Appropriate age group(s):
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Estimated time to make this gift:
Approx. 15 min.

Materials:
Dried Catnip, approx. 1 cup. Get the good stuff, primarily dried blossoms and leaves, vs. stem material.

1 plain Kid Sock, no holes, plus
1 "fancy" or colored kid sock, no holes (orphan socks are OK!)

Bathroom Tissue Tube

Spoon

Needle n' Thread OR sewing machine, ready 2 go

Jingle Bell (optional)

Instructions:
Insert the cardboard TP/bath tissue tube deep into the plain sock. Spoon catnip into the sock thru the tube, tamping the herbs down a bit, and slide the tube out when it's full.

If you want to add a Jingle Bell, create a li'l Pocket of sorts inside, just enough to keep the bell sound from being muffled by filling up with Catnip. If the sock's long enough, you might tie a knot in the top, add the bell, and tie another knot. Or, just stitch the bell into an upper corner of the bell, isolating it. (How it Looks is fairly irrelevant, because that plain sock gets stuffed into the Fancy one.)
Stitch or tie the plain sock closed at top.

Insert that stuffed plain sock into the Fancy sock, and hand- stitch or machine stitch the top securely closed. Thatzzit; Cat Toy! Here, Kitty, kitty! ;-)

Other comments or suggestions to consider:
Why two socks? The double thickness seems less apt to rip open in kitty play, while still allowing the cat to enjoy the herbs. Having 2 layers protecting the bell seems prudent, too, because some cats really want to get to that bell!

The cat won't care whether the sock is New, or gently used. Cats would rather have a very Catnippy recycled sock toy than the cutest furry mouse toy in the pet shop. If you don't have socks available, square or circular fabric Pillows, similar to home-made beanbags, are still highly pleasing. Those, too, could have holiday or bright colors. I'd still advocate the double thickness, though.

If the toy is for a pet Stocking, left unattended thru the night, and you don't want the stocking torn up, try putting the toy inside a clean margarine tub so the cat won't smell it. Most plastic bags can't seal in the scent, and you don't want Kitty chewing those!

Children, even young ones, can help spoon the catnip into the toys. If you place your basic materials on a tray or inside a dishpan, and work over that, you'll catch whatever falls, and have less waste...although the cat in the house might prefer that you let the herbs fall where they may.

Catnip has a very Musty odor. Very young cats may be non-reactive to it; a small percentage never have any fondness for it. Generally, the reactions are Playful. The cats are reacting to an oil in the herb, which some companies have isolated into aerosol cans, but our cats vastly prefer the Real Deal. My daughter's science project last year involved Catnip Comparisons; her project did very well at science fair. We learned then that when a cat has a choice between Fresh green catnip without flowers (it only flowers part of the year), and dried herb that's got lots of flowers, it will prefer the dry! That's good to know, considering the high cost of the plants at the store, and the fact that cats will graze them down to a stub, given the opportunity. Just don't waste your time and money on the kind of catnip herbs commonly sold at the grocery store; they tend to be mainly Stem material, pulverized to near powder, and our cats walk away from it, prefering Nothing to that.

At our house in the wee hours of Dec. 25, not a creature was stirring except for mommabear and our nearly 13 year old cat, who sensed that I might neglect to make the Cat Toys, a long-standing tradition. The cat nestled right under the tree and fixed those Cat Eyes on me as if to say, "you know how much you love me, and it only takes a few minutes! Sit down and do it, or you won't sleep anyway!" She was right, of course. Cat Toy, times 2. One toy is more stuffed than the other, because I didn't measure it out, but one cat loves to play with the Top Knot on the tied sock, and it helps us tell which toy is which...as if the cats care.
A day after holidays (or very near them) is the time of best prices on goofy holiday socks.
Ordinary kids' socks are just great, though! Those designer baby socks only fit so long, anyway, and often the washer "eats" half of a pair.