19 Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make

Here’s a sweet homemade Mother’s Day present to make with the kids: Pick up round wooden boxes from a craft store. Paint the top and let dry. Paint nautical-knot buttons or drawer pulls and let dry. Attach buttons with glue; to attach a drawer pull, drill a small hole through the top of the box and secure with the nut. This craft is so easy that you can make a set!

Tip: Want to DIY the knots? Google “monkey fist knot” to learn how, and simply glue one in place on top of the box.

By Ashley Toth

Mom will treasure this sentimental and bilateral self-portrait for years to come! Start by enlarging a photo (ours was 8"x10") and gathering supplies: one sheet of heavyweight paper, glue dots, and crayons or colored pencils.

Cut the photo in half and attach it to the paper with glue dots (make sure it only takes up half of the paper). Your child can mirror the image on the other half with colored pencils or crayons.

This decorated cookie box is even sweeter than the treats you can put inside. Kids can create designs on wooden boxes using contact paper cutouts and paint.

Paper doilies make plain votive candle holders perfectly feminine for Mom. She'll never believe they were homemade—from a kid, no less! Check out the how-to instructions here. 

Make Mom these cool flowers from magazine pages that will never wilt. Click here to learn how to make this homemade Mother's Day gift.

Use fabric scraps to cover a stone from the backyard. Mom can display it on her desk as a paperweight.

Heart-shaped petals make these blooms full of love for Mom! Start by gathering the supplies: cardstock, small heart and circle craft punches, craft glue, straight pin, floral wire covered with cloth, wooden spool, small buttons, and grosgrain ribbon.

To make the flowers, punch a circle in the cardstock, and use the straight pin to poke a hole in the middle. Punch out five hearts and fold in half, lengthwise, to make the petals. Glue the petals around the circle (not covering the hole) and let dry. Thread floral wire through two holes on a button, secure it by twisting the wire, and push the opposite end through the hole in the circular shape; this will make the stem. Make as many flowers as you'd like, then stick them in a ribbon-covered spool that doubles as a vase.

Mom will cherish this lovely handmade greeting card on Mother's Day! Start by folding a piece of colored cardstock in half to make the card. Print and cut out the heart (download heart template here). Tape it lightly to the front of the card, punch holes along the heart's outline with a needle (with the card laying flat), and then discard the heart template. Your child can then thread a plastic child-safe tapestry needle with colored yarn, knot the end, and stitch the heart from side to side. After you finish stitching, knot the yarn and cut away any excess.

This homemade Mother's Day gift will come in handy when serving breakfast in bed! Each placemat requires an unprimed medium-weight canvas (ours is 12"x18"). Cut shape stencils, such as the X and O pictured here, from contact paper using an X-Acto knife and cutting mat. Make sure you cut along the outlines of the shapes to create an empty middle (you'll fill in the stencils with paint).

Tape the canvas to your work station, place a stencil the top left corner, and fill it in with fabric paint on a sponge brush. Continue this step until the placemat contains all the shapes you'd like. Let dry and fray the edges of the placemat, if desired.

Penne and rigatoni are the best pasta shape to make a beaded necklace for mom. Bowties and wagon wheels make a lovely pendant charm.

Kids will love making these paper flowers for Mom and Grandma. Supplies include kid-friendly scissors, cardstock, glue, lead-free solder wire, and green chenille stems. 

Cut two 3-inch circles of cardstock for the flower centers. Glue them on either side of a chenille stem (like a sandwich) and let dry. Next, your child can cut smaller shapes for petals; these can be hearts, circles, rectangles, or anything else they desire. Glue the petals around the center of the flower to finish it off. You can even make a bouquet by DIYing a handful of these blooms!

Make these modern coasters from adhesive-backed felt for Mom to use for her morning coffee. Here's how: On different colored pieces of wool felt, draw small rectangles or squares using a ruler and pencil. Cut them out and arrange into a patchwork design onto the sticky side of white adhesive-backed felt. Cut into a 4-inch square for the final coaster.

String buttons, felt, and paper flowers onto yarn or chenille stems to make sweet necklaces and rings. You can use a punch to create holes in the felt and paper. Mom will proudly wear these accessories throughout her special day! 

Make Mommy happy (and keep the kids busy coloring) with one of our four free cards: a girl with flowers, a boy with a big heart, a best mommy award, and for reading moms, an 'I Love Mom' bookmark. Click here to download all of the free printable Mother's Day cards.

Kids will love painting bubble wrap in eye-catching colors to make their own wrapping paper! It's perfect for a flower bouquet or to wrap a gift box. 

Make pinch pots with air-dry clay and stamps; they're ideal bowls for Mom's jewelry! Briefly knead a piece of white air-dry clay, flatten it on wax paper, and roll it to about ⅛-inch thickness. Smooth the surface of the clay with a little water and let it sit for several minutes.  Now it's time to grab a stamp. Put a thin layer of cooking oil on the clay (on the place where you're going to stamp), ink the stamp, and press it in. Clean excess oil with a cotton swab. Mold the edges of the clay into a bowl or dish shape and let dry for about two or three days.

Cut circles out of patterned cardstock and attach them to a paper plate, creating a makeshift flower. Your child can write love notes and coupons on each petal for mom to pull off and redeem. 

What mother wouldn't love a flower bouquet that she could eat? Use cookie cutters to cut flower shapes in pineapple and melon slices. Stick them on wooden dowels and place in a vase with faux grass for a delicious homemade Mother's Day gift!

Turn plain tissue paper into a work of art by decorating it with two thumbprints joined together to form a heart. This homemade craft makes picture-perfect gift wrap!