Home made gifts offset the moral degradation of the holidays

By: Joey Lewitin - [home]
Unfortunately, to a large extent, the holidays have become very commercial. We get hit from all sides with messages of greed and pettiness. Every media outlet is rife with the idea, ''buy this, or they wont love you.''
It is important in such an age to remind children that the season has a more spiritual lilt to it then just, getting the latest toy. One way to reinforce this is by asking them to build gifts for friends and family by themselves. Getting a child to give you something they worked on has several major benefits.

1. It will teach them the value of money. The item they buy would have to be made just like the item they make themselves. Money doesn't just appear it has to be earned, and then traded. So money is trading work, for work.

2. If you work together on the gift, and then give it to someone else, you will show the child that you buy into the idea of hand made gifts, and help show your support for the idea, as well as causing you to spend time together.

3. It will expand their imaginations and give them new skills

4. The gift they create will be a creative outlet of them selves, making it very meaningful.

For all of these reasons and more it is good to get your child to build the gifts they are going to give themselves. At a young age this may be the norm, but even as they grow older and into their teens this should be something you ask for.
Different levels of skill can accomplish different things of course, but as the child grows, mastering a talent will be a wonderful experience for them. Making the gifts can be fun, and will help them to use their heads instead of jusdt running for money.
You can encourage younger children to make cards or pictures. These can evolve into paintings or sketches. You can give them clay or plaster and let them sculpt, or you can suggest they write you a poem, or a story, or frame some nice pictures they take.
You should play to what interests the child. If you get them started on an art form for a single project, it could click and give them a hobby for years to come. Try and get them to be creative, and stretch their limits. Most important of all, be encouraging. The child is a new artist, and so will be hesitant about their work. This is your chance to help their self esteem at the early stages of a new craft.

Joey Lewitin is an author and designer of natural stone furnishings which can be seen here
http://pebblez.com

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