How to Create a Homemade Hannah Montana Gift for Your Child

Through my experience and training in becoming a preschool teacher, I learned the benefits of dramatic play for children. I have seen this first hand with my 2 sons. They love anything to do with make believe or dramatic play. I often make dramatic play boxes for my home daycare and my own children. My children love these boxes so much, that they ask me to make new ones based on what they are into at the time. Once you learn the concept of how to make one, you can make several, stack them in a storage area in your home, label them and wait for a great opportunity to pull them out.

Another love of mine is giving my children homemade gifts and to parent in any creative way I can. Toys are one of the easiest things to get creative about. These dramatic play boxes are the perfect Christmas gift. They can be as cheap or as expensive as you see fit. They can be as small as a gift box or as large as an appliance box. Below are the advantages of making a dramatic play box for your child instead of giving them another store bought toy.

- No one else will have it. Your children's friends will not come back from Christmas break and talk about their Hannah Montana dramatic play box. Your children will be the only one, that is until the word gets out.

- It is inexpensive. Since you choose the contents and they are not licensed Hannah Montana merchandise, they cost very little. You will find out very soon that the joy the Hannah Montana dramatic play box brings would be worth a lot of money but it costs only a few dollars.

- You will not disapprove of the contents. How many toys have your children gotten that you felt weren't as appropriate as you had thought before purchasing them? Or there is one element that you do not like inside the box of a toy set? With the Hannah Montana dramatic play box, all the contents are chosen by you so they will coincide with your standards for your children and what they play with.

- It is custom made for your child. Finally, a toy that fits your child or children perfectly. You know the costumes fit, you know the elements are her favorite color, you know that everything is bought with him or her in mind.

- It reinforces that homemade is better. If you have ever read any of my articles you know that I am a strong believer in teaching our children that homemade is better than store bought. What a great way to teach this!

- It teaches creativity. My bet is that your child will only have her Hannah Montana dramatic play box a day or 2 before she asks if she can make a dramatic play box too. They learn creativity fast and they feel good creating just like we do.

- It promotes good self esteem. Do you remember getting a gift as a child that made you feel special? I remember feeling so special when our neighbor embroidered my name on something. It felt good. This Hannah Montana box tells your child that you think she/he is special enough to make something especially for him/her.

- Pretending is a great way to play. Our children learn so much from pretending. This box takes that to a whole new level. They get to step into a character's life in a realistic way. What is more fun than that for a crazed Hannah Montana fan?

So, now that you know why a dramatic play box is wonderful, let's talk about making a Hannah Montana one. The first thing you must figure out is the container that will hold the contents. It does not have to be a box at all. Most of ours are Rubber maid type containers with lids that stay on. The clear ones are one good way to go about it since they get the child excited before you even open it. A bright colored box is also an excellent choice especially if it is one of your child's favorite colors. You can decorate a cardboard box too. I like the file type boxes that are easy to carry. They are cheap and you have a clean slate to create on. You can draw things, or copy and paste Hannah Montana images from the Internet, use Hannah Montana stickers, or cover the whole box in material. A Hannah Montana dramatic play box can be done so many ways. You do not have to follow my advice closely at all. Use your own ideas about what would blow your child's mind and give them an excellent pretend play experience every time you pull out the box. Here are some of my content ideas for a Hannah Montana dramatic play box.

- Blonde wig.

-Several outfits (a diva never has only one) It would be really cute to have a couple of outfits (bought at a thrift store) that are shiny and Hannah like and a couple that are regular and Miley like.

- An echo microphone blinged out with glued on gems (all dollar store items).

- Sunglasses (as diva like as possible). Several different pair would work too.

- High heels ( you can go crazy here and put 4-10 pair in).

- Cropped and embellished jackets. The more embellished with stones, buckles etc. the better.

- Hannah Montana burned Cd ready to pop in.

- Rhinstone blouses. You can buy them big and tie them like Hannah Monatana does.

- Any bling. Lots of Bling.

- Jeans. Roll them up like Hannah Montana and safety pin them so the roll stays in.

- Boas.

- Hannah Montana posters. You can make homemade ones with copy and paste from the Internet.

- Blow up guitars and microphones.

- Toy cell phone.

- Toy I pod.

- Toy compact.

- Lip gloss.

- Hair streaking kit.

It might seem like a short list but think about how creative you can be with it. She can pull it out and transform herself into her favorite character. You can make it as elaborate (lots of clothes, lots of bling, lots of shoes. Or very simple (one outfit, wig and microphone). Remember to do up the box too to make it more fun and inviting. Take lots of pictures and print them out and paste them on the box too. I have a feeling that this won't be one of the MANY Christmas gifts that end up in the yard sale 5 months and 50 bucks later.