Want to keep costs down for gifts for the little ones in your lives this holiday season? Instead of elbow wrestling down the store aisles with other parents, why not try some good ol’ homemade gifts with dollar store wrappings. Here are just a few ideas, some of which are taken from our Wee Learn Activity Handbook that provide great educational fun!
Coloured Playdough 
1 cup flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
½ cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Food colouring
Heat, stirring constantly until ball forms. Knead until cool and smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in a nice holiday container with some cookie cutters.
Hopscotch
Markers
White plastic tablecloth
Beanbags
Bake With Me Jar
Glass jar or plastic container (600ml) + a funnel if the mouth of the jar is narrow
Flour
Mini M&Ms and/or choc chips
Brown sugar
White sugar
Fabric
Elastic band and/or ribbon
Label or card
1) Layer/add each of the ingredients at a time.
1 ½ cups of self-raising flour
¾ cup of choc chips and/or M &Ms (You can mix or separate these)
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of white sugar
2) Attach the lid and decorate with fabric and ribbon
3) Attach a card which includes the instructions for making the cookies:
Rub 2/3 cup of softened butter into the cookie mix until it resembles bread crumbs.
Add one beaten egg and 1 tsp of vanilla extract and combine well.
Roll the mixture into small balls (makes approx. 12).
Place on a greased tray and flatten slightly
Bake at 180 degrees for 10-12 minutes
Bowling Game
Collect plastic pop bottles to make pins.
Medium sized ball
Place a small amount of paint at the bottom of each pin. Add
A teaspoon of water just so that it will cover the entire inside
Of the bottle when you shake it.
Screw the lid back on and shake the bottles so the paint
Completely covers the insides of the bottles. Open the bottles and remove
Any excess water/paint. Let try overnight.
If your paint is really runny you can skip this step. If your paint is pretty thick you’re going to want to add a small amount (like 1 tsp) of water to each bottle. This will make the paint a little runnier so it will be easier to shake. Don’t add too much water though or your paint won’t be thick enough and won’t cover the bottle properly!
Remove cap and pour out any excess paint/water. Keep the cap off and allow your paint bottles to dry. Mine took at least overnight. When dry you can put the lids back on. Optionally, if you’re worried about your kids being able to open the bottles, you could use a glue gun and glue the lids back on. I didn’t do that, and my kids have never tried to open them. Set up your bowling pins, grab a ball and have fun!