Help needed - nanny keepsake ideas 1 December 2014 at 7:17AM in Special occasions & other celebrations 5 replies 1.7K views

ammonite

Hi folks

Need some inspiration please! Each year I buy a keepsake/practical item for the grandparents from the little one.

They have mugs and key rings in the past. This year the Grandad's have socks. I am stumped for the nannys! I would like something they can use rather than a plaque or picture if possible.

We have some time to make something or budget is £10 max per nanny.

We have done handprint cards etc so didn't want to go down that route. I have searched etsy eBay not on the high street Pinterest etc for ideas and I'm totally stuck.

Have the same problem for an auntie too!!

Please help!! We would be so grateful!

Thanks

mamto3

What about something from ARTSCOW, I have bought a few things from them and the quality is lovely. They are based in Hong Kong but unlike buying from Honk Kong via ebay I have always received things in 10ish days so still time.


(ARTSCOW on Facebook have loads of deals too)


OR


A Christmas decoration? My littlies have made some melted crayon decorations for their Nana instead of a card (I have inked a pic of them on the Handmade thread) beautiful and easy to make.


HTH

kingfisherblue

A couple of years ago, we made Mum's Survival Kits in Brownies for Mother's Day. From memory, we included


A penny - so that you can never say you are penniless
A plaster - to help stick things together when life seems to be falling apart
A marble - to replace the ones that you have lost
A polo mint - to remind you that you are worth a mint
A screw - in case one of yours is loose
A smilie face sticker - to remind you of the fun times we have together
A heart - to remind you how much you are loved
Seeds - to show the seeds of knowledge that you have passed on


I can't remember the other things we included, but we put everything into a small organza bag. We also included a folded up paper with the explanations on. The mums loved them, and my own mum (then in her late 70s) showed it to everyone. She keeps it in her display cabinet (it takes up very little space), and she enjoys taking it out and looking through everything.


Maybe you could do something similar for the nannys? I know that you can buy this type of survival kit online, but they are easy to make. If you google, you can find all sorts of ideas. When our church sold them a few years ago (which is where I first saw them), they sold them for about 50p and they sold out very quickly.


Another idea would be a small tea tray with teabags, coffee, biscuits, etc on. You can but packs of fruit tea with different flavours in, if they like something along those lines.


Also on hot drinks, a small hamper (maybe in a decorated shoe box), containing separate sachets of coffees, teabags, and hot chocolates. Add a mini grater and whisk (both less than £1 from Dunelm Mill), a box of flakes, hot choc sprinkler, and tin of squirty cream. Obviously you can only add the squirty cream at the last minute, as it needs to be kept in the fridge, but you could wrap this separately. If you buy packs of latte sachets, cappuccino sachets, etc (pound shop), you can separate them into different hampers. I did this last year for my son's teacher, and on a larger scale, for my sister. My niece and nephew then both asked for a hot chocolate themed hamper each for their birthdays, as they thought it was great (teenagers - not something I would have thought would appeal, but what do I know!).


Warm socks can be made into cupcakes. I buy three pairs of socks for £1.99 from Poundstretcher. Just remove labels and roll into a cupcake shape. Put into a cupcake wrapper (not a cake case as they don't hold the socks in shape), and add either a red bath pearl or a red lollipop on top, as a cherry.


There are also several animals that can be made from face flannels, although whether nanny will want to use it as a flannel is debateable! Have a look here:


http://www.pinterest.com/barnesa123/face-cloth-flannel-designs/


You could also look at some of the threads on the Christmas board - several have homemade gifts on.

ammonite

Thanks for the suggestions. I might be able to do something with the teabag/biscuit idea, it has sparked another idea for me. Will have a good look at the handmade threads too thanks xx

PixieDust

How about a calendar that has either the children's photos in, or their artwork?

Maysie

I got one of these made for my mum with my sister https://www.facebook.com/273653782763251/photos/pb.273653782763251.-2207520000.1417595584./373571279438167/?type=3&theater She has 7 grandchildren between us so it looked fab. i swear she had a tear in her eye when she got given it. I dont' know if she posts i found her locally at a craft fair.