I found myself in these circumstances this Christmas, but still wanted to give something on Christmas day.
For the baby in the family I made a multi-coloured window star. It takes up no space at all and is pretty to look at. I'm also sure these stars aid imagination and intelligence in some way.

For the toddler in the family I decided to make some home-made play dough. I made four colours (the dark one is purple but didn't photograph very well) and added glitter to make them a bit festive! I think play dough is a great gift for a toddler, I've yet to meet one that doesn't enjoy playing with it. It shouldn't take up much space and obviously wont last more than a couple of months.

Here's the recipe I used (per blob):
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup plain flour
half cup of salt
1 cup water
1 tbsp cooking oil
food colouring (as much as you need to get the colour you want)
Glitter
Mix all ingredients in a pan over a medium heat, stirring continuously. When it leaves the sides of the pan it's ready! Don't worry if it's still a bit sticky, as it cools it becomes less so.
It keeps for about 2 months stored in an air tight container.
I wrapped the blobs of play dough into a cracker shape.
I hope they like their presents as much as I enjoyed making them!



