(Donna Erickson)

It's a new puppy! It's a soft toy! It's a draftbuster! Yes indeed, it's all three, and the adorable soft puppy will love to come into your home to keep some of fall's and winter's chilly drafts from breezing through doorway cracks and windows.

It's super easy to make, practical to use and fun to give for a holiday gift. Make a litter! No matter where the people on your gift list live, they'll love to bring one into their home.

Here's the stuff you'll need:

  • A pair of new, long tube socks

  • Scraps of fabric, fiberfill or outgrown leggings and tights with elastic waistbands removed for filling

  • Needle and thread in the color of the tube socks

  • Decorative craft supplies, such as buttons, felt, pompoms, ribbon and fabric paint

    Here's the fun activity for adults and kids to do together:

    1. Stuff the two tube socks with scraps of filling material. Show your child how to place the filling all the way to the toe end of each sock first and continue to fill until it almost reaches the cuff area.

    2. Sew the socks together at the cuffs (overlap them an inch or two) with a whipstitch to form a long tube.

    Extra tip: If you are making it to fit snuggly in a windowsill, measure the length of the space first. Fill the socks to equal the total length of the draftbuster when the two socks are combined at the cuffs.

    3. Create the head of your puppy. First, sew large buttons on one end to make eyes. We added two tiny

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    blue buttons on top of the center holes of two white buttons and sewed them together first before attaching to the face. Sew or glue on felt for floppy ears, pompoms for a nose. Create a mouth with fabric paint. Tie on a bright ribbon to make a collar. Add a felt tail, too.

    Give your puppy a name and tuck it in a windowsill or along the bottom of a closed door to help keep out a chilly draft. Or, if you are giving a puppy or a litter of puppies away for homemade holiday gifts, add a nametag to the collar ribbon with puppy care instructions.

    Note: This craft and the completed puppy contain small materials that are potential hazards for children 4 and younger.

    Donna Erickson's television series, "Donna's Day," is airing on public television at 7:30 a.m. Fridays on tptLife on channels 13 and 17. Sign up for Donna's e-newsletter at donnasday.com.