Have Your Child Make a Small Vase for the Flowers They Pick for You.

As a mom, I will always, always appreciate taking care of the gift of flowers from my children. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do with a flower that is smaller than a blade of grass and which I am told to keep forever. Until now.

The other day my daughter brought me a bunch of, it seems to me , forget-me-nots . They were tiny and beautiful and she hugged me as she handed them to me. I put them on a table. A few minutes later I was at my table upstairs and heard her call: “Mom, you forgot your flowers.” She gave them to me again.

On my table I am surrounded by small gifts from my children. There’s an aluminum foil figurine, a Sculpey ladybug, some art made from beads that stick to water, you get the idea. So I turned to her and said, “Can you make me a vase?”

She found Play-Doh, and I suggested that she mold it onto her little finger. In a few minutes we had something in the shape of a vase that could more or less stand on its own, just over an inch high. The next day, it was dry enough to hold a few drops of water and support a pint-sized bouquet of flea daisies .

To be clear, this is a disposable item: Play-Doh is not waterproof or particularly durable. When this miniature vase falls apart, we might be able to make a Sculpi vase together. (Sculpey can be sealed to make it waterproof.)

Or maybe I’ll just ask my daughter to make me another clay vase. I will tell her that I want a whole rainbow of them so that I can choose the one that suits my mood every day. After all, making crafts keeps her busy, and I’ll be happy with any gift she gives me.