Kids Photo Craft: A Collage Gift for Parents or Grandparents

If you are a mom or dad looking for something special your kids can give to the other parent, or to their grandparents, photos make great gifts. Here is an idea for a photo craft that will be fun for your kids to do, and treasured by the person who receives it. It also does cost much money for the supplies.

Step One: Buy a Frame
First you must decide on the size of the collage you would like the kids to make, and choose an appropriate frame. I recommend at least an 11x13, although 16x20 can be more fun. Poster frames, which are usually made of plastic, are often the cheapest, but still look nice. You should also buy a poster board for the background.

Step Two: Let Your Child Pick Photos
Have your kid(s) pick out pictures of the family, specifically of them or them with the parent or grandparents they are giving it to.

If you have all of your photos in photo albums, then you can give kids a stack of post-it notes to mark the photos they have chosen. Or, if you have loose photos, they can just pick out the ones they want. If most of your pictures are digital, then you may have to sit down at the computer and do this part together. Tell them a specific number to choose- I recommend picking more than you think you are going to need.

Step Three: Copy Photos
Since you don't want to lose your photos, you can take them down to Kinkos or a photo processing center to make copies, so that the kids can use the copies.

Step Four: Magazines
This part is optional, as you may want to do a collage with only photos; however, it does add a unique touch, and kids really enjoy it. Have kids go through stacks of old magazines and cut out any pictures or words that remind them of the person the collage is for.

Step Five: Assembling the Collage
This is the fun part! Have kids piece together the photos and magazine clippings however they would like. Encourage them to cut fun shapes in the photos; for instance, they can cut a heart around a person, or a star, or just make jagged edges. Have them lay out most of the pictures and clippings before gluing, explaining that they cannot change anything once it has been glued down. They can always add things into open spaces, but it's best to decide a lot of the layout before gluing down.

Once they start gluing, explain that they should start gluing all the pictures around the edges first, making sort of a thick border. Then move to the very center, and work outwards towards the border. This will create a nice layered effect.

Step Six: Finishing Touches
Finally, you can add any finishing touches, such as decorating the frame with paint or glitter glue, or wrapping the present.