My husband’s brother has six young kids.  I like to make them a little something if we see them over the summer, and while I’d like to make separate gifts for each, I often don’t have the time.  It’s also challenge to think of something that will fit their various ages, but I think this one is about as good as it gets.

Ayumi at Pink Penguin has a GREAT tutorial for a lunch bag.  It’s just so freaking cute, and with the sturdy handles and compact size I thought it made a nice, kid friendly storage tote, too.

The bag is filled with ten numbered bean bags.  (The tutorial on Chez Beeper has easy instructions and includes a nice number template.)  I showed my husband and he said, “Yeah, but what do you do with it?”  So I took it to my thirteen year old daughter, who peeked in the bag and smiled when she saw the bean bags.  She pulled them out, one by one, and lined them up in order.  She flipped them over to see the bright backs, tossed them from hand to hand, then dropped them back in the bag and smiled again.

Yeah, I think the kids will understand.

If they were a little older (and if I had a little more time, and didn’t need to worry about the littler ones trying to carry the weight of the tote), I might have made two sets of numbers and some math symbol bean bags.  Alphabet bean bags might be a good idea, too!