Great presents for special occasions - Page 2

nlmcp · 03-24-2006, 07:15 AM

You could do a homemade book, along the lines of the scrapbook (and it doesn't take a lot of talent)

My girlfriend made a cute little book in a smaller sized scrapbook that was an alphabet book. On each page she did the letter, using large stickers or cutting it out using a stencil and then she added pictures. For A, there were pictures of the Aunts. G was grandparents. C was the family cat. There was Nascar for N as dad was a big fan with some pictures from his collection. R was for a cousin's name. When there wasn't a family member or something personal, she just went to the neighborhood or to their church and took some pictures. I think E was for "everyone" and had a picture taken at a family reunion. It was pretty simple but personalized to the family expecting the baby. (on the first page and last page she did a little sentence about this is a book for you and left room for a picture, and on the last page she wrote something about joining in the alphabet family and what letter are you? with room for a picture)

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DesertRose · 03-24-2006, 09:06 AM

Wow! You guys have such great ideas! I'll have to look into a couple of them and settle on one.

MsFroggy · 03-24-2006, 10:56 AM

You could try knitting something for the new baby. Even if you don't know how, learning it is not that hard and they have courses at local craft stores, or better yet, nice yarn stores in your area. You could knit something special in a cool color for that new baby and learn a newly hot craft at the same time.

There are also tons of beginner books out there that will teach you to knit, without the need to pay for a lesson, with nice beginner projects which often go with baby stuff, because they are often quick and easy to do.

This is a good baby/beginner book: "Quick Baby Knits" by Debbie Bliss, on Amazon (link was stretching the page so I removed it).

myrosiedog · 03-24-2006, 11:15 AM

Something special that was done for me that I thought was wonderful was that relatives set up a college fund for my daughter and they all donated to it. I was presented with the bank book for her. I always was so touched by that generous donation and the fact that they wanted to help her get a head start on saving for college even as a baby.

Another special gift I got was a silver cup with her name and birthdate engraved on it. My daughter still has that in her room (she's almost 15 now) and it sits on her shelf among her other treasures.

My sister made her baptism gown and that was a really touching and beautiful gift. Even if you don't sew, maybe buying a really pretty gown (if you believe in infant baptism) would be a special gift.

A cousin bought her the Enesco figurines. The first one is a baby in a basinet and every year on her birthday she has gotten the next figurine. Each one holds the number of the birthday she is. We have from baby to 14 and I'm sure 15 will be arriving next month. She has that collection in her room as well and she loves them.

Claudia

DesertRose · 11-11-2006, 05:47 PM

Quite a while ago I started this thread to find ideas for a special present for my sister, brother-in-law and future niece. Now that my niece is born, I can finally give them the present I made for them.

As Lildago suggested, I bought a rocking horse and fixed it up. I got lucky on the rocking horse. Someone was selling a $CAN200 horse for $40CAN on a Montreal classifieds-site. Funny aside, it ended up being my husband's cousin's other cousin (from the other side of the family).

So we bought it, stripped it of it's paint, repainted it in my niece's bedroom colors and replaced the eyes (they were quite yellowed).

Here are some before and after pics.

Muduh · 11-11-2006, 06:11 PM

That is just adorable. Your stenciling job is outstanding.The baby is going to play with it for a long, long time, I'll bet.

Cornedbeef · 11-11-2006, 06:15 PM

That is a great idea Desertrose and the little butterflies give it a personal touch. She will really appreciate that present.

lildago · 11-11-2006, 06:47 PM

DesertRose, that looks awesome!

You did a great job! Your sister and niece are going to love it.

Bubba-Jo-Lyn · 11-11-2006, 06:49 PM

That is so cute. What a wonderful job you did.

bbnbama · 11-11-2006, 07:11 PM

Great job DesertRose! That's something your niece can pass on to her children too! You can really see the love that you put into it!

03-24-2006, 07:15 AM	#11
nlmcp An innocent bystander Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The mitten state Posts: 3,395	You could do a homemade book, along the lines of the scrapbook (and it doesn't take a lot of talent) My girlfriend made a cute little book in a smaller sized scrapbook that was an alphabet book. On each page she did the letter, using large stickers or cutting it out using a stencil and then she added pictures. For A, there were pictures of the Aunts. G was grandparents. C was the family cat. There was Nascar for N as dad was a big fan with some pictures from his collection. R was for a cousin's name. When there wasn't a family member or something personal, she just went to the neighborhood or to their church and took some pictures. I think E was for "everyone" and had a picture taken at a family reunion. It was pretty simple but personalized to the family expecting the baby. (on the first page and last page she did a little sentence about this is a book for you and left room for a picture, and on the last page she wrote something about joining in the alphabet family and what letter are you? with room for a picture) __________________ I could go east, I could go west, it was all up to me to decide. Just then I saw a young hawk flyin' and my soul began to rise. ~Bob Seger

03-24-2006, 11:15 AM	#14
myrosiedog FORT Fogey Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Somewhere way South of the North Pole Age: 46 Posts: 11,593 Blog Entries: 7	Something special that was done for me that I thought was wonderful was that relatives set up a college fund for my daughter and they all donated to it. I was presented with the bank book for her. I always was so touched by that generous donation and the fact that they wanted to help her get a head start on saving for college even as a baby. Another special gift I got was a silver cup with her name and birthdate engraved on it. My daughter still has that in her room (she's almost 15 now) and it sits on her shelf among her other treasures. My sister made her baptism gown and that was a really touching and beautiful gift. Even if you don't sew, maybe buying a really pretty gown (if you believe in infant baptism) would be a special gift. A cousin bought her the Enesco figurines. The first one is a baby in a basinet and every year on her birthday she has gotten the next figurine. Each one holds the number of the birthday she is. We have from baby to 14 and I'm sure 15 will be arriving next month. She has that collection in her room as well and she loves them. Claudia __________________ Yes we can, Yes we DID!! President Elect Barack Obama. Que me amat, amet et canem meum (Who loves me will love my dog also)

11-11-2006, 05:47 PM	#15
DesertRose When coffee just won't do Join Date: May 2005 Location: Reno hell Posts: 3,322	Thank you for your ideas! Quite a while ago I started this thread to find ideas for a special present for my sister, brother-in-law and future niece. Now that my niece is born, I can finally give them the present I made for them. As Lildago suggested, I bought a rocking horse and fixed it up. I got lucky on the rocking horse. Someone was selling a $CAN200 horse for $40CAN on a Montreal classifieds-site. Funny aside, it ended up being my husband's cousin's other cousin (from the other side of the family). So we bought it, stripped it of it's paint, repainted it in my niece's bedroom colors and replaced the eyes (they were quite yellowed). Here are some before and after pics.

11-11-2006, 06:47 PM	#18
lildago Triple Dog Dare Ya Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,673	DesertRose, that looks awesome! You did a great job! Your sister and niece are going to love it. __________________ These dreams are not of sand.

11-11-2006, 06:49 PM	#19
Bubba-Jo-Lyn Looking for a way out Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Edmonton Age: 36 Posts: 695	That is so cute. What a wonderful job you did. __________________ Remember: Mentioning Jesus in your speech: small government. Doing what Jesus asked: big government - Stephen Colbert Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the b*tch up with cookies. (Unknown)

03-24-2006, 09:06 AM	#12
DesertRose When coffee just won't do Join Date: May 2005 Location: Reno hell Posts: 3,322	Wow! You guys have such great ideas! I'll have to look into a couple of them and settle on one.

03-24-2006, 10:56 AM	#13
MsFroggy peace Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,894	You could try knitting something for the new baby. Even if you don't know how, learning it is not that hard and they have courses at local craft stores, or better yet, nice yarn stores in your area. You could knit something special in a cool color for that new baby and learn a newly hot craft at the same time. There are also tons of beginner books out there that will teach you to knit, without the need to pay for a lesson, with nice beginner projects which often go with baby stuff, because they are often quick and easy to do. This is a good baby/beginner book: "Quick Baby Knits" by Debbie Bliss, on Amazon (link was stretching the page so I removed it).

11-11-2006, 06:11 PM	#16
Muduh FORT Fogey Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,546	That is just adorable. Your stenciling job is outstanding.The baby is going to play with it for a long, long time, I'll bet.

11-11-2006, 06:15 PM	#17
Cornedbeef FORT Fogey Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 1,652	That is a great idea Desertrose and the little butterflies give it a personal touch. She will really appreciate that present.

11-11-2006, 07:11 PM	#20
bbnbama Thank You America! U Rock Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: In my own little world where all things are Idol...... Age: 42 Posts: 10,380	Great job DesertRose! That's something your niece can pass on to her children too! You can really see the love that you put into it! __________________ Reality is the beginning...not the end....Wallace Stevens