Gift Guide 
What You’ll Need
- Dot stickers
- Small terra-cotta pots
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
- White glue
- Scissors
- Paper baking cups
- Seed-starting medium
- Seeds
What to Do
To make polka-dot pots:
- Firmly press some dot stickers on a pot.
- Cover the entire pot with acrylic paint. Allow it to dry overnight.
- Remove the stickers to reveal your polka-dot pattern.
To make decoupage pots:
- Cover a pot with acrylic paint. Allow it to dry overnight.
- Mix together equal amounts of white glue and water.
- Cut paper baking cups into small pieces.
- Put white glue on the pieces and attach them to the pot.
- Use a clean paintbrush to coat the pot with the watered-down glue. Let it dry completely.
To plant seeds: Fill flowerpots with seed-starting medium. Press seeds into soil, water lightly, and set in a sunny window until they germinate. Bring the pots outside as the plants grow stronger.
Extend the Fun
For younger kids: Instead of dots, press alphabet stickers on a pot. Spell out your kid's name, your family’s last name, or the name of a flower (marigold, alyssum, begonia) or herb (parsley, dill, chives, basil). Shop for seeds that begin with the same letter as your first name: Peter plants parsley, Rishi plants radishes, Luis plants lettuce. Spell out the name of your cat and plant catnip.
For older kids: For a fancier decoupage pot, cut pictures from magazines. Glue to the painted pot as above; coat with the glue-water mix. Plant basil or parsley in a decorated pot and give it to a favorite relative or teacher at the end of the school year. It’s a gift they’ll appreciate!
