Frugal birthday present for 2 year old (Oops-1 year old!)

[leomom]

We are going to a cousin's birthday party this weekend. She is 2 years old. Her parents are not AP at all, and hardly frugal , but we have to attend. Any ideas on a frugal gift for a 2 yr. old girl?

TIA!

[Village Mama]

Maybe some hommade playdough. Added to a basket or box with "tools" for cutting, squishing, rolling it ( bought at the dollar store)
Box of healthy muffin mix, and a planned out craft to do while its baking?
I have gone to the thrift store and filled an old box with kitchen supplies. Wooden spoon , pot, whisk, unbreakable bowls, and an old tray. My boys think that its the best and play with it all of the time.

[Village Mama]

OOhhh! Its spring almost too! A pack of seeds(somthing easy to grow... flowers? I like nasturtiums because they are easy and edible), a tray of seed starter soil... maybe a pair of cheap kids sunglasses?

[leomom]

Oooohhh..great ideas! Keep 'em coming..

[MsMoMpls]

Dress up clothes or "silks" from thrift store or even your own closet... beads, hats... kids love dress up hats.

[aprons_and_acorns]

There are so many great ideas listed!! I am taking notes for my own nephews.

Hmmm . . . flannel boards are good and tres frugal, but they take about an hour to make and maybe you don't have the time. How about art supplies? there are big chunky foam stamps at our Wal Mart (I know, I know. . .) for 97 cents and non-toxic paint for 44 cents a bottle in the craft section. Two or three stamps (in a theme like insects for example) and a couple paint colors would be a great gift for under five dollars, unless the parents are the type to not be into messy stuff

[aprons_and_acorns]

Oh I just remembered . . .Somewhere on the net there are instructions for homemade fingerpaint. that would be fun along with a dew cheap tub toys. When we were kids we loved to fingerpaint in the bathtub.

[rainbowmoon]

how about one of those "I Spy" bags?

[leomom]

What's an I Spy bag?

Also, flannel boards, how do you make those?

These ideas are great, how can I choose just one???

Ok...I can't believe I did this, but I just this second realized that the cousin is 1 year old, not 2!!!! AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! Help!!!!

[bellee]

Wow, these really are great ideas! My first thought was play dough too. I just posted a great receipe on the craft board (I think). I put different colored play dough in little gladware containers in DD's stocking for xmas

I just bought her some dress up jewlery at the thrift store too

[rainbowmoon]

http://www.austinmama.com/myspybag.htm
I just these

[aprons_and_acorns]

Flannel boards are a great way to ehance children's love of storytelling and encourage pre-reading skills. Plus they are really easy to make and fun to use.

Get any type of board, even sturdy cardboard. I have a flannel board for ds made out of a box like a pizza box, and all the pieces go inside the box. Or you could use just a piece of foamcore.

Use flannel in a dark neutral (I always use black) to cover the board completely. Use glue or nails or a staple gun or double-sided tape. I use spray adhesive on cardboard.

Make pieces for the flannel board. there are three good ways to do it:
1. cut out shapes from craft felt (about 20 cents a sheet)
2. print out clip art from the computer and laminate or cover with contact paper and glue felt to the back
3. (my favorite) use heavy-duty non-fusible interfacing from the fabric store or the fabric section of Wal-Mart (they will know what you mean). It is about a dollar fifty a yard and a yard is more than enough. It is a dream to work with, just draw or trace the figures onto the interfacing and color in with crayon, paint or permanant marker.

Flannel board ideas that are good for a two-year-old:

***any type of counting song, for example Five Little Monkeys, just make five monkeys and a bed, and show the child how to remove one monkey at a time as you sing the song

***farm animal songs like Old Macdonald or I Had a Cat. Just make the farm animals and then encourage the child to find the right animals as you sing the song

***Basic shapes in different bright colrs are always fun to play with and oh so easy

***Pictures of family, friends, and pets covered in contact paper and with felt glued to the back

***Food items like fruit or vegetables, or a big pizza with toppings to take on and off

***Seasonal shapes like hearts for Valentines Day, A Christmas tree with decorations, A birthday cake with candles

etc, etc, etc

I *heart* flannel boards because they are so cheap and have limitless possibilities. They can be customized for basically any age or area of interest. there are tons more ideas on the web.

[thistle]

For a 1 yo beanbags are good. You can make lots of different textures wit diffrent fabrics and fill some with rice, some with lentils, etc for another texture. Cloth balls are also good.

my frined's sone turned 2 I found several books in like new condition at the thrift.

[leomom]

Thanks, Thistle. I think I can make beanbags inexpensively!

[heldt123]

For Christmas, my son got a bath basket. It was really neat. You could put bath crayons, shaped sponges or soaps, bubble bath, bubbles, bath mitt, etc... He got some of those bath pills that expand into little shaped sponges in the tub...pretty fun.

[leomom]

Fun! And I bet I could find a lot of that stuff at the Dollar Store! Thanks!