2 Creative & Cheap Ideas for Thoughtful Christmas Gifts Your Students Can Make

 I'm teaching a new grade this year so I've been looking for creative, cheap, and thoughtful options for Christmas gifts my students can make for their families. The cost can get out of control so I look for winners that are unique and inexpensive. 

1. Christmas Photo Tile

Hollie Griffith's photo Christmas tile is one I've made with students for a few years. Click HERE to get her step by step instructions.

I have purchased the tiles from Home Depot. They are a bit heavy to lug around and I found wood squares on Amazon that would be a less expensive and lighter alternative. Click HERE 

I have had trouble using Mod Podge over the photo so I recommend skipping that step. Liquid white glue works well. **Links included are Amazon affiliate links.

Items needed:

Wood Squares or Ceramic tile

White glue

Photo printed in black and white on regular copy paper 

Red, green, blue, yellow paint

Permanent black markers

Scissors

4 x 4 wooden tile from Amazon

2. Year Long Student Made Calendar

I purchased the Family Calendar Holiday Gift resource on TPT from The Colorful Apple. I printed the option with the art and writing. I sell on TPT but I also buy from other great sellers!

Click HERE to purchase from The Colorful Apple

Items needed:

Cardstock for the first and last page of the calendar 

Comb binder and combs

Colored pencils (I have this classroom set!) and crayons

I'm sure there is an easier way to print it but... I printed the pages single-sided and used a glue stick to glue pages together so the calendar would be set up correctly. Then I made my 2-sided copies. 

This will take a while to complete so I'll be starting soon. For students who have two households, I plan on making color copies. I think parents will LOVE these.