Handmade Birthday Present.

ev’s birthday pinata

How do you feel about handmade and DIY birthday gifts?

There’s something sweet and genuine about the awkwardly tied bow, the quirky illustrations, and the novice scrawl of child-wrapped gifts.

But what about the gift itself? In our life of easy consumerism and excessive stuff, spending time on a gift holds a value that cannot be purchased. Let’s face it, time is priceless.

I realized that when we took on my recent idea to make this moon piñata for a special birthday girl.  As I cut and glued, I thought, more than once, how easy it would be to run up the street to the mega bookstore and choose a wonderful book or art project like I normally do. Then I saw ev threading the bracelet from the neat jewelry kit her uncle and auntie had gifted for Christmas. Then I watched as she collected little treasures that she had not used and thought her friend might like. I appreciated the time we had together in meaningful work.  As I stuffed seven dollars into a little wallet for the seven-year-old to be, I thought about how much I had loved the piñata as a girl.

For the little boy turning five we started with a pouch of five dollar bills.  Then we added a super ball and wrapped that on top of the cash. We ended up with five layers of little trinkets just right for a boy’s pocket. I imagined how fun it would be to unwrap a gift only to find another and another and another and another!

We’ve only done this twice. I hope the children are as enchanted as I am. I hope the parents don’t mistake me for cheap!

I suppose if we ever book out our weekends to birthday parties, as so often seems to happen, we will make that run to the bookstore.

Would you make a birthday gift for another? Would your child like to receive gifts such as these?

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