Homemade adaptations of store-bought gifts

[Louise]

I bought my youngest niece a Groovy Girls doll this week, and
afterwards decided that she wasn't warmly enough dressed. So I
knitted her a long purple scarf and a sweater-coat sort of thing.

It reminded me of other Christmases and birthdays over the years,
making clothes to augment the wardrobes of various dolls and teddy
bears. Somehow they never seemed to come with necessities like winter
coats, lifejackets for travelling on the family boat, sleeping bags,
pajamas, or jeans and overalls, so I always made those.

And I remember removing the guns from the little Playmobil traffic
police who were going to households where "we don't YIKE guns."

What creative things have you done to make storebought gifts more
suitable for the recipients on your lists?

Louise

[Claire Petersky]

"Louise" > wrote in message
...
> What creative things have you done to make storebought gifts more
> suitable for the recipients on your lists?

Both of my girls have too many books, and yet they still flop over on their
book shelves. Rather than just give them black generic bookends, I went to
Tuesday morning and found lots of little kitchy type things to glue on to
the generic black bookends to make them more personalized.

For example, I bought two mini-diaries that had the cover and spine that
said, "Dreams", and glued these on the book ends, so they look like books
that would be on the shelf. I liked the title. Another one I bought these
two cat picture frames. I took out the stuff that actually make it a frame,
like the backing, and then glued them on the bookends. So now they're
kitty-cat bookends. I ended up making eight of these bookends like this. It
was fun, and it was still cheaper than buying the next fancier type up from
the generic bookends at Staples.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

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[Rosalie B.]

Louise > wrote:


>
>What creative things have you done to make storebought gifts more
>suitable for the recipients on your lists?
>
I used to embroider things like initials on handkerchiefs and ties.
But also sometimes pictures on sweaters like
http://p.vtourist.com/873111.jpg which I did for my sister whose
married name is Fox. I bought the sweater.

I also did doll clothes to match those that I made for my children.

grandma Rosalie

[Penny Gaines]

Louise wrote in >:

> I bought my youngest niece a Groovy Girls doll this week, and
> afterwards decided that she wasn't warmly enough dressed. So I
> knitted her a long purple scarf and a sweater-coat sort of thing.
[snip]

My mother makes Barbie clothes for my kids: extremely nice Barbie
clothes. One year, she got a toy loom, and wove the material to
make a jacket and skirt for each of the appropriately aged
grandchildren.

My best gift was for a hard-up friend I rarely saw (she lived in a
different part of the country). I took her to dinner: I got a box,
and filled it with non-perishable food to make a nice dinner. It
started with a can of posh soup, and continued to after-dinner mints
and an individual filter-cup of coffee.

I have got blank fridge-poetry style magnets and written the names
of each of my kids on them.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

[Karen G]

We bought our younger daughter a Magic Attic Club doll a year or so ago.
We picked the blond one so that it looked most like her, but this was
the California doll--complete with hip hugger capris, crop top, vinyl
jacket, and bikini underwear. I made a dress for that doll that matched
one of my daughter's. I've ended up making alot of doll clothes. In my
case, I make them so that they are easier to get on for my preschoolers.
My mother did the same when I was little. I loved having things that
matched and so do my daughters.

Karen G

[lynn]

In article >,
Louise > wrote:
> What creative things have you done to make storebought gifts more
> suitable for the recipients on your lists?
>
> Louise
>

My almost 3yo son wants a purple car for Christmas, and I found a great
one - but it's a Barbie accessory. So I'm leaving off the decals and
Barbie props, and rewrapping just the car for him. He will love it, and
it looks like it'll fit the doll family he already has.

When he was younger, we bought him a "Discover Sounds Workshop," but
never put any batteries in. So he happily played with the balls, cups,
shapes, and levers, but never knew it was supposed to make electronic
sounds.

- Lynn

[Irene]

lynn > wrote in message >...
> In article >,
> Louise > wrote:
> > What creative things have you done to make storebought gifts more
> > suitable for the recipients on your lists?
> >
> > Louise
>
> When he was younger, we bought him a "Discover Sounds Workshop," but
> never put any batteries in. So he happily played with the balls, cups,
> shapes, and levers, but never knew it was supposed to make electronic
> sounds.
>
We've done that with almost everything that is supposed to have
batteries, but didn't come with them already installed (unless the
music was the whole point of the toy). DS had that same exact toy,
and it was one of his favorites for almost a year. It's a lot harder
when he gets gifts with the batteries already in them, and he now
knows to ask for new batteries if the old ones run down! (His brand
new Jay Jay the airplane ran down the day he was given it, and he
demanded replacement batteries. I'm getting pretty sick of that song
- I only hope he tires of it quickly so I can hide it!)

Irene
mom to Thomas 7/01
#2 EDD 4/04