When packaging (and love) make gifts special

Sometimes it's not so much what's in the gift as the concept behind it, and the way you present it.  Remember the Dollar Store Santa Dollies at Old Days Old Ways?  Even small, frugal or miscellaneous gifts become something special when the creative-giving muse is allowed to run free.

Valerie at Frugal Family Fun Blog has a perfect example of this: "Doll Bath Sets."  Anyone can hand a kid some soap, an empty shampoo bottle, and a washcloth, and say "here, go wash your doll."  But it takes imagination to put it together into more of a package deal.  Valerie is very, very good at this.

Another example: Family Fun Magazine's Hot Chocolate Cones.  Mostly hot chocolate mix with a few marshmallows and chocolate chips, but it's the shape of the package (cone-shaped clear bags) that turns it into something fun.

We've had a few successes along that line too:  last year's custom Sculpey repackaging, and the clothespin doll kits the girls got a few years ago.  Mama Squirrel has also posted gift basket ideas and other thoughts on gift-giving.  And don't forget our squirrel's tips on giving "thwifted" books.

Homemade pencils, and pre-school weeks

This is something we might try during our two pre-school weeks at the end of the summer: making big homemade pencils out of paint stirrers.

Pre-school weeks?

The last week of August and the first week of September are going to be our prep-for-school weeks. We're going to get started with a few warmup things before the first term actually kicks in: practicing some easy sewing stitches before we start learning how to applique; reading an easy biography of Benjamin Franklin before sending Ponytails off to sink or swim with Poor Richard; getting used to the new copywork pages and Calculadder drills (something they've never done before); baking Alphabet Cookies and playing some spelling games. And we'll end it off by going to Marineland with our homeschool group. (I don't know if the Squirrelings will feel as happy about watching the trained whales jumping around, after watching both Free Willy and Free Willy II recently, but they still want to go.)