DS 11 has to make 20 items for a class "store" -- Ideas? He wanted CDs from his own

[finz2left]

mixes, but I had to tell him that would be illegal , and he was upset. Some kids are making little pillows, others are baking. He has ruled out the foam Michael's kits ... and the class has several children who are Jewish, Muslim, etc... so it can't be just Christmas.

He wants something cool and creative...and I'm lost. I can't spend more than 30.00 on this. The CDs we have and he could have made the labels, but I just couldn't do that,kwim? I suggested sock monkeys, and he said no...too babyish!

Help me brainstorm creative budget minded folks!

 

[dward1961]

How about Snowman Soup

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/stocking-stuffers/snowman-soup

 

[wdwfan16]

He could take the blank CDs and create fun coasters with them. He could use spray paint and sharpies.

 

[clh2]

What is the purpose of the store? Is the class actually selling stuff? What ist he money going to be used for? Last question - is this a graded assignment?

Many on the disboards are happy to help, but sometimes we just need a little more info!

Is there any way he could make candle holders - I'm thinking from a small piece of wood - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ny/candles1.jpg

While I realize that the wood is nice, sanded and stained in this picture - it really doesn't have to be "finished" those really could be done with a "barky" piece of wood too.

 

[finz2left]

What is the purpose of the store? Is the class actually selling stuff? What ist he money going to be used for? Last question - is this a graded assignment?

Many on the disboards are happy to help, but sometimes we just need a little more info!

Is there any way he could make candle holders - I'm thinking from a small piece of wood - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ny/candles1.jpg

While I realize that the wood is nice, sanded and stained in this picture - it really doesn't have to be "finished" those really could be done with a "barky" piece of wood too.

Good questions...they have fake school money they've earned for different good behaviors, etc. And it's just a way to have a kids' gift exchange, but not an expensive one ... and to get them to get involved and make something .

 

[brymolmom]

How about snowflake ornaments? I can't think of the recipe, but you can make some with BORAX - google it. Snowflakes are winter-y for any religion.

OR - chocolate covered pretzels...

How about taking a nice photograph of something (class photo or of the school) -and get copies printed and put them in small inexpensive frames.

 

[bucket o' butter]

My kids and I made some really cool Christmas tree ornaments a few years ago. I bought a box of clear glass ball ornaments at Wal-Mart (about $5) and a few little tubes of acrylic type paint. You just take off the top of the ornament (the part where the hanger is attached), squeeze in a little glue, put the lid back on, and shake the ornament. It makes a cool pattern on the inside. Here is a link for several different ornament decorations:

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/glass-ball-ornaments.shtml

Good luck!

 

[midwestdee]

okay - it is sooo much harder with a boy - but here goes: rather than decorate blank CD's - how about decorating spare jewel (the plastic) cases for CD's? you could do that with stickers - some aimed at girls,some at boys - everybody can use a few extra jewel cases for your CD's. Or, how about making pet rocks? that would be pretty easy with some basic enamel paints. dream catchers are a pretty cool craft for boys or girls, but can get expensive. depending on how crafty the item you are selling needs to be - how about putting together 20 "grab bags". Didn't we all want one of those mystery bags they sold at drug stores? You could decorate the outside of the lunch bag and fill them with pencils, erasers, candy, etc.. from stuff from the dollar bin at Michaels, or cheap stuff at Party City or Target. if you could get cheap water bottles, you could decorate those with foam / paper stickers. good luck - this is the kind of thing that makes me happy my kids are grown!

 

[gopack]

My son's class did this when he was in second grade so they were a little younger but some popular items were keychains, door hangers, bookmarks, magnets, and homemade chocolate covered pretzels.

 

[skip323]

My older dd's class did this last year. They each partnered, though, with another person for their sale and were doing a mini economy thing. DD and her friend made bracelets and tie-dye tshirts. Other kids baked items and someone made bookmarks. I cannot think of the other items.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I was going to suggest snowman soup too. Easy, but cute.

 

[HelloChum]

How about Snowman Soup

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/stocking-stuffers/snowman-soup

This is a great idea! I think the Jiffy Pop topper on that site is cute too! I would think that these would be a hit!

My oldest son had a class store when he was in 5th grade--except the parents simply had to purchase items to send in for the store.

Good luck!!

 

[semo233]

If you can find some inexpensive fleece, how about no sew scarves? They are really cute and all you need are scissors. For kids, I don't think it needs to be 72" long!! Measure your son and approximate a good size for the average kid.

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en_US/nbrcontent.do?contentType=op&articleId=ar051

 

[HaleyB]

Pinecone bird feeders?

Get or gather pine cones, smear with peanut butter and then roll in bird seed. Add a ribbon to hang it with (and you will want to get some clear plastic bags to keep from getting birdseed everywhere).

Dip a plastic spoon in melted chocolate, then add crushed candy cane to part of it, use as a hot chocolate or coffee stir stick.

Sock snowmen-

use toddler sized socks and rice as the filler. The 'hat' is the flipped over ribbed section. Use rubber bands to make the sections. Decorate with markers and ribbon/yarn/fabric scraps/mini buttons.

 

[irisesareblue]

This is my own personal recipe but my kids used it when they were in school for bake sales and the like - fun, easy and relatively cheap.

Mix up the following:
1 part Tang (or other orange juice) crystals
1 part Country Time (or other) lemonade crystals
1 part Nestea (or other) iced tea crystals
1 tsp or two of cinnamon (or more if you really want it cinnamony) per cup of mixture

Mix it all up (carefullyor you're covered in iced tea dusting!) and put it in jars or holiday ziploc bags - add the following directions on a tag:

Mix 3 heaping teaspoons of crystals into 1 mug of hot water - stir and enjoy!

the reason I say parts above is dependent on how much of the mix you want to make - 3 cups will do 10 packets quite well - it's a basic ratio of 1:1:1 and can be made in large quantities as well for bake sales - it goes quite nicely into the little Libby Christmas jars

 

[Kat77]

DS12 did "market" last year at school once every six weeks. He made stovepipe hats from felt. They went fast!

 

[clh2]

Since it is more of a classmate exchange - I do not like my candle idea as much.

Do these kids have lockers at their school - what about making a magnet "thingy" for kids to hang stuff up in their lockers?

Or - do the kids have "do-dads" and "what-nots" hanging from their backpacks? That would be something to consider too! My daughter - always has "lacing" - the rexlace thingys hanging from her pack pack! She's had that kind of stuff hanging on her back pack since probably 1st grad - she is a HS sophomore now.

I do agree with the snowman soup - that is something fun, and what kid doesn't like hot chocolate!

 

[andrews1ma]

My ds 10 had to do this last year for "enterprise day". he partnered with a friend and they had the highest selling item- they made scarves out of fleece fabric. We bought different patterns- some girly- like tye-dye and some sport teams for the boys- we got the fabric at walmart- and basically you cut a long strip to make the scarf and then cut fringes on both ends. With the left over fabric they made matching scarves for Webkinz.

good luck- I have to say that this was an easy one and you can find fabric remnants on clearance to at places like Joanne's etc..

 

[andrews1ma]

oopsie- just saw Op posted about scarves..

 

[mary0305]

My children have all done this in 3rd grade during a study on economics. They used real money to purchase items then all money raised was donated to a charity they selected.

The hot selling item last year was bottle cap necklaces. They had boy themed ones (Star Wars, etc), girl jeweled ones, some with the school name / mascot. You can get plain bottle caps from a home brewer supply store. Then they glued magnets to the back of the bottle cap. They used black tights for the necklace cut across the leg for the loop. On the loop they put a metal washer for the magnet to attach to. I hope this makes sense.

Another hot seller was a lava lamp. A boy took 20 ounce bottle and filled with a water / mineral oil / food coloring mixture. He sold it with a package of Alka Selsers. When you put a small piece of the Alka Selser in the bottle it looked like a lava lamp. I am sure you could search for the recipe online.