Are you looking for family ideas for holiday fun? Using your computer to make holiday gifts can be fun for your toddler and activities can last for hours. There's no shortage of activities for preschoolers, too.

Here are a few simple ideas -- big on fun and sure to please.

T-shirts

With a household iron and your computer, you can create your very own custom shirts at home. This is a little more complicated than simple toddler crafts, but it's one of the best family home activities. What a great gift for grandparents and other family members! My own dad still wears a photo T-shirt we kids made for him over 20 years ago -- proof positive that personalized T-shirts are always in style! And today's transfers are much improved over the stiff, rubbery ones from the 70s.

Anything you can print on your inkjet printer can be transferred onto a T-shirt, making the possibilities practically endless. You can buy a kit that gives you everything you need, including the graphics and the shirt. The Hanes® T-ShirtMaker kits come with the necessary software, a Hanes T-shirt, a couple of sheets of transfer paper, and detailed instructions. 

Photo Puzzle

At the Joslin Photo Puzzle Company you can buy a blank, precut puzzle and turn it into a personalized jigsaw puzzle or upload your photo and they'll create one for you.  With an inkjet or laser printer, scan a favorite photo or drawing and then use the included iron-on transfer paper. The Do-It-Yourself Puzzle Kit costs $12.50 plus shipping and includes an assortment of puzzle styles. 

Personalized Card Games

You know, I just can't get enough of these photo crafts. If you are a fellow addict, try making a set of neat photo playing cards for the children's classic game "Go Fish" (or any other, for that matter). With an ink jet printer, a laser scanner, sturdy paper, and 6 photos of family or friends, you can create a one-of-a-kind gift for Grandma or the kids.

First, gather the photos. School pictures sized 3 x 5 work great. If your chosen photos aren't the right size, reduce or enlarge them with an Adobe PhotoShop-type program, or get your local copy shop to do it for you.

Next, lay the photos out six-to-a-sheet, arranged so the edges don't touch and the edges are even. Fix pictures in place with double-sided tape or a thin layer of paste. Then simply scan into your PC. After printing four sets of the pictures on card stock (or other sturdy paper of your choice), cut and trim to playing card size.

Stocking Stuffer "Coupons"

With plain paper, any graphics program (even Word will work) and your printer, make books of "care coupons" for everyone on your list. Simply adjust the "page setup" command to print two, four, or six coupons to a page. Add borders, clip art, and your text and print. Coupons can be good for backrubs, bedtime stories, taking out the trash, shoveling the walk, or a batch of homemade cookies. What makes this idea so fun is that coupons can be customized for the giver and the receiver, and can be for anything you can imagine. You can borrow our ideas or come up with your own:

  • free babysitting
  • laundry service
  • homework help
  • breakfast-in-bed
  • massage or manicure
  • dinner of their choice
  • a bear hug
  • help with chores, etc.



Natalie Walker Whitlock is a writer, Internet expert and mom to seven children. She has written over 400 articles for publications such as "Woman's Day," "Parents," "American Baby," "FamilyFun," "PCWorld," "Smart Computing," "Office.com," "iVillage.com," "BabyCenter.com," "Family.com," and "The Arizona Republic."