We just entered 2025, right?  Except we are in the halfway month and Father's Day is this coming weekend!  Not only that, I will have grandchildren arriving here on Friday Night who will be wanting me to help them create gifts for their dad!  

        This set of grandchildren are in the older group of my large, wonderful crowd of grandchildren, so it is going to be a challenge and yet a lot of fun to come up with ideas that they will enjoy making and not feel are too young to come from them, and that their dad will enjoy and treasure.   Today I am going to share some ideas that I think will be great coming from kids who are 14, 12 and 10! 

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Many years ago, when I was in elementary school, we made a Mother’s Day gift one year based on the book I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse. Despite the simplicity of it, my mother loved it and even now, roughly 15 years later, still has it. Whether this is to make for your child’s own mother or you are making it with a class of students, it is sure to be a gift that will be remembered and treasured for years to come.

     Ever since I discovered mulberries a few years ago, I have been enamored with them.  (By discovered, I mean tasting my first mulberry ever from my son's tree!)  They are just about the most delicious berry ever in my opinion and since they have a short season, I watch for them in the Spring now to make sure that I don't miss out on them.  So, when Anita messaged me that she saw someone on Facebook inviting people to come and pick from their tree for free, (my favorite price), I was over to that place in about 5 minutes!  You're welcome, because now you get to try this amazing Straw Mulberry Jam for yourselves! 

     My grandson, Adrian, is turning 10 soon.  He is a smart, remarkable boy and I wanted to do something special for him for his birthday.  Alicia, his mom, told me that this year as they sat down as a family to make goals and vision boards, he decided that he wanted to work on learning to cook more.  Both of his parents love to cook, so he comes by it naturally.  Actually, he is already pretty good at cooking! 

      A few years ago, I made all of my granddaughters aprons.  (You can see the post here!)  Alicia told me that he wanted an apron, too.  But, I have not gotten around to making it.  When I heard about his goal, I figured this was the perfect time to do it!

      First I made him an apron in red cotton because red is his favorite color.  You can find boys apron patterns all over the internet.  I made my own pattern, but it looks like any you might find on Pinterest.  You could also simply buy a child's apron.  I'm still debating if I should put some sort of cool saying or something on the front pocket.  Any Ideas? 

      I put a pocket on the front chest of he apron, and a 3 section pocket that goes along the bottom of the apron.  I decided that I needed to fill the pockets with things for him to cook with.  The first thing I thought of was a little recipe book that I could create for him with some favorite recipes from me or our family. 

     Here is how I created it! 

     I used Canva to create the recipe cards.  Many of my favorites are already in card form on our blog, so I simply had to choose recipes that I thought Adrian would love.  I think that is the great part about this gift idea, the personalization!  Adrian is not a big sweet eater, he loves crunchy snacks and if he has dessert, he likes chocolate.  He also likes vegetables and out of the ordinary savory recipes that you don't hear most 10 year olds liking! So, choosing recipes for him was a lot of fun! 

        After choosing the recipes, I printed them as 4x6 recipe cards on cardstock.  When I cut them out, I left a margin at the top to accommodate the rings for the booklet. 
     I have a binding machine that uses those plastic rings that I haven't used very often yet,  but this was the perfect application.  I may need to curate more of these little booklets for more people in my life! 
       I designed a front cover and I am linking the pdfs here for you if you would like to create your own booklets.  I made one for boys and one for girls.  All you have to do is click on them! 

     All you have to do is print off your favorite recipes to share with your grandchild.  Or, if you would like, you can always find recipes that you think they would like on the internet or right on our blog! We have a bunch of cards to choose from in a wide variety of flavors and tastes.  Type what you are looking for in the search bar and see if we have a recipe for it!
     Another option is to handwrite some recipes so that they will have your handwritten recipes to treasure! 
      If you have a laminating machine  or simply clear contact paper, that would be a good idea to use on all of the pages, or at least the cover of the booklet so that it can be wiped clean. 
​​​     If you don't have a binding machine, (they are pretty reasonable) You could use binder rings or even staples if that is all you have.  You could even stitch it together with string or ribbon!  Just be sure to leave that margin at the top so you don't cut off words or directions with the binding.

     I like the 4x6 size because it will fit perfectly in one of the pockets.

     Now I'm finding other items to tuck into the pockets.

     Here are my ideas so far:

• a wooden spoon that I personalized with wood burning
• an oven mitt
• gloves to protect against cuts
• Some cash to help him by ingredients!

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     Have any other ideas?  Let me know in the comments before I mail this package off!  Also, your ideas for the front pocket, or should I leave it plain?

     I worried that he would be disappointed by my gift because my other 10 year old grandson would rather have Legos, but Alicia assures me that Adrian will love it.  He is quite a well rounded boy who likes Legos, basketball, Pokémon, and cooking! That is pretty cool I think! 
      I have a feeling that a few of my other grandchildren would enjoy a personalized gift of recipes from me as well.  Each set will be different, depending on their tastes!  Hopefully they will realize the love I put into the gift as I show that I know and appreciate each one of them.  
​     I hope you like this idea, too!