Stumped about what to gift Mom for her special day since you're unable to cruise the mall? Truly, moms love nothing more than a handmade present on Mother's Day. It always fits, it always feels special, and it always brings a smile to Mom's face.
Homemade Mother's Day gifts are like little creative time capsules of where your child is in life, and kids love making something special and from the heart for their number one lady. Here are 14 of our favorite crafts for kids to make for their moms:
1. Firefly finger print art
Like lightning bugs in a jar, capture their tiny fingerprints! These little fingerprint lightning bugs are ones you'll get to keep and enjoy forever. This idea from Crafty Morning has a perfectly printable mason jar template to get you started.
2. Customizable linen and home spray
Give mom a little something to freshen things up with this fragrant kid-made floral and herb “perfume” idea from Hello Wonderful. Simply made with water and some essential oils, kids will love being little chemists and customizing a fragrance for their special lady.
Get four cobalt blue glass spray bottles on Amazon for $7.99
3. Leaf-smashing dye project
Hapa Zome leaf dying is simply the art of smashing flowers between two pieces of cloth to create a dye print. Gather up buds from your garden or neighborhood or from leftover Mother's Day flowers to make a beautiful keepsake tapestry. You can frame it for mom, or cut pieces onto a personalized card.
While Hapa Zoom is traditionally done with fabric, watercolor paper works just as well. We love this idea of a homemade bookmark for a lit-loving mom.
Get the Strathmore watercolor pad at Blick for $3.49
4. Photo album
Remember the photo albums we grew up with? Pictures were hand-picked and lovingly placed in a book to go back to again and again. Artifact Uprising prints beautiful photo books, but we love the idea of kids making one by hand. How We Montessori shows how to make pretty books by hand. Just replace regular paper with something thicker, like watercolor paper, and have kids print out their favorite pictures to paste in.
- Get the Kodak Smile Instant Print digital camera on Amazon for $99.99
- Get the Polaroid Mint PocketPrinter on Amazon for $59.98
- Get the Strathmore watercolor pad at Blick for $3.49
5. Washi tape sun catcher
This easy craft catches the sun and throws colorful sunbeams through paper-thin Washi tape. This gift is simple to make, self adhesive and looks beautiful. Kids Craft Room has a free printable template to get you started.
Get a set of Washi tape at Blick starting at $3.49
6. Homemade book
Sometimes, mom just wants a compliment. There is no doubt that you and your children love everything about the moms in your lives, but sometimes it's hard to articulate how much she means to you. This template from Hello Wonderful has 10 pages of fill-in prompts to help get the inspiration flowing so they can tell Mom exactly how they feel. It also comes with 12 "frame" pages for kids to draw favorite memories in.
7. Clay necklace
If your kid is ready to graduate from Play-doh, have them try making a polymer clay bead necklace like this one from Babble Dabble Do. Kids have so much fun with making crazy shapes that can be turned into funky and colorful jewelry. Our family likes keeping to one or two colors and then rolling them in gold leaf for a gift that feels extra special.
- Get foil leaf flakes on Amazon for $9.99
- Get the Sculpey oven bake clay, pastel multipack at Michaels for $12.49
8. Pinch pots
Anyone can make a pinch pot and kids will feel so proud at learning how to manipulate clay to make a long-lasting keepsake. All it takes is a little bit of air-drying clay and some creativity. Have them decorate their pots with pasta shapes for a rustic look, or use Modge Podge and flowers or other found objects like sequins and confetti to make the pots look more whimsical or festive.
Get Sago Bros air drying modeling clay for kids on Amazon for $15.99
9. Thumb print magnets
Little thumb prints are just the right size for this whimsical craft. Here are some personalized and perennially adorable magnet or pushpin tops by Rhythms of Play that will add color to your refrigerator or cork board.
Get 100 1-inch glass dome cabochons on Amazon for $12.73
10. Tile coasters
She may never be able to finish that cup of coffee, but let Mom know you respect her caffeine habit by giving her a pretty coaster to put her mug on while the contents inside go lukewarm. It may not taste as satisfying as a piping hot cup, but at least picking it up will make her smile at what is underneath.
Get 12 ceramic blank tiles on Amazon for $13.99
11. Handprint jewelry dish
Every year their hands grow a little bit, and while we love to see them grow, we always long for feeling those tiny fingers in our palms. Here is a sturdy little hand print that will last forever. Mom will love looking back at how tiny they were, and this lasts longer than a paper print that is prone to ripping and bending.
Get a multi-pack of Polyform clay on Amazon for $30.88
12. Blowing kisses canvas
We love this idea for grandma or for a mom of an essential worker who can't see her child every day. Blow kisses to a mom that can't kiss their little one every day. Simply cut out photos and hearts and paste them on a painted canvas or card stock. Follow up with laminate or Modge Podge.
13. To the moon and back
You do love Mom to the moon and back. Here is a cute little popsicle stick craft that let's kids say just that.
Get a pack of 120 rainbow popsicle sticks on Amazon for $5.43
14. Personalize your own board game
Let your kids come up with their own themed-versions of Monopoly, to show Mom they love her—even if they want to beat her on game night. Here is a printable to get you started. You can personalize the game by making each property represent a child's milestones—where they can draw a picture of themselves losing their first tooth or riding a bike. Or you can print out stickers of favorite family photos and class pictures and let kids get silly about naming the streets, some suggestions from children we asked are "Balloon Bursting Mayhem Avenue", "Purple Butterfly Boulevard" and "Mommy Gives Good Cuddles Court".
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