Let’s be honest, giving gifts can be really hard. If you’re anything like me, you spend hours, or even days, every year around Christmas, trying to figure out what to buy for your family and friends.
Sending a gift to your sponsored child can be even more difficult. With restrictions on what can be sent through the mail and without much information about your child’s preferences and culture, it’s easy to feel defeated before you’ve even begun.
Thankfully, we have resources that can help. These are two of my favorites:
https://www.pinterest.com/worldhelp/ideas-for-sponsors/
https://worldhelp.net/child-sponsors/mail/
These resources are great because they work really well together. I love making simple gifts from the “What to Send” list more personal with creative ideas from Pinterest boards. Below, I’ve listed three of my favorite crafts from our Pinterest board that take those classic gifts and puts a new spin on them that your sponsored child is sure to love.
Bookmarks
This bookmark craft by Red Ted Art is small and compact, so it fits easily inside an envelope to ship. It’s also easily customized with your sponsored child’s favorite color. A gift like this serves two purposes: It encourages your child as they go back to school, and it lets your child know you’re thinking about them.
Family Photos
Family photos are a great gift for a sponsored child, and many sponsored kids keep pictures of their sponsors in special places so they can look at them often. If your picture is that important to your child, why not make it a fun one?
Blogger Kristen Duke of Capturing Joy had the genius idea to have a paint fight photo shoot, which is a great way to get everyone in your family smiling and having fun, while getting some awesome pictures. Not only would this make a creative gift for your sponsored child, it would also be a fun photo for Christmas cards!
Coloring Pages
I’m not ashamed to admit that I still love to color, so I think a gift like this works well for any age. In fact, you should definitely keep one for yourself! Regular coloring pages are fun, but I love the personal touch that Erin from how to nest for less suggests. With just some basic photo editing software like Photoshop, you can easily create coloring pages from pictures of your family! This is a great way to connect with your sponsored child, and give them a fun gift they’ll love using.
http://howtonestforless.com/2013/01/10/make-your-own-coloring-books/
What most sponsored children really want is the encouragement that comes from knowing that you are thinking about them and that you care. Gifts and letters are great ways to remind your sponsored child how much you love them. So if you’ve been feeling lost about what to send your sponsored child, take the leap and try one of these crafts, or invent one of your own!
When you do, be sure to let us know by commenting below or posting it on Facebook using #sponsorscreate. We’ll use this hashtag to collect new ideas for sponsors and maybe even share them in an upcoming blog post!
If you’re so excited that you’re ready to send a package right now, you can address your envelope to:
[Sponsored Child’s name and ID #]
c/o World Help Child Sponsorship Program
P.O. Box 501
Forest, VA 24551