We love homemade gifts, so when Kiwi Crate recently asked me if my 4-year old would like to try one of the newest Holiday crates from their Celebration Shop, guess what I said? Yes please!
We’re giving away three of these Holiday Crates, and you’ll have a chance to win one at the end of this post!
They sent us a crate called Gifts Made by Me, and given the quality of this crate, I’m sure that the other two holiday crates, Crafty Christmas and Handmade Hanukkah, are just as fabulous.
As you probably know, I’m a DIY gal and rarely gravitate to pre-packaged activities. But here’s the difference with Kiwi Crate: although the package everything up for the busy parent, they don’t skimp on the quality of the materials and the projects in this crate value the process as much as the product.
But this isn’t just my opinion…my 4-year old worked on these gifts for three days and kept talking about them. We work on a lot of homemade projects in our home, and her engagement with this crate speaks volumes of the how thoughtfully these materials were assembled.
When the package arrived, N was itching to rip it open. I had a plan in my mind that we’d save it for later in the week, but I had a hard time curbing her enthusiasm. I told her that we could open the crate, look it over, and then save it for the next day. That sort of backfired because opening the crate only got her more excited.
She quickly assessed that the crate contained materials for making homemade gifts (two high quality notebooks that she would make prints for, plus all the wrapping materials we’d need)– which she already decided were destined for her grandparents, and we were off to the races.
The first thing we did was set up a mini-printing studio, and Kiwi Crate sent all the materials to make this successful and mitigate the mess.
I appreciated this because printmaking, when done right (with real printing inks, as included in the crate), can be a huge mess. Instead, it was all contained on the craft paper, cotton swabs, brayer, and thin sheet of plastic that we taped to the paper. It was a clever set-up that I’ll be sure to replicate next time we pull out the ink and brayers.
The crate also came with a really nice brayer (the tool you see back there that rolls the ink onto the plate), which I’m excited to add to our brayer collection.
I only had a couple issues with the crate, but they’re not deal-breakers. The ink took a few days to dry, which I’d attest to the summery weather we’ve been having. And the snowflake stickers that we used to make our own stamps didn’t hold their shape too well. But my 4-year old didn’t mind one bit, and the smudginess of our snowflakes added to the homemade charm of her gifts.
When she was done, she created two notebooks, two cards, and hand-printed ribbon. Gorgeous!
The best part? It’s only the beginning of November and my 4-year old already made her grandparents their holiday gifts: homemade notebooks that she’s proud of.
More Information About Homemade Gifts from Kiwi Crate
Sign up for the Kiwi Crate Newsletter
Buy a Gift Subscription for friends, cousins, and kids
Check out the Holiday Crates in the Celebration Shop
Free shipping on orders of $100 or more with the code WINTER
Enter the Giveaway
Kiwi Crate is giving away 3 Crates like the one I reviewed: Gifts Made By Me. Prizes can only be shipped to U.S. mailing addresses. The contest will close on November 18, 2012 at 11:59 EST. a Rafflecopter giveaway
I’m an advisor to Kiwi Crate and they sent me a free crate to review, but all opinions in this review are my own. This post may also contain affiliate links.
This would be so fun to do with my kids!
This would be fun for my 3 year old.
always looking for meaningful gifts AND solid crafts project for kids. WIN WIN. I’ll definitely be checking out Kiwi crates. Thanks!
I’ve been thinking of signing up for a Kiwi Crate subscription, this would be a great way to check it out first! Thanks for the chance to win.
I’ve got a five year old who would love this!!
I love to hear your thoughts on Kiwi Crate… as a crafty mom myself I don’t usually go for “kits” but this looks awesome!
Kiwi Crates are such a great idea! I’m sure they would inspire all sorts of creative activities. And I have to say, I love trying to get more entries. It’s like a scavenger hunt.
I’ve been wanting to try printing with my girl for a while! Great inspiration, can’t wait to try their kits.
Just FYI, the FB link for Kiwi Crates above is actually pointing to Fort Magic.
Thank you Erika! It’s now fixed, although I’m sure that Fort Magic appreciates your visit too!
This looks super exciting to do!
I love getting crafty with my boys & we’ve never done printing, so this could be a lot of fun!
I’ve been wanting to try Kiwi Crate and this looks like a lot of fun!
looks like a lot of fun. What a neat idea
Homemade gifts are the best!
This looks like a fantastic project to do with kids and to give away as presents. Thanks for sharing.
I would love the opportunity to print with my little guy without having to figure out the materials and with some advice regarding how to keep the printing neat.
My daughter would love this!
Something to do on the holiday break! YES!
This is perfect with Christmas right around the corner!
The gift making crates are a great idea….I love Kiwi crate….such quality kits!
This looks so fun!
The gift making crates sounds exciting!
Love Kiwi Crate!
I would love for my son to try one of these.
LOVE Kiwi Crate. We’ve been subscribers for several months and my son gets so excited when the green box appears at the garage door.
This looks so much fun, love the ribbon! I always wanted to try print making, but just haven’t gotten the chance to organize the activity. Yap, my husband almost apply for a job there at kiwi crate. We will be very lucky if we get one to try out. Thanks for the chance
I love KIwi Crate and I love your blog. They are both very inspiring. 🙂
What a wonderful idea. My little 3 year old would love this!
Fantastic! I did not get to use real printmaking tools with real ink until I was in high school. How wonderful this is for kids!
My 4 year-old LOVES Kiwi Crate!!! He gets so excited when the distinctive green box is delivered each month. I would love to win this special extra crate for him. 🙂
Wold love this for my 4-year-old!
Would love to win this and thank you for the reminder on what to add to the Christmas wish list for the Grandparents for my daughters.
Would love to to try Kiwi Kits!
my kids would love this
We subscribe to their monthly box and really enjoy the quality of their product. I’d love a chance to try their holiday kit as well!
My children would have so much fun with this project! Thank You!
Amie Olson
Homemade gifts are so much fun. My family really enjoys creating gifts. This crate would be a fun crate to work with.
These projects look like a lot of fun!
Would love to try to make home made gifts!!
hooray! this looks like such fun!
Looks like a lot of fun.
I love Kiwi Crates and this would be a wonderful project to do with my daughter! I love homemade gifts!
im a sucker for homemade gifts! hope to win this one 🙂
What a great idea! My girls would love this!
Super-cute projects!
i’ve been wanting to get a crate for my son. these look so awesome
Hope I win this!
We love Kiwi Crate! This kit looks like a LOT of fun! 🙂