandma this year.

One year the kids and I hand painted terra cotta pots for all the Grandparents. It was great fun and each one shows a bit of the childs personality. Just remebert to spray clear paint over the pots when the kids are done so that the art will last longer!! I still love seeing how small the babies hands were two years ago when he "painted" his gifts. It is also a very inexpensive gift, the pots can be found at any hardware store or craft market. I hope this gives you some kind of idea that you can run with. May your holidays be blessed.

Hi K.,

I agree with Kim! I made calendars last year for the grandparents and they LOVED them. They had so much fun seeing new pictures every month. It was pretty inexpensive and a lot of fun to make. Good luck!

my mom loves this one. each year we get her a sweat shirt. i get fabric paints at walmart. they are pretty inexpensive. like 6 dollars for a variety pack. i have the kids pick a theme and they draw on them . one year we made one with all the grandkids and have added the new ones on as they are born. she loves that one. another year we did a gardening one because she loves gardening . it had different flowers and vegetables on it. another year we did a picture on i bought a scrap of clear plastic from the fabric dept and cut it out to make pockets the size of the pictures. i sewed it on three sides leaving the top open and inserted pictures of the kids in them.

A couple of years ago, I bought some inexpensive glass plates ($1-2 each at Walmart, I think) and then made black and white photocopies of acute picture of my children (on paper, but still use the "photo" selection when you make the copy to get a better quality) and then decoupaged it to the back of the plate, so that the picture showed through.

The grandparents loved them and the girls still love seeing the plates on display everytime we are at Gramma & Papa's houses!

Enjoy!

A few years ago my sister took pictures of all the grandkids, transferred them onto fabric, and made them into a quilt. We even put an ultrasound of the new baby on the quilt. It's pretty ambitous, but my mom loves it, and rotates whose picture shows up.

I made photo calendars on Snapfish last year for the grandparents and aunts & uncles. They look great and it's worth the time you put into uploading the pictures and putting them where you want. You can not only put pictures on the top of each calendar page, but also in the date squares. I put pictures of my son with each person in the family on their birthday for example. They were such a hit that the grandparents requested I do them again this year. (If you have Costco in your area and a membership, they have the exact same calendars for about half the price--their photo shop is powered through Snapfish, so I know we'll get the same great product.)

I have recently discovered our local pottery studio, called the Potter's Wheel. It sells pre-fired pieces and you go in and enjoy some time doing art with your kids, then in a few days, they are re-fired with the glazes and you pick them up! It is really fun, they have ornaments, cups, platters, bowls, piggy banks, etc. I've seen moms in there with their little ones.,doing hand and foot prints on things, etc..It is not only a great way to be creative with your kids, but to create something that is totally unique. Look in your phone book, most towns now have a store of this sort. Have fun!

plaquemaker.com Find a poem put it on there along with all the grandkids names signed at the bottom it's like 31 bucks for and 8X10 I got one to give to my mom from the grandkids this year and I love it!