For the crafty among us, the Christmas season is a veritable nonstop opportunity to dabble in fun projects. And one of the very best ways to put those creative skills to use is to create your very own Christmas cards.
What follows are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. You’ll also find plenty of opportunities to call on the artistry of those little ones you have running around the house. So ready your cutting mat and get ready to partake in some good old-fashioned holiday crafting!
Incorporate the Littlest Ones
When your kids are still a little bit too itty-bitty to help much on the arts and crafts front, you can still incorporate their unique contributions in your do-it-yourself Christmas cards. Not only are the following ideas adorable and fun for the fam, but they are also sure to delight all the loved ones who receive them.
What truly sets your little ones apart — and we aren’t talking about their one-of-a-kind personalities. Yep, finger and toe prints! So when your kids can’t do a whole bunch beyond eating, fuss and sit there looking all adorable, you can help them spread holiday cheer by dipping their little fingers and toes in paint (either tempera or acrylic will work wonderfully) and smooshing them onto your holiday cards.
Of course, grandma and grandpa will cherish these little prints, no matter how seemingly random and sloppily they are applied. But you can up the artistry quotient by applying the paint prints to Christmas tree cutouts, connecting a series of colorful dots so they look like string lights or you can have little prints shining like stars in a wintry night sky. You get the idea. Let those little prints inspire.
And if you have older kids ready for the task, you can have them handle the slightly more advanced aspects of the card design. Collaboration efforts among the grandkids will certainly bring a joyful tear or two to gram and gramps.
The Closest Thing to DIY Mass Production
Okay, maybe we’re using the term “mass production” a little loosely here, but things can indeed get a little tedious on the DIY side if you’re looking to share your cute card idea with a long list of friends and family.
Here’s the quick shortcut to assembly line bliss: Craft a cute design and make copies! Perhaps an idea along these lines has already occurred to you, but you felt like it was sort of maybe cheating, so you talked yourself out of it. We’re here to tell you there’s no shame in the copy game.
This is also a really nice way to share Christmas art crafted by your little ones. And if you have a sizable brood, consider cutting and pasting their individual creations to make a little family collage.
A note here and a reminder: We aren’t necessarily aiming for perfection. If you go with the collage idea, it’s absolutely fine whether it has a thrown-together quality or you’ve gone about it with craft knife precision. Whatever works for you works for your DIY cards! You can do no wrong!
Futuristic 3D Christmas Trees
Busted again. We’ll admit to using the term “futuristic” in the most tongue-in-cheek way possible. Nonetheless, these 3D pop-up cards are loads of fun. They are also another pretty simple idea to try with your kids.
All you really need here is some construction paper, glue, and some paper-folding skills, which you can brush up on using this tutorial. You’ll basically just need four or five pieces of folded construction paper to represent your tree. Of course, you’ll need to use your craft scissors to cut each piece to be a bit shorter than the next. You’re after that triangular tree shape.
Once the pieces are set, you simply glue them along the central fold of your card.
This may take a little getting used to, but once you get it down, it’s sure to please your kids and the recipients of these fun little cards.
Light It Up!
Perhaps “futuristic” would be a better fit for this idea. Because these days, DIY’ers can send out cards that light up! LED stickers are absolutely sure to delight those junior crafters you’re working with and everyone on your list who receives one of these magical little beauties. Of course, these LED stickers can represent candle flames, Christmas tree lights, the Star of Bethlehem, or whatever creative idea comes to your mind!
Invite Loved Ones Inside Your Home
A caveat here: This idea works best if someone in your family has above-average artistic skills. But when pulled off, the sentiment is one that really warms the hearts. (And don’t forget that basic tenet of DIY crafting that we mentioned before — these do not have to be executed with store-bought perfection. After all, if you wanted them to be flawless, wouldn’t you just buy them from the store?)
Source: Inara Pruskova/ Shutterstock.com
The idea isn’t complicated: The front of your card will look like the front door to a home. If it looks like your front door, all the better! And when the recipient opens it up, they’ll find a lovely sketch of your family. The sketch can be a playful, cartoonish version of your family. Heck, you can even get away with using an actual photo (the photo is sort of cheating, but we will allow it).
As the pandemic has kept (and continues to keep) so many loved ones apart from each other, this card can really produce an outsized emotional impact.
