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Gardening with Kids | ||||
Making Garden GiftsThe garden has been cleaned up and put to bed. The pumpkins and gourds you placed decoratively on the steps are getting mushy. Little ones are frantically scanning the toy catalogs for their wish lists. How can you keep that gardening spark alive in your kids during this time of holiday frenzy? One great way to keep the garden in your kids' minds is for them to create gifts for the garden for family and friends. A couple of great examples are the classic pop bottle bird feeder, and the more "modern" CD suncatcher/wind chime. How to Make a Pop Bottle Bird FeederWho can't use another bird feeder to attract those jewels of winter to your yard? Here's what you need:
Here's what you do: Remove all stickers and labels from the bottle; wash it and let dry thoroughly. Be sure to keep the lid! Point it lid down, as the top of the bottle is actually the bottom of the feeder. Drill two small holes in the bottom of the bottle (top of the feeder).Thread wire through the holes and twist them together to make a loop for hanging. Plug the holes with caulk or a small piece of duct tape so that rain will not get into the seed. Use a drill to make 5/16" inch holes on opposite sides of the bottle. Insert the dowels into the pairs of holes. Repeat the above step to make more perches, at least 3 inches apart vertically. For a thistle seed feeder, make 1/4" by 1/8" slots 1 ½ " above the perches with an x-acto knife tip. This is a good adult job. For a sunflower seed feeder, make 5/15" holes with a drill 1 1/2-2" above the perches. Makes a great holiday gift! How to Make a CD Suncatcher/WindchimeHere's what you need:
Here's what you do: Cut an 18-inch length of string. String 2 of the bells so that they hang down from the middle as you hold the two loose ends of the string. Tie a knot just above the bells so you have 2 loose pieces of string of equal lengths in your hand. Thread a CD through both pieces of string and lay it flat on your working surface. Thread and tie one larger bell onto each of the loose string ends. (They should be staggered just above the CD.) Spread glue on the sides of the CDs you don't want to show. Slide the already strung CD up so that it lies against the last bell in the middle. String the 2nd CD and slide it down against the first. Push them together and allow to dry completely. To hang, tie the 2 ends together to form a loop. Feel free to create your own variations! Gardening Gifts for Your Favorite ChildrenDon't forget the garden when selecting gifts for the children in your life. Child-sized tools are a welcomed gift for garden-loving kids and little gardeners-to-be. You could tuck in a gift certificate from your favorite gardening center to purchase seeds and plants in the spring (also great stocking stuffers!) For younger children, a gardening catalog with a gift certificate makes the gift seem more tangible. Kids can make beautiful collages from gardening catalogs, even planning next year's garden through pasting pictures of their desired plants on a paper garden plan. Children love the ease and excitement of tending their own amaryllis plant over the holidays. The bulbs make a meaningful and inexpensive gift for even the tiniest gardeners. (Paperwhites are great for older children, but they are poisonous and should NOT be kept around younger children.) If you have lots of little ones on your gift list, the children's book Too Many Zucchini for Zachary Beany makes a fabulous gift, with the real seeds and zucchini bread recipe included! Contact the author directly at tina@ladybuggardening.com to get info on super deals for multiple copies, and/or books signed personally to your loved ones! Click below to read previous volumes of "Gardening with Kids." Other helpful and interesting sites:
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