For Kids: Old Crayons Made New

Here’s an easy gift you can make for kids with old and broken crayon stubs: chunky, recycled multi-color crayons in a variety of shapes. My son and I made a bunch of these this weekend, and he was delighted to be able to once again use all those old crayons that were too short for him to handle.

You can find easy-to-follow instructions here. (One note: though the directions here say to melt your crayons in a 150-degree oven, I found mine didn’t start melting until I upped the temperature to 200 degrees.)

For Kids: A Classic Sock Monkey

If you have a few pairs of clean old socks, a couple of buttons and a needle and thread in your home, you can make a classic toy for some small child in your family: a sock monkey. There’s no fancy stitching or complicated steps involved.

You’ll find step-by-step instructions, along with helpful photos, at WikiHow’s “How to Make a Sock Monkey.”