Eco-Friendly (and Cheap!) Gift Ideas for Creative Kids

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When I was a kid, I hoarded bottle caps, doilies, paper bags, and boxes to make dollhouse furniture, cards, and various craft projects. Do you have a kid like this on your holiday gift list? Assembling a craft kit is a great solution if you are stuck for a gift idea. The following kits involve recycled materials which mean that they can be cheap…and eco-friendly! The main idea is to gather recycled household materials, pair them with a few basic craft supplies, maybe a craft book, and pack them in a simple tote bag, bin, or box!

This first kit is inspired by my favorite item to craft with (when I was a kid…and now), the humble toilet tube! In fact, I gathered a bunch of tube-y craft ideas and printable templates into an e-book, Toilet Tube Treasury. An e-book can be a tricky item to gift so I made a little certificate that you could print out as a gift tag to go with your kit, below. (Drag the photo off onto your desktop and print it out.)
Since the crafts are made with toilet paper or paper towel tubes, you can gift the book along with a few toilet paper tubes, a set of craft paints, and some glue (or, for older kids, a low-temp hot glue gun).

Slide this certificate off onto your desktop to print it out and use as a tag to let your gift recipient know that they’ll be receiving an e-book by email!

This next kit, a whole mess of recycled household items, is great for an imaginative kid. (Kid-me would have been THRILLED!)

  • Tins (like from mints) and small cans (like from tuna or tomato purée…but not if they have sharp edges)

  • Bottle and jar caps

  • Corks

  • Matchboxes or jewelry boxes

  • Wooden cheese boxes like from Brie

  • Toilet and paper towel tubes

  • Extra mismatched cupcake papers

  • Bread bag tags

  • Popsicle sticks, clothespins

Collect small items in jars (plastic jars for little kids) and package it in a plain tote or box or bin along with some basic craft tools and supplies like the following:

Make sure to check out my previous gift kit guides for more ideas:
DIY GIFT KITS FOR CREATIVE AND CRAFTY KIDS 1
DIY GIFT KITS 2
DIY IMAGINATIVE PLAY GIFT KITS
Happy gifting!