Hand-Made, free Christmas Gift Idea for Toddlers: DIY books

Like many parents with growing families, I sometimes approach Christmas with an unfortunate mix of excitement and trepidation. The beauty and meaning of the season speaks to my soul in a way nothing else does, but the month of December usually comes with a packed calendar and a looooonng shopping list.

This year, we finally implemented name-drawing for gifts on both sides of our family. Our gift list is now a fraction of the length, which means more time is freed up to pursue my dream of hand-making special gifts for my children. First on my list: hand-made sketchbooks.

Hand-Sewn Books

A hand-sewn notebook can be however big of a project you want it to be. Some tutorials will list several tools and ornamental stitches for connecting several signatures (or bundles of pages.) But it's also possible to make a super simple — but unique! — little book using only materials you probably already have in your house:

Mini DIY book ideas

You can buy super cheap small notebooks and sketchbooks for your child. But if you're like me and want to keep Christmas as waste-free and budget-friendly as possible, there are some priceless and free ways to personalize your unique little books.

Doll books & magazines

Use metallic pens and fine-point markers to make miniature books and magazines for your kids' dolls and characters. Add tiny doodles of their favorite interests or funny titles for them to discover.

Simple workbooks

For toddlers who are young enough to shorten the life expectancy of a paper item, make a booklet that's meant to be "used up." You could add dotted outlines of numbers and letters, or simple pictures for them to fill in.

Blank Sketchbooks

If you have enough special decorative paper that has unique appeal to your child, or are just happy to make something by hand rather than purchase it, then just keep it simple and present your child with one or a few colorful blank sketchbooks. Pair with a few water-washable markers or a sheet of stickers.

How to make a basic toy book with materials you already have in your house

Materials

• any thread and needle, or a stapler

• 3-4 sheets 8.5 x 11" printer paper

• any decorative paper

• optional: scissors or paper cutter

You may think you don't have any decorative paper, but don't make a shopping list yet. Do you have any greeting cards stashed away that you've been meaning to declutter? What about wrapping paper scraps, wrinkled gift bags, decorative pages from the yearly planner you're about to finish (mine is from Fringe with artwork by Julianna Upton), or a beat-up children's book that has been loved beyond repair? Think outside the box and cut out designs and illustrations from anywhere you find them.

Directions

1. Fold one sheet of printer paper in half neatly, the "hamburger" way (folding the longer side in half). Crease sharply. Unfold and re-fold the paper in opposite direction along the same crease, again running your fingernail along the crease to sharpen it. Fold one more time in the opposite way, then gently tear the paper in half along the fold.

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

2. Continue folding and tearing until slips of paper are at the desired size when folded in half. These will be the pages.

   
   

   

   
   

3. Using scissors, a paper cutter, or the same fold-and-tear method, cut a piece of decorate paper to be slightly larger than your page pieces.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Fold pieces in half and nest pages inside each other.

   
   

   

   
   

5. Fold the cover of the book in half and nest over the pages. To bind the book together with a stapler, open the booklet and lay it facedown inn the stapler, being careful to keep the pages from shifting. Staple twice, making sure the staples land directly on the fold. To sew, simply stitch along the fold, leaving the knots on the inside of the book to hide them. You can use a few stitches or several, as long as they span from the top of the spine to the bottom.

   
   

   

   
   

The finished booklets:

Tie these up with a few colorful markers or stickers for a gift or stocking stuffer. You really can make a special, hand-crafted Christmas morning without overspending, by getting creative with simple materials you already own.

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