Handmade Christmas Gift Baskets for Kids: Bath and Body Products

Christmas gift baskets for adults solve many problems like budgeting and what to buy. When it comes to giving children's gifts, however, it can be difficult to come up with inexpensive and fun Christmas gifts kids can appreciate. This year, try putting together fun, simple, Christmas bath and body baskets for the kids on your list.

The recipes suggested here are all made from everyday grocery items that are available in most neighborhood grocery stores. Use these recipes for bath time basket fillers kids will love to use.

Bubble Bath
Bubble bath is an obvious choice for any bath and body Christmas gift basket. These everyday grocery items make making lots of children's bubble bath easy and economical.

Glycerin will likely be the most difficult item to locate. Glycerin is often found in the pharmacy aisle, but may be found in craft sections as well. Glycerin is a byproduct of the soap making process and is added to bath and beauty products as a moisturizer. It is very gentle on the skin, in fact, recommended for sensitive skin. Look for it with melt and pour soap supplies, or order glycerin online through a soap craft supplier.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Liquid Soap
½ Cup Mild, sudsy shampoo or baby shampoo
1 Tablespoon Glycerin
1 Tablespoon baby oil

Combine all ingredients in a clean, covered, plastic bottle. Shake to combine the ingredients and let sit for an hour or so before dividing further into decorative containers.
*TIP: For tear free bubble bath, use tear free baby shampoo. Soap safe fragrance can be added if desired, but is best to leave out if the child's skin is sensitive (the fragrance of the shampoo may be enough).

Bath Paint
There's nothing to making these fun bathtub paints, but your young Christmas gift basket receivers will have a blast with them. You'll have no trouble finding the two ingredients on this bath and body product list.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Liquid Soap
Food Coloring

Measure liquid soap into small containers and add food coloring to make pastel paint colors. Repeat in several containers for each desired color.

Children can paint the tub and themselves as they bathe, and the colors will rinse easily away when they are through.

Modeling Soap
This final recipe is the perfect addition to your children's Christmas bath and body gift basket. Combining these two simple ingredients is all it takes to make the mix, then shape them in any fun children's theme for the bath.

Ingredients:
½ Cup Laundry Soap Flakes*
(*Laundry Soap Flakes can be substituted with pieces of bar soap shaved with a carrot peeler or cheese grater)
2 Tablespoons Hand Lotion
Food Coloring (optional)

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix with your fingers until even. Soap can be modeled into simple animals and figures like clay, or pressed into candy molds. Allow soap to dry for one to two days.

Another soap option for your children's Christmas bath and body gift basket is to craft fun soaps with melt and pour glycerin soap. There are many websites available that sell all the supplies you need to make fun molded melt and pour glycerin soap. An endless variety of soap molds makes it possible for you to make melt and pour glycerin soaps in a theme that matches an interest, hobby or favorite sport of your Christmas bath and body gift basket recipient.

Easier still, make fun 'fish in a bag' soaps with melt and pour glycerin soap products to add to our children's Christmas gift baskets. After melting the soap, let it cool a bit (but keep the soap liquid), then pour the melted soap into clear plastic treat baggies. Drop in a small plastic goldfish, seal and let harden. The resulting soap will be an adorable bath product that looks just like a pet store fish ready to take home. Children love bathing with these fun bath products, as they get a fun fish toy to play with when the soap is gone.

Packaging
Packaging your children's Christmas bath and beauty gift basket is simple.

Line an inexpensive basket with a fun hand towel. Plastic baskets or buckets work great for this Christmas gift basket, and are easy to clean in the bathroom. Add your home made bath and beauty products, and maybe a couple other fun bath items. Thematic facecloths are a good choice, or purchase plain mesh bath puffs or soap bags and embellish the tops with decorative buttons and a length of ribbon. To accompany the bath paints in your Christmas gift baskets, include a few craft paint brushes, and sponges cut in fun shapes that can serve double duty. Small bath toys like duckies and boats add to Christmas gift basket fun, too.

The recipes included in this article, and many, many, more, are available in the book Rainy Day Activity Book by Jennifer Rader (Doubleday, NY, 1995).