How to Make a Love Jar for a Mother’s Day Gift

Every year, I work with the grandkids to make a Mother’s Day gift for their mom. She’s a minimalist so I try to keep it simple–nothing too big, nothing too bulky.

This year, I was mulling about what the kids could do and I came up with a love jar. Kids would decorate the jar and fill it with slips of paper, writing loving thoughts about mom and making promises of various services they would perform for mom.

Materials Needed:

• Small glass jar
• Construction paper and/or cardstock
• Decorations such as artificial flowers, ribbons, buttons, “jewels,” fabric scraps, rickrack, and lace
• White school glue

Tools Needed:

• Scissors
• Low-temperature mini glue gun
• Foam glue brush or an inexpensive brush for apply glue

Prepare the Jar

If the jar has a label, try to soak off the label in a bowl of warm water. If the label softens but doesn’t peel off, use a paring knife to gently scrape off the paper.

To remove glue, put a dab of peanut butter on a small bit of paper towel, and rub the peanut butter into the glue. Peanut butter works like magic to dissolve most glue. (A trick my mom taught me.)

Scrub off any remaining bits of glue using a dry paper towel or the scrubber side of a sponge. Wash and dry the jar.

Decorating the Jar

First, make a base for the decorations by tracing a circle using the cover of the jar; cut it out. Cardstock is best because it’s sturdy, but construction paper will work, too. It’s much easier to secure decorations to the paper than on a slick metal cover.

Next, glue decorations onto the paper circle using a glue gun. When the decorations are done to the child’s liking, use white glue to glue the paper circle onto the jar lid.

Kids can add other decorations to the jar itself. Be careful about decorating the screw part of the jar lid because it may make the jar difficult to open to retrieve the paper strips inside.

Make the Paper Strips

Why do you love mommy? How much do you love mommy? What will you do for mommy? Brainstorm ideas with the child first.

Rule a sheet of construction paper to make the slips that will go in the jar, but don’t cut them out. It’s easier for young children to write on one sheet of paper than on little slips. Cut up the slips afterwards. Fold and insert in the jar.

Present the Mother’s Day Gift

When the chidren’s mom receives the gift, she’ll enjoy pulling out and reading the sentiments, one by one. Mom can use the jar later, to hold coins, paper clips, cotton balls, or other small items.

More Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Here are some other ideas for Mother’s Day. These are gifts the kids and I made for their mom over the years. They’re all small items that mom can keep, without taking up too much space in the home.

Make a Video Card on a Flash Drive

Last year I made a short video of photographs of the children taken that year, along with video snippets of the children’s Mother’s Day wishes. I uploaded it on my private section of YouTube, and also stored it on a flash drive. We viewed the video on Mother’s Day.

To package the flash drive, we made a gift box from a toilet paper roll and covered it with origami paper. This is a great way to present any small gift. Choosing an elegant origami design will give the gift a luxurious image. Make a small origami crane to add the final, finishing touch.

Make a Spice Jar Vase

I was just looking for a way to recycle spice jars when we turned them into vases last summer. But they’d be great as a Mother’s Day gift. Kids can decorate the jar and fill with a few flowers. The vase can also sit on a breakfast tray if the kids are making mom breakfast in bed.

Make Photo Magnets

This was another minimalist Mother’s Day gift idea. While I bought a kit of ceramic magnets with glass cabochons to make the gift, you can also use small jar covers, insert a photo inside the lid, and glue on a magnet to the back of the lid with a hot glue gun.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, grandmothers, aunts, friends, and everyone who has supported and nurtured children. it’s the best and most rewarding “job” there is.

By the time this story posts, I’ll be on vacation in Japan. But I’ve prepared new features for the time I’m away, so please continue to come back every Wednesday for a new post. Next week: tips for traveling with kids.

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