Personalize homemade or store-bought sock monkeys for goofy gift-giving!
I decided to make homemade Christmas presents for my sister and her family this year, because they appreciate that sort of thing (not everyone does!). After much debate, I came up with making everyone their own, personalized sock monkey. I’d always wanted to make a sock monkey, but thought they’d be difficult and time consuming. Guess what? Not so! Even with my limited sewing skills, and the sketchy directions, they were pretty easy. Each one did take about two hours,but I did most of the work while watching Christmas specials on T.V. Way better than battling crowds at the mall if you ask me!
Also, kids can get involved with helping to make the monkey, but even more so in personalizing it. Let your kids help by cutting a fleece scarf, adding a funny button or sticking on a name tag.
Should you be monkey-inspired as well (maybe for next year), you can find directions online. Type Red Heel Sock Monkey into a search engine and you will find several sites with the original directions. Of course the monkeys are best when you use Red Heel Socks, which you can find online, but you can use any socks, really. I saw some super cute Paul Frank sock monkeys made out of thin pink and blue socks at a store in the mall the other day.
If you don’t think you want to sew your own monkey, you can buy them many places online and personalize let the kids personalize them. A few ideas:
1. Add a necklace around the neck and it’s a double gift!
2. Make a button or name tag that says “I (heart) Tom” or whatever the name of the recipient is.
3. Make a simple felt cape for a superhero monkey.
4. Cut a scarf out of felt or fleece and wrap around the neck.
5. Buy a tiny Santa hat at the dollar store and add some cotton or batting to make a beard.
If monkeys made of hosiery aren’t your thing, try personalizing any kind of stuffed animal for a one-of-a-kind gift.