A handmade birthday present

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be to teach my kids the values of gift giving. I admit that one of the best parts about Christmas has been watching them unwrap their gifts. But I don't like the message that they're getting from it. With two kids now, I realize they have a lot of stuff. It's pretty ridiculous. And every birthday and Christmas they just keep getting more.

Christmas at the grandparents

They expect the gifts now. Birthdays and Christmas are simply the days they get more stuff. And with some of the stuff they get, it appears there is no real thought when it comes to gift giving. My husband and I have limited the gifts we give to the girls. We're just hoping that we can convince others to do the same. And we hope to teach the girls that gifts, if given at all, should be meaningful.

Mila had a birthday party to go to this past weekend. We discussed what kind of gift we should get her, and she really didn't know. And I knew nothing about the little girl. So then I thought, "This is my opportunity to make this meaningful," and to me, gifts are much more special when they're handmade. I see nothing wrong with a store-bought gift, but if you have a thoughtful gift to make, it just feels more special. I wanted Mila to be as involved in it as possible, but I also wanted to make sure we made her something nice. We agreed on a pencil case, a little journal and some colored pencils. It's simple, but it's something my girls really enjoy and get good use out of.

Mila picked out the black and pink fabric for the outside and the polka dots for the inside. I used my own pencil bag/embroidering bag for size and found an easy tutorial on Pinterest as a guideline. 

I asked Mila to make a little design on the journal for me to embroider over, but she made her own pictures instead. The back shows a girl walking a dog (or probably a cat). 

I heard one of the other kids say, "oh cool!" and Mila was pretty proud of her gift. She wants me to make her one too now, of course. I thought it was cute that a lot of the other kids also made some type of picture to include in their gifts. The journal is super easy and fun to make so come back Friday for a closer look!