Are you looking for a little something to cheer up some kids that have been cooped up inside waaaaay too long? Here’s a fun idea for making packets out of paper and sticking a little surprise inside. Its a sure way to liven up an otherwise boring day. Or a way to send some little surprises to those grand kids you can’t be with right now…which is what I’m doing with the ones I’ve made. 🙂
Let’s start out with a piece of paper, scissors and glue. Your paper can have a design on it or just be plain or solid colored. You can draw pictures, make designs or add messages to them. I decided to use some white printer paper and some scrap booking paper I had on hand. Depending on the item you would like to hide inside, how big you need to make the starting piece of paper. This one I think started out at 6″ x 8″. If you cut a piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper in half to make it 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, it makes a nice sized packet.
Put a line of glue across one of the shorter ends.
Bring the other shorter end around so your paper forms a tube and glue the two ends together. Press it flat with the glued line in the center of the side. Like this picture…
It doesn’t matter if it’s exactly in the middle or not. Next fold in both long edges approximately 1/4″ or a little more and crease. Again, no need to be exact. Side #1…
And side #2 is folded up too.
Working with one of the folded sides at a time, open the folded edge up.
You’ll see 3 creases…the 2 creases on the outside edges need to be folded “out” and the center crease needs to fold “in”. It’s a little hard to explain this way, but hopefully the next two pictures will help you see what I’m trying to explain.
Do that for both folded sides. This makes your packet able to hold something inside it. Next apply a thin line of glue to ONE of the open ends.
Press that end closed and hold for a few seconds while the glue starts to work.
Slide your surprise inside the open end. Here are a few ideas that I came up with to use for surprises. Stickers…
Granola bar…
Small candy bars…
Color with water pages and a few Q-tips to use for painting…
Just fold the color with water page and it will fit nicely inside your packet along with the Q-tips.
How about a package of hot chocolate mix? I folded the end in on them to make them fit inside better.
Maybe some pom poms or pipe cleaners…
For older kids you might use a Sudoku puzzle page or another type of puzzle sheet. Gift cards would be awesome! Once you have your surprise inside, glue the other end closed. If you like, you can cut the ends with scrap booking scissors to give it a more finished look.
I added one more twist to my packets by writing a message on the outside of something the kids need to do before they can open the packet. For instance…”Sing a song”, “Do a somersault”, “Clap your hands”, “Hop on one foot”, “Do 5 jumping jacks”, or “Run in slow motion”. You can tailor the message to fit the age of the child you’re making the paper packets for.
Hope this craft will brighten your day! Thanks for visiting! 🙂
The Kids Niche 