It seems like J + j are being invited to more "boys only" birthday parties. I admit this makes me a little sad because I love putting together handmade gifts for their "girl" friends. Although I would love to make gifts for all their "boy" friends, realistically I pick and choose depending on the child and how much time I have. Last month j's best buddy at school was having a birthday party and I was excited because I knew this boy loves arts + crafts [my kind of boy!]. After consulting with j we decided to put together a little artist's bag for him. We picked out a sketchpad, our favorite new "doodles at lunch" tear-off place mats [my boys don't use them as place mats, but love that each place mat teaches you how to draw something new], ruler, alphabet stencil and colored pencils.
I made a simple drawstring bag to put all the art supplies in. One of these days I am going to make a stack of drawstring bags so I won't be sewing the bag 10 minutes before we have to leave for the party [this happens way too often]. Anyways, the birthday boy loved his gift and that's all that matters, right?