Christmas Cards for Kids to Make
3 December 2009
Author: Catherine Matthews-Scanlon
Teach your children the importance of sending cards for special holidays. Having them help you each year as you sit down to work on your holiday cards is a great way to involve them and get them excited about creating cards. Plan a few Christmas cards for kids to make and encourage them to make a list of special friends, teachers and other people who should receive these one-of-a-kind handmade cards. As you shop for craft supplies for your holiday crafts, allow the children to purchase a few embellishments and special papers with which to make their cards, they will be anxious to get started when they get home. Make sure they stick with card making by helping them come up with a plan that will be easy for them to continue throughout the year.
Making cards doesn’t have to be a hard project for you or your child. Paper punches, pre-made embellishments and scraps of paper can be brought together using non-toxic adhesives and glues that most young children can use easily. Once your child has a card design in mind, grab the appropriate tools and give them a quick lesson on safety and the best way to use each tool and set them free to get to work.
Let your 3 to 4 year old have free reign over your holiday scraps and left over chipboard embellishments to make a simple, yet pretty card. Helping with adhesive and a 3D-Dot or two would be appropriate at this age group.
For a little messier project that those 5 to 7 years old will love; grab the glitter and a plain pre-cut chipboard shape. Cover the shape with glitter glue and sprinkle with glitter. Add a simple computer generated holiday sentiment and glue or staple to coordinating patterned paper.
As important as it is to send holiday cards, it’s equally important to send a thank you for the special gift they received. I can’t think of a better thank you to send than one made by hand. For those 7 to 9 years old to make a quick and easy thank you card, grab some coordinating scraps of patterned paper, a 1 3/8 inch square (or circle) nesting paper punch and have them punch six of their favorite designs out from the paper. Adhere them in a grid on coordinating cardstock, add a simple hand written, stamped or computer generated “Thank You” and you’ve got the perfect thank you card for your child to send.
Tween cards can be a little more advanced as this age group has a lot more hand dexterity and coordination. Teach them to stamp and emboss a holiday image. Embellish by hand coloring with chalks or colored pencils. To add to the card, punch the image using a plain circle or square punch and mat on a scalloped punch that is slightly larger. Attach a ribbon to some coordinating patterned paper and adhere the stamped embellishment over it and voila, your 10 to 12 year old just made a beautiful holiday card.
With a little patience you can teach your child to make their own cards and love it as much as you do. They’ll love spending the time with you working on their own project! Share your ideas for special handmade thank you's and Christmas cards for kids to make in the gallery!