The Ultimate Makers Lab Gift

Have you ever had a gift idea that you’ve just been dying to gift? One that you plan to gift over and over because it’s so good? Guilty! I love this educational STEM themed Makers Lab gift idea so much and I’ve been patiently waiting for all the kiddos in our life to turn six so I can start gifting! I just sent off a Makers Lab gift package in the mail this morning so I wanted to share as this gift is so clever and a perfect gift for those summer birthdays in your life.

if I’m being honest, I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. I came across it a few years ago in the most embarrassing fashion…via Kim Kardashian’s Instagram stories. Bleh! See, I told you it was embarrassing! This Makers Lab idea was gifted to her oldest daughter and I made sure to file it in one of the endless tabs open in my brain. Since then, I’ve taken it and adapted it a bit. Read on for my TAKE on a gifted Makers Lab, perfect for the curious girls and boys in your life!

This gift is so simple to pull together and is sure to bring a smile to the recipient. I’ve broken it down into five easy steps below.

Step One

The basis of this gift is to create an at home Makers Lab for the gift recipient and it all centers around this book, Maker Lab, 28 Projects, which highlights 28 science related projects for kids to complete at home.

Step Two

Once I have the book, I review the projects and select 3-4 that I think the gift recipient would like and also base my decision on whether or not I will be shipping the gift. I then make a list of supplies needed for each project. (Items like plates, utensils etc.. I do not include)

Step Three

Then I take my supply list and shop for the remainder of the gift materials. In many cases I’ve also supplemented the supply list with items in my home especially when paper or balloons are required. If an item like a scissors is required in multiple projects, I only include one.

Step Four

Before I put the final package together I label cloth drawstring bags (11.5 x 13.5 is my preferred size) with the project name and page number. I do this with card stock, safety pins and an old school Brother P label maker.

Step Five

I then collect all my supplies, sort them by project and stuff them into individual bags. If, you’re feeling really extra you can also included a supply list within each bag. If sending, I typically stuff everything into a box with a note but if gifting in person it would be lovely to gift in a wire storage basket and a ribbon around the book.

Hope you find this gift idea as inspiring as I do. Happy gifting!

Tween Birthday Toolkit

I love to give gifts and spend an obscene amount of time daydreaming about them. Children’s gifts are my absolute favorite and lucky for me we have quite a few nieces and nephews to spoil. I have the easiest time sourcing gifts for kids 7 and under specifically because I have experience with those age ranges but find the tween - teenager age range a bit more challenging. Our eldest niece is turning 11 later this week and I wanted to send her something fun and unique based on things that she loves. Read on for my TAKE on a Tween Birthday Toolkit.

Our niece loves to make friendship bracelets so that really set the theme of her gift as I wanted to send her some supplies in a unique way. As a self professed organization freak, I went on a hunt for a storage box reminiscent of my youth. I found the perfect storage box aka “toolkit” made for embroidery and filled it with some vibrant DMC embroidery floss. My older kids helped me organized the floss and detangled a few knots as we wrapped the floss around the bobbins. I wish I had thought to write the color numbers on the bobbins so she could better keep track of the colors in her collection. I definitely didn’t do that as a kid but it’s genius!

I filled the remainder of the “toolkit” with washi tape, candy, safety pins and some birthday balm dot com from Glossier. I’m still not over my love of personalizing everything so we added our nieces name in alphabet stickers to the top of her toolkit and wrapped it in a bow. Finally, in addition to her friendship bracelet kit we sent a long a Narwhal Jellycat lovie because thankfully, she hasn’t outgrown her love of Narwhal’s quite yet! I hope my niece loves her gift and my oldest daughter is already asking me to make her a “toolkit” for her birthday so I’m thinking I’ll soon be making these on the regular for friend and cousin birthdays alike!

Toolkit Contents

• Storage Box

• DMC Embroidery Floss

• Washi Tape

• Glossier Balm

• Narwhal Stuffed Animal

First Birthday Gift Guide

I can't believe it's almost been a month since we celebrated Maggie's 1st birthday. It was such a fun day and was so fun to plan. Perhaps, we made a bigger deal of her birthday than we normally would but we will only get to celebrate her first birthday once! Maggie is our third child and as such she is often the benefactor of hand-me-down clothes and toys but for her birthday she received some generous new gifts. Which got me thinking about some of my favorite gifts for a baby's first birthday and my favorite picks for subsequent children's first birthdays. Is there a difference, you ask? I think there is. With your first child you're starting with nothing in the toy department and by your third child (as in my case) they literally only need diapers. Enjoy my TAKE on first birthday gift ideas!

My Fave First Birthday Gifts for your First Child

• Learning Activity Walker (Wood +/or Plastic)

• Activity Table

• Hopping Horse "Rody"

• Push Car

• Ride On Wheelie Bug

• Baby Doll +/or Baby Doll Stroller /Luggy Basket

• Tractor + Trailer

• Personalized Frame

• Personalized Chair

• Stacking Toy

• Walk-A-long Pull Toy

• First Pair of Walker Shoes

My Fave First Birthday Gifts for Subsequent Children

• Children's Museum or Zoo Membership (In Your Area)

• Personalized Plate + Bowl

• Personalized Beach Towel/Personalized Hooded Beach Towel

• Grimm's 12 Piece Nesting Rainbow Puzzle

• Teepee

• Floor Drum

• A New Outfit (Boy/Girl)

• A New Book (Boy/Girl)

• Personalized Photo Board Book

• Monthly Bow Subscription

• Munchkin Inflatable Swan (Fun for the tub or outside)

The gift ideas above truly work well for any child's first birthday but if it's your first child I would prioritize the gifts in the first grouping against those in the second. We try not to go overboard with birthday presents so we try to stick to giving our kids three gifts. Generally, we stick to the rule of thumb of: something to read, something they need and something for fun! This was pretty easy to do with Maggie as her older siblings have all of the classic first birthday gifts. For her birthday she received a set of Little Feminist Board Books, Grimm's 12 piece Nesting Rainbow Puzzle, a Personalized Plate and Bowl and a completely unnecessary but adorable new lovie. I hope these ideas have been helpful and enjoy celebrating!