Cheap and easy way to make any present better (Other Gifts for Children)

Member Name: Gretta

Product:	Other Gifts for Children
Date:	07/12/00 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and personal, suits most ages

Disadvantages: Takes a bit of extra effort

Have you ever seen those lovely painted wooden letters, which come in a number of different varieties, such as clowns and animals? They are about three inches tall and painted in so that the clown or Giraffe or whatever looks like it is forming the shape of the letter. They usually cost about a pound each, but I recently found some in a mail order catalogue called Hawkins Bazaar for 60 pence each. Coincidentally this is an excellent catalogue (lots of very cheap stocking fillers), and they also have a website, http://www.hawkin.co.uk. Search for letters and classify under 99 p and you will find them.

These letters can be used to make almost any gift for kids more appealing. Most tiny kids like the idea of stuff with their own name on, but unusual names can be hard to find, and personalising can mean you have to wait longer for the gift to arrive (not great as it’s the 7th December!). Toy boxes, plain photo frames, mirrors, peg hooks, blackboards, wooden push along trucks, child size chairs, all can be made more attractive and given a longer life span by using a glue gun or panel pins to attach these letters to them. The extra care you have taken will ensure they are treasured. Parents with more than one child will also appreciate these sorts of gifts on a practical level as they help distinguish whose is whose. One small warning though, this sort of personalised thing is not a great idea for anything that will be used outside the home, as strangers may be able to read the child's name and use this to attempt to gain the child's trust.

The letters can also be used for many other gifts, such as hung as a mobile for a toddler learning to read, of to make a sign for the bathroom etc. Have a look at them in Hawkins, I'm sure you will be inspired. Another option is the magnetic letters that very few homes with kids in aren't covered in! The Early Learning Centre sells these in tubs for about 3 pounds, and they to can be
added to many gifts, such as stuck with a glue gun on a push along car or kids play kitchen, to add something extra.

The best thing about this is that they can make a very cheap present very special. A child's plastic shopping basket costs two pounds, but could be made into something really special with the child's name on the side.

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