Hanukkah Gift Bags

What You Need:

• Felt squares-available in craft stores
• Complementary colour felt to decorate bags
• Large Sewing Needle
• 1 inch wide ribbon (bag handle)
• Thread in a similar colour to the felt, or complementary colour to stand out
• White glue
• Chocolate coins or other candy (to fill the bags with)

What You Do:

1. To make the bag, have your child take a square of felt and cut it in half so that he has two rectangular strips. He will be using each to make a separate bag.
2. Ask your child to fold one of the strips in half, and sew up the edges that are adjacent to the folded section. Try using a hem stitch: To secure the string, knot your thread and pull it through both pieces of fabric you’re sewing together. Continue sewing by pulling your needle through the same side each time, and then under the loop you’ve just made. Pull it tight –but not too tight—before you pull the needle through fabric again.
3. Once you’ve sewn up each end of the bag, you’re ready to add a handle! Cut a few inches of ribbon, and try introducing you child to sewing by showing him how to sew the ribbon to each edge of the top of the bag.
4. Now it's time for your child to decorate the bag! Using a complementary colour of felt, cut out the outline of a Hanukkah-inspired design like the Star of David. Ask him to glue it onto the front of the bag. Make sure your child lets the glue dry overnight.

Repeat the above steps for every bag your child wants to make! When he's done, he can fill the bags with candy and hand them out to this friends and teachers as gifts.