Kids make art - it starts with homemade Christmas presents

Christmas is for the children – the children know this and start carefully putting together their desired selection of gifts long before Advent.

This preoccupation with one's own wishes varies somewhat depending on the type: Sometimes it involves almost accountant-like planning, with lists in which information is neatly entered for the adults, so that the cult sneaker in the wrong color or from the wrong company is not under the gift table at Christmas.

Little chaos makers make several wish lists, and parents are often asked, in a slightly panicked manner, for help in finding the last one, or they have to listen to them tell them that it will soon be replaced by wish list 8 because there are already a few things wrong on wish list 7.

The dreamy, gullible ones delight their parents with long stories describing trips on the new mountain bike, together with their parents, of course, with a well-behaved child and in perfect harmony.

The little tacticians sometimes do that too, but their stories are peppered with a wealth of hints about how important it is that a water bottle from company X is "supplied" with the mountain bike, and a hoodie from fashion brand Y, and if it absolutely has to be a helmet, then please only the one from company Z…

What kids usually think of a little too late is their own presents. And yet, children want to give gifts; they enjoy it. These little tacticians also know full well that only those who make a little effort themselves will receive generous presents next Christmas.

When the first bewildered questions arise about what on earth to give Grandma and Grandpa, the hour of skillful adults has come: If you have the right program at hand, you can keep your children away from the computer or game console for longer periods without any coercion and encourage them to engage in creative activities instead.

A little subtle pressure can be quite helpful. An example would be pointing out that Grandma would definitely be delighted with this or that perfume, but then her pocket money would be gone for what feels like an eternity.

Older kids should now get some good suggestions for crafting things that really qualify as full-fledged gifts. These children already realize that a scribbled picture is no longer enough. These children can even make truly trendy gifts if you give them the right idea.

Here are a few suggestions:

01 Layering a Lotus Candle

Lotus candles are among the most popular gifts right now. Lotus candles are the kind that curl outwards like a flower as they burn. This creates a wondrous display, never entirely predictable, but always exceptionally attractive.

The professionally crafted lotus candles are cast in a single piece, but a flower shape can also be deliberately designed, namely with a candle coated with several layers of wax. You can even make such a candle yourself with your children. All you have to do is pour wax scraps onto a marble board into sheets that are as flower-shaped as possible. Then, once they're warmed through and ready to be molded, place these sheets one after the other around a thick pillar candle. The sheets are then bent outward at the top like petals, and liquid wax can be poured between the layers to secure them.

Self-made candles make wonderful gifts for many people, namely those who don't really need anything at all—a candle isn't a gift that lasts forever; it's a gift that wears out. And candles don't always have to be poured. It's much more creative to model candles, and the results are often truly unique.

For this, your children will need so-called modeling and cutting wax, which is sold in craft stores. This modeling wax has a very low melting point and can be easily kneaded or rolled out and then cut into appliqués when only slightly warmed.

Your children can either mold (hopefully truly crazy) shaped candles, which is the option for all gift recipients with a sense of humor and a keen sense of creativity, or decorate finished candles with their own designs (the clay already adheres to a slightly warmed candle). These can be letters or other decorations, ornaments, and decorative lines, which is the option for grandmas who aren't so keen on crazy things.

02 Self-designed photo book

The homemade gift can also be a photo book, which a teenager can create and give free rein to their imagination (and perhaps, along the way, learn about an area of ​​computer graphics that is more important than the latest game).

If a child shows an interest in photography and has their own pictures on a computer/phone that they can use, that's ideal, of course. If not, or if the selection of pictures isn't sufficient, perhaps you can help out: Really fun photo books for grandparents can be created from photos documenting family gatherings or trips together.

Such a photo book is then filled with lots of comments that make the grandparents laugh – they also learn better than from any postcard what the holiday was really like, and thus feel included.

03 Photo Calendar

The photo calendar combines personal design with practical value as a gift . It's an excellent solution for all kids who can't find enough photos to put together a photo book.

And it can even be made right before Christmas. All you need is a lot of creativity and a camera phone.

Creating the required photo series could also be extremely fun: 15-year-old Melanie spends an afternoon in front of the mirror with her friend, a lot of make-up and her camera phone, with the result that Grandma finally has enough photos of her granddaughter – every month in a different style and with a different expression.

Girls also love to play dress-up. Grandparents then see their granddaughter in the photo calendar as an angel in a nightgown, a sex bomb in a disco outfit, a tough businesswoman in a sleek business suit, and Bumblebee in last year's carnival costume. Son Leon, 14, goes on a cross-country bike ride with his friend Jannick and takes lots of photos for the calendar, in which he's really dirty.

The photo calendar can, of course, also be filled with a series of photos that reflect the grandparents' interests, for example, photos from various theater performances or from an online photo database containing free images. Or a walk along the sights of their hometown, or a city that the grandparents have long planned to visit.

Or the kids could simply photograph something beautiful, for example, a whole series of flower heads in the nearest flower shop. The shop owner will surely allow this if asked politely. This series of flower photos is then placed against a background using a computer program, perhaps with the help of an adult who knows how to operate it. The background should perfectly match the colors in the grandparents' apartment.

Other ideas for decorative or charming series photos: various wine bottles, illuminated from behind by a colorful film, treetops from below, backlit, a row of strangers who were asked to wave friendly at the camera and who happily did so.

This often results in gifts of astonishing artistic value. They're also very personal Christmas presents that the recipients truly enjoy, and the kids even had fun making them.