Homemade Teen Girl Christmas Gifts

DIY Christmas Gifts

I dusted off my sewing machine in November and made several Christmas projects for my friends, teens, extended family members, and toddler.  They are all simple beginner sewing projects that turned out awesome. I mainly used my leftover scrap material or quarter yard fabrics or bought material from a thrift shop.

 Lavender Rice Packs

I made these for my teenage daughters, friends, and some extended family. I got the rice pack pattern and tutorial from A Gentle Strength.  I also printed out some cute gift labels from Tori Grant Designs.  Supplies: material, lavender oil, and rice.
 

Eye Masks
I made these for my teenage daughters since they love their beauty sleep and don't like to see light. I got the eye mask pattern and tutorial from Making Things Is Awesome. Supplies: material, elastic, and felt or quilt batting. 

iPhone and Headphones Pouch

I made my teenagers and myself one of these cute pouches. I got the iPhone pouch tutorial from Penny Dog. This was pretty easy tutorial. I think the pocket is perfect for storing a driver's license, debit card, or headphones while on the go. Supplies: a couple different pieces of material and quilt batting.

Headband Warmers

I made these ear headband warmers for the whole family! I got the ear warmers headband tutorial from Crazy Little Projects. Supplies: soft fleece material.

Gumball Magnets
I made these for my teenage daughters. I was inspired by Imagine Our Life's gumball machine ornament, but I wanted something smaller so I printed out the pattern and tutorial from her advent snow globe Christmas ornament. I bought some really strong magnets from a local craft store that were stitched between the layers. Supplies: felt, embroidery thread, needle, colorful beads, strong magnets, and sequins.

Pillows for Decorations
I made these for my teenage daughters.  As a bonus, I found the blue soft fleece fabric from a thrift store. I did a simple quilt block layout for the pillows.

DYI Christmas Ornaments

   Homemade Christmas Ornaments
We were in need of some new Christmas ornaments and didn't want to spend too much money on them. So I made a bunch of cute ones this year.  Now our tree is absolutely beautiful with our handmade ornaments.

Felt Advent Christmas Ornaments
I found the adorable felt ornaments patterns and tutorials from Imagine Our Life. My favorites are the snow globe and angel! I gave some of these away as Christmas gifts to family or friends.
Ugly Sweater Ornaments
The ugly sweater ornament pattern and tutorial came from American Felt and Crafts. I gave many of these sweaters away to my close family and friends. 

Wooden Sled Ornaments
I got the wooden sled ornament idea from Fireflies and Mudpies. Supplies: painted Popsicle sticks, wood glue, rope/twine.

Scattering Service Jars

Service Lesson: Scattering Kindness Jars

A lesson on service is a perfect December achievement day activity.   For my lesson and discussion, I made an interactive visual aid. I taped a Christmas tree similar to an advent calendar using a brown paper bag, white card stock, scrapbook numbers 1-12, and hand written quotes inside.  I basically folded a rectangle into a square, used a glue stick to attach the circle numbers and quotes.  I got the Advent numbers from Pinterest: DIY Advent Calendar I also made a star and glued gold glitter on it. 

First, I had the girls take turns picking a number and reading the quote. Then I asked each of them how they could serve others? After they shared their idea, each girl helped me decorate a small Christmas tree with paper ornaments while my co-leader wrote down the ideas on the chalk board.  I got the Advent Christmas ornaments from Pinterest: Christmas Advent Wreath, which I used a needle and thread to hang them on the tree. These are the following quotes I used for my lesson:

Service Quotes:

1. “Our Savior gave Himself in unselfish service.   He taught that each of us should follow Him by denying ourselves of selfish interests in order to serve others.”  -- Dallin H. Oaks

2. “As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.” --Dieter Uchtdorf

3. “The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others.”-- Gordon B. Hinckley

4. “The greatest service we can provide to others in this life, beginning with those of our own family, is to bring them to Christ.” --Todd Christofferson

5. “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” --King Benjamin Mosiah 2:17

6. If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.” – Marvin J. Ashton

7. “As we give, we find that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, and in the end, we learn that it was no sacrifice at all.” -- Spencer W. Kimball

8. “He who gives money gives much. He who gives time gives more. He who gives of himself gives all.”  – Thomas S. Monson

9. “No one has ever become poor from giving” -- Maya Angelou

10. “Fill your life with service to others! As you lose your life in the service of Father in Heaven’s children, Satan’s temptations lose power in your life.”-- Richard G. Scott 

11. Find someone who is having a hard time or is lonely, and do something for him or her.” -- Thomas S. Monson

12. We can give the Savior gifts, by serving others. Fill a jar with slips of papers with ideas. Each morning, close your eyes and pull out your service idea for the day.” – Dieter Uchtdorf

Credits: Designed by me using Shabby Princess' Christmas kits. As for the fonts, I used That's Font Folks and 2 Pea's Heart Delight.

U LOVE WHO U SERVE

I summarized the lesson by sharing some of my favorite memories of serving others and reading the following quote: “Often small acts of service are all that is required to lift and bless another: a question concerning a person’s family, quick words of encouragement, a sincere compliment, a small note of thanks, a brief telephone call. If we are observant and aware, and if we act on the promptings which come to us, we can accomplish much good.” – Thomas S. Monson  (see above image that I made for this).  Afterwards the girls, decorated their jars with a label my co-leader made "U Love Who U Serve and wrote down several service ideas on folded pieces of hearts from pretty scrapbook card stock paper. We used markers to color them and tied ribbons on the top of the jar. Here are some service examples that the girls and leaders came up with.

Acts of Kindness Slips in a Jar 

Pick up trash

Give flowers

Help make dinner

Say “thank you”

Do an extra chore

Donate toys or clothes 

Write a letter and mail it

Hold the door open

Send a care package

Write to a missionary

Smile at 10 people

Bake cookies for a neighbor

Teach Family Home Evening

Call a relative

Make a card

Give a Hug

Make a new friend

Share a treat

Rake some leaves

Collect food for a shelter

Share your testimony

Read a book to a small child

Babysit for free

Feed the birds

Give a compliment

Send a card to a solider

Leave a surprise on the doorstep

Make a dinner basket

Visit a nursing home

Paint your Mom’s nails

Help an elderly neighbor

Donate hygiene kits to a shelter

Give a treat to your mail carrier

Pray for the sick

Make somebody’s bed

Write a note to your teacher

Make a fleece blanket for a new baby

Make breakfast for Mom and Dad

Clean the windows

Say ”I love you” to all your family members

December 2013 was a busy month!

December 2013 was also an eventful and stressful month for our household. We had several events and doctor appointments going on each week such as state report homework, Festival of Trees, choir concerts, young woman activities, little brother stayed at the hospital, followed up with doctor appointments, big sis got her braces off, and celebrated baby's first Christmas.  I cannot believe how fast this month went by since we were extremely busy!

State Report
At the last minute, hubby and I helped complete little sister's state report (we were up most the night, ugh). She did the state of Illinois for her report and hopefully learned her lesson to never procrastinate ever again! Around the same time, we had horrible internet issues, which finally got resolved three weeks later, grrrr! We actually had to go to the public library since we couldn't research at home.

Festival of Trees
For Big sister's foods class at school, she went on a field trip to see the Festival of Trees in Salt Lake City. Her favorite Christmas tree was the Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's and Toy Story display.

Christmas Choir Concerts

Big sis had a chamber choir concert at school while little sis performed at a local mall, nursing home, and her elementary school. According to Dad, they both did a great job! I wasn't able to attend due to little brother not feeling well and went to the hospital. 

Temple Square

For Young Woman activities, big Sis went to Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square and went ice skating at Seven Peaks.

Little Bro's Second Hernia Surgery

At 3:00 AM on December 11, 2013, Baby brother was struggling to breathe and we noticed a very loud rattle in his chest. We took him to the ER at American Fork Hospital, which he was admitted for bronchiolitis, swine flu, and Morgagni diaphragmatic hernia. He had to be life flight via helicopter to Utah Valley Hospital so that he could be treated by several pediatric specialists.  The next day he struggled to breathe on high flow oxygen maxed out while fighting his two viruses and the doctors feared he was too weak for surgery.  He had an x-ray on Thursday afternoon that showed that his hernia was larger, shifting his heart to the right, putting pressure on his trachea, and stomach. At that point, most the doctors feared he would crash eventually if he didn't get surgery right away because he was literally using all his energy to breathe (it was very scary to watch his chest rise and fall with labored breathing). So his team of doctors decided it was time to repair his hernia even though it was extremely risky due to his low immune system. To our surprise, little bro was remarkable during surgery and had zero complications! The doctor pulled his intestines out of his chest and repaired the hole in his diaphragm, which was under his liver.  Unexpectedly, he recovered fully from surgery and his viruses after a few days.  His pain was managed well, he ate up to four ounces of bottle, and he voided many diapers. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday December 15, 2013. What a strong little man and amazingly, I remained calm during this whole experience due to our baby receiving two healing priesthood blessings from my husband and family members. I knew he was very sick the day before he went to the hospital.  I had an emotional melt down and looked at my precious son in the eyes and said, "You fight for your life!" My faith and many prayers kept me strong!  On December 26 and 27, 2013, he met with his surgeon and pediatrician. Little bro will need to follow up with a feeding therapist, physical therapist, gastric intestinal specialist, and genetic specialist. He also got a prescription for acid reflux, which hopefully will improve his bottle feedings.  It is still unknown what caused his birth defects (four hernias, wow) or if he has some sort of syndrome, but we are hopeful he will continue to live a normal and happy life with help from many medical professionals. Sadly, he starting to fall behind on some major milestones and needs help gaining weight.  He unfortunately has a "conditioned" bottle aversion (I think when he drinks the bottle he is afraid of pain or may have bad acid reflux since he gags, spits ups, and coughs a lot after consuming his bottle) So we will address his feeding issues by a feeding therapist. As for his weak muscles, he many need help from a physical therapist to help him to accomplish his major gross motor skills such as rolling over and sitting up again, and future ones such as crawling, standing, and walking.  He will be evaluated by Kids on the Move and they may have other services available to him.  I am confident he will catch up on milestones and gain weight in the near future! 

No More Braces
On December 19, 2013, big sister finally got her braces off. Look at that gorgeous smile! She has to wear a clear retainer for the next six months!  That smile is worth every dime! She is very pretty!

No Place Like Home for the Holidays
One of our friends sent this Santa letter photograph to us, which they saw at a local elementary school. It said, "Dear Santa, Can you please give Zachary Free a good Christmas. He is very sick and in the hospital. Also I ask you to help him have a Merry Christmas." Isn't that adorable? We are so grateful for the love and service that our friends, family, and neighbors did for us during our time of need!

Baby's First Christmas

Having little brother home for Christmas was the greatest gift of all for us since he was expected to stay at the hospital for a couple weeks. It was a great blessing that he healed very quickly because of many prayers, positive thoughts, and well wishes. We had a peaceful and lazy Christmas day. My father in-law stopped by to visit, which was strange not having my mother in-law here for Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with him. Baby brother loved his new toys and clothes. The girls enjoyed spending family time watching new Disney movies, eating ham and cheesy potatoes leftovers, and drinking hot chocolate, etc.  

Bring on 2014!!!

I recall my husband lost his job earlier during the year and four months later was blessed with a great job opportunity. In June 2012, I suffered a miscarriage while this year we were blessed with a strong baby boy that joined our family in May.  Little brother has gone through two major surgeries and was such a trooper during both of them. My mother in-law fought cancer for six months and passed away peacefully in November. She is now our guardian angel who will watch over us always. After a year of challenges, sorrows, and triumphs, we can truly see that the Lord has blessed us in our lives. We are looking forward to seeing what 2014 adventures will bring us! Happy New Year!!!

A Typical December for Our Family

 1. Big Sister had her woman's choir Christmas concert at her junior high school.

2. We went to John's Christmas Casino themed work party at Vuz Resturant in Draper, Utah. We had a scrumptious buffet style food and enjoyed playing some black jack 21 with our "fake" money!

3.  We got up early on Christmas Eve to go last minute shopping and ate breakfast at Denny's!

4.  The Free family had a lazy Merry Christmas (we ate a lot of holiday food, took a nap, and watched several movies in our pajamas)! It was Jagger's first Christmas with us. We spoiled him with a couple new bones and toys! We also admired our "white" Christmas through the windows!

December 2011 Highlights

December was a super busy month for us, which is typical during this time of the year with Christmas shopping, holiday traffic, choir concerts, several parties, visiting Santa Claus, etc.  Among all the holiday craziness, we found out on December 14 that John has type two diabetes and the following day we had to move out of our rental home because our landlord sold his home (a 15 day notice).  So we were extremely busy packing and looking for a new place during the holiday break.  To be honest, I lost the holiday spirit due to the stress. Since I boxed up all my Christmas stuff, we spent Christmas in southern Utah with my husband's parents.  We enjoyed the peace and quiet bliss at Granny's house (a simple and small country town)!  Granny spoiled us with incredible tasty food!  On Christmas Eve, we drove a couple hours to see Aunt Rhea.  We had a lovely time visiting with her, Vickie, and Carmen.  Granny read a wonderful Christmas story to my girls that night and we enjoyed the glow of candle light dinners.  We went to church for one hour the next day and opened presents after church. We were so happy we spent some time with Granny and Grandpa Free!  A week later, we moved on New Years Eve with help from our awesome family, neighbors, and ward members!  Luckily, the weather was great (no snow) on moving day.  Later that day, one of our old ward members dropped off some pizza, bread sticks, and soda while we unpacked at our new place then we went to a friend's house for a New Years Eve party (we were invited to three parties that night).  We will miss our Grovecreek ward!  We found a wonderful place on the west side of town. It is a lot bigger than our last home with tons of storage space, yard, storage shed, tool shed, greenhouse, potato cellar, etc. Pictures will come later once we are all set up... I have a lot of empty spaces.  Hopefully we can purchase our own home in the future.  In the meantime, we are blessed we found a great place during this cold and chaotic time of the year.  We hope to get to know our neighbors and make new friends in our new ward in the next couple weeks. 

DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Junior High Choir Concert

Big Sister with her friend at their choir concert

A Fabulous Birthday Haircut (thanks Jenny)! 

A Gorgeous Hair Style from David Douglas Salon

  Checking out the Christmas lights at the River Bottoms Mall 

Never Too Old for Santa Claus 

A Peaceful Christmas in Southern Utah and My girls with Aunt Rhea!

Wearing Red on Christmas Day!

 Making Memories with Granny and Grandpa Free

 Playing Barbies in the Snow! Priceless!

Christmas Weekend with Granny and Grandpa Free

I saw this quote on one of my friend's status updates on Facebook.

Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. ---Author Unknown

"Light of the world" by Greg Olsen



On Christmas morning, the girls set their alarm clock for 6:00 AM. John and I slept only a total of three hours, grrrr! However, it was fun to see their excitement on their faces when they opened their presents!

Big sister with her "Secret Mrs. Claus" gift! WOW, she was so shocked to see a mountain bike- A Vision Hyper Aluminum that is white, pink and black!



Little sister was surprised with a doll American Girl Lanie Doll that looks just like her!



With Grandma Hawley's Christmas $$,they got some new winter gear: hats, gloves, and scarves from Old Navy on the left and The Children's Place on the right!



Big sister got a Penguin Pillow Pet! She is fascinated by penguins lately!



Just what she wanted a soft and cuddly Lady Bug Pillow Pet!



Big Sister got little Sissy a colorful butterfly necklace.



She never expected to own a Apple iPod nano 16 GB Pink either! Thanks to a great layaway plan! I'm so tired of her stealing mine, lol! She has shown us how responsible she is this year past year by baby sitting her little sister as well as helping around the house. We are confident she will take good care of her new electronic device!



Another Barbie to add to her collection! Oh joy!



Grandpa and Grandma Coleman sent the girls each a Hallmark reading book, which had a recording of my Dad's voice reading them a story! What a fun gift! Thank you so much, Dad and Kathleen!





We quickly cleaned up our Christmas mess, packed our bags, and headed out the door to Grandma and Grandpa Free's house! Before we started our journey to southern Utah, we had to make a stop to a couple extended family member's houses to drop off our Christmas treats! Our first stop was the Nelsons, then the Frees, and lastly my Mom at the Nursing home!



My Mom was so very happy to see us and was especially excited to see the many baked goodies. She told me this year she missed making Christmas treats and was too ashamed to tell her family or friends that she is living in a nursing home. It is sad. She looks older than her age because her body has been battling with so many illnesses. Poor lady! It just breaks my heart how much she has been through.



After visiting with my mom for a few minutes, we started our holiday traveling! John and I divided the driving time for our road trip to southern Utah. We were so exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before! He was first and then I drove most the second part. There was tons of fog on the roads! UGH! We finally made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner, which was a lovely turkey dinner, loaded with lots of veggies a tossed salad, carrots, sweet potatoes, and Granny's homemade bread! For their Christmas gift, we gave them the perfect wall hanging that says:

Bless our house as we come and go. Bless our children as they grow. Bless our family as we gather. Bless us all with love and laughter!



My sister gave me the exact same wall hanging to me for my birthday this year. Because I loved it so much, I knew my in-laws would love it too! In addition, I gave them some of my home made cookies, brownies, banana bread, and pumpkin bread! We watched Despicable Me(John got it for Christmas from us) and the kids played Chinese Checkers with their grandparents. The next day we went to church and had brunch (French toast, bananas, bacon, and juice). The girls were happy to spend some time with Granny and Grandpa!





After church, John took a small nap and we were off to our next adventure to play games with my ex step brother's family-The Hahn Family!

My family has been truly blessed this year. We have enjoyed spending time together with many extended family members and friends. We are so lucky to have the gospel in our lives and able to feel love from Jesus Christ. I am very grateful for Jesus' wonderful example when he lived on this earth. We hope we can strive to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We hope your household had a Very Merry Christmas! ♥ Jen