The holiday season brings out the spirit of keepsake crafts, and there are few things as precious as the projects made with love and handprints. We’ve compiled a few ideas for putting kids’ hands and feet to work this year and creating fun, unique decorations around the home. Read on and find the instructions for some holiday crafts to do with the young children in your life.
Five Handprint and Footprint Holiday Crafts for Young Kids
The best part about handprint and footprint crafts is that, much like a picture, they capture a moment in a child’s life and become a memory and a keepsake. Use these ideas as inspiration for a fun holiday project.
Kids Handprint Ornament
A great way to preserve a child’s handprint is on a plastic or glass ornament bulb. There are a variety of ways to decorate the handprint on an ornament, but placing it there requires paint and a bit of creativity. Have the child choose paint colors for their handprint ornament, or use specific colors if the decoration is intended to be a tree, snowman, or snowflake. Be careful not to let the paint dry or use too much paint, as it will make the handprint look sloppy.
Once the hand is covered in paint, quickly have the child place it on the ornament bulb. Then use a permanent marker to write their name and the year on the bulb. Allow the handprint to dry completely before adding any additional decoration or details.
To paint the hand on the ornament bulb:
- Glass or Plastic Ornament Bulbs
- Acrylic Paint (Red, Green, White, Brown)
- Permanent Marker
- Paint brushes
- Paint Palette
- Paper Plate
Holiday Handprint Wreath
Get your kids’ hands working this holiday season with this festive, personal handprint wreath. Paper, scissors, and creativity make this wreath stand out, and it’s a craft for kids as young as preschool, and as old as the holiday spirit lives on! Trace a dinner or salad plate and use the shape to cut out a ring as the base for the wreath (the size and width depend on the child’s hand). Using two different shades of green cardstock or construction paper, have the kids trace their hands with fingers slightly spread approximately 24 times. Try to fit as many as you can on each sheet of paper to avoid waste.
After tracing is complete, they cut out all the handprints and sort them by color. Once the handprints are done, they will need to trace 15 quarter-sized circles onto red paper and cut them out for the berries. Compile all the parts and get ready to start gluing. Work around the wreath base, applying the handprint cutouts with a little liquid glue, varying the shade of green and direction of the hand. Finally, add the red circles as berries in groups of three around the wreath, and tie a ribbon around the top to use as a hanger!
To make the handprint wreath:
- Light Green and Dark Green Construction Paper
- Red Construction Paper
- Scissors
- School or Tacky Glue
- A Pencil
- Festive Ribbon
Handprint Holiday Mittens
This craft is quick and simple, but still makes a great decorative keepsake for the holiday season. You’ll need construction paper, paint, and some festive creativity to put this craft together. Start by giving young kids a mitten-shaped paper cutout, or by having them draw a mitten shape on a piece of construction paper. They’ll also need a paper “cuff” for the mitten, or cut one out themselves.
Then, with a little help, have the kids paint their hand white and place it onto the mitten with their thumb lining up with the thumb spot. After washing their hands and letting the handprint dry, they can glue the cuff to the bottom of the mitten and get help writing their name and the year on the cuff. For added fun and fine-motor practice, use a hole punch around the edge of the mitten and weave yarn around it!
To make handprint mittens:
- Red and Green Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- White Paint
- Paint brushes
- Markers
- (Optional: Hole Punch, Yarn)
Paper Plate Rudolf
This craft for young kids can make a large Christmas ornament or a cute piece of holiday wall decor. Get out some crayons and markers, a paper plate, and brown felt to make a personal reindeer with handprints for antlers! Start by tracing both of the child’s hands onto a piece of stiff brown felt and cutting them out to set aside as antlers. Leave a little extra felt at the bottom of the felt handprint to attach with glue. Then have the kids color and draw with brown crayons and markers on the paper plate. Once they’ve colored the plate to their heart’s content, help them glue two wiggle eyes and a red puff-ball nose onto the center of the plate to make Rudolf. The final touch is helping them glue their handprint antlers onto the back of the plate so they stick up. Use a hole punch or scissors to puncture the top of the plate and thread and tie a ribbon through the hole to make a hanger.
To make a paper plate Rudolf:
- Brown Felt
- Paper Plate
- Wiggle Eyes
- Red Puff Balls
- Crayons or Markers
- Ribbon
- School or Tacky Glue
- Scissors
Footprint Holiday Tree
This holiday craft is a little tricky because it involves painting feet, so it’s best to do it outdoors or in a space that’s easy to clean. Get the paintbrushes and paint out, and hope no one is too ticklish to make this adorable holiday keepsake.
Place the painting surface (construction paper, canvas, etc.) onto the floor, and pour out red and green paint. Paint the child’s foot green, leaving only the toes, and paint the toes red. Then press their feet, one at a time, onto the middle of the paper or canvas with the heels very close or on top of each other and the toes facing out. Once the paint has fully dried, use a marker or paint to add a tree stump and a star to the tree as the final touches!
To make a footprint holiday tree:
- Canvas or Cardstock Paper
- Green and Red Acrylic Paint
- Paint brushes
- Markers
Holiday Craft Tools and Supplies on Sale Online
If you’re looking for the tools and craft ideas to make this holiday season sparkle, we’ve got everything you need. Whether that means ideas for educational gifts, DIY wrapping paper crafts, or classroom reorganization, School Specialty is the place to go. Check out the blog’s arts and crafts category for more ideas, and shop arts and crafts this month for special holiday pricing.
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