A nice way for children to learn the joy of giving during the holiday season is for parents to spend time helping them make gifts for loved ones. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Decorated plant pots -Using washable craft paints, paint flowers or free designs on clay pots with brushes, fingers or cotton swabs. Embellish with buttons or beads. Small children could make bright splashy handprints around the pot.

Tree ornaments – Cut snowflakes from paper. Don’t remember how? Get a book on the subject from the library or search the Web. Or fold some paper, start cutting and see what happens. If scissors are very sharp, parents should do the cutting. Children can indicate where to cut.

. Trace around cookie cutters on brown paper bags, cut shapes out and sew two like shapes together with thread or embroidery floss using long stitches. Or glue them together. Embellish with crayons or glitter markers. Add a thread loop for a hanger.

. Find an old wool sweater and throw it in the washing machine in hot water to felt it. Dry it in the dryer. Cut holiday shapes from it and embellish with beads and buttons. Add a string hanger.

. Gather some pine cones. Put a little glue on the top, dust the pine cones with glitter and glue on loops of bright red yarn for hangers.

. Take a walk on the beach and gather bits of glass, little shells, tiny rocks, twigs and other bits of flotsam and jetsam. Glue the bits and pieces together. Add a string hanger.

. Buttons tied on a very long string or bright ribbon also make a nice tree garland. Or make a paper chain cut from bits of last year’s wrapping paper.

. For an origami garland, fold paper into bird shapes and secure them with needle and thread to a long length of red ribbon.

. Cut shapes from last year’s holiday cards and thread them with a loop for hanging.

Food – Bake cookies from scratch, a mix or a roll of refrigerated dough and pack them in a clean, empty coffee can or margarine container. Cover the container with tin foil and top with a festive bow.

. Make or buy fudge, wrap it in foil and pack in small brown paper bags tied with pretty ribbons and stamped with festive designs.

. Make popcorn balls, twist colored plastic wrap around them and tie with a ribbon. Nestle in a little basket lined with paper doilies.

. Not handy in the kitchen or can’t face the mess? Visit your local supermarket and buy fruits, nuts and candy and assemble a gift basket containing a mix of those items.

Pictures – Have children make drawings of their family, pet or house. Or take family photos to a copy center to enlarge them. Children can help put the drawings or photos in frames.

Refrigerator magnets – Make drawings of flowers and birds, color them and cut them out. Cut illustrations out of magazines. Or use a wallet-size school photo. Apply these to a piece of sheet magnet, which has one sticky side.

Books – Fold pieces of computer paper in half, sew the pages together with dental or embroidery floss. Write and illustrate a story. Fashion a cover from cereal box cardboard covered with gift-wrap.

Remember two things as you craft your gifts – it’s the thought behind the gift that counts, and let your imagination be your guide. Happy Holidays.

Snippets

Lincoln resident Thelma Parker is seeking patterns for men’s socks and snowmobile mittens for children. If readers have patterns to share, write her at 56 Transalpine Road, Lincoln 04457.

Jane Curtis is hoping that someone has a pattern for, or would be willing to knit, a man’s ski cap in a large size. Call her at 989-6324.

Merrill Burgess of Sangerville e-mailed to say that I had rearranged geography in last week’s By Hand. Sir Hiram Maxim was born in Sangerville not Dover-Foxcroft, and he invented the machine gun not the gattling gun.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes comments, suggestions and ideas. Call her at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.