Tiny little fingers and tiny little toes start to grow faster than we ever thought possible when it comes to kids. I find it’s important to capture this time in our children’s life. Plus, it’s easy to do this by making handprint or footprint gifts!
I love creating different handprint and footprint gifts, and I try to do something new each year. With just a few supplies and 10 minutes, you’ll be able to make these gifts and décor in no time.
Here’s how you can make three of my favorite DIY handprint and footprint Christmas-themed keepsakes:
Mistletoes Footprint Craft
What You’ll Need:
- 8 x 10 Canvas Board
- Non-toxic green and red paint
- Paint brush
- Glue and Ribbon (if you want to hang the canvas)
- Black marker (to write the date on the back)
How to Make:
First, choose a foot! Adults can help paint their child’s foot, but the ticklish should be warned: all bets are off! Paint a nice coating that covers the entire surface of the bottom of the foot, but make sure it’s not too thick to avoid smearing. Gently place the painted foot as flat as possible on the canvas, and press down. As you peel back the foot, you’ll see the design. Tip: Keep both damp and dry paper towels on hand, so you can start to clean up the foot as quick as can be to avoid green footprints making their way to your carpet.
Repeat the process for the second leaf, joining the footprints at the heels. Allow the green paint to dry, then move on to the berries! For the red berries, have kids dip their thumbs in red paint and place and press on the canvas at the heels of the footprint. Voila, mistletoes! Once the piece of fancy footwork is complete, flip the canvas over and add the date and the ages of your child(ren) to remember the time!
Wreath Handprint Craft
What You’ll Need:
- 12 x 12 Canvas Board
- Non-toxic green and red paint
- Paint brush
- Glue and Ribbon
- Black marker (to write the date on the back)
How to Make:
The Wreath Handprint craft features—you guessed it—your kids’ handprints! Similar to the Mistletoes activity, choose a hand to coat in paint, then place and press down onto the canvas. This time, you’ll want to repeat this step eight or so times, going in a circle, with the handprints just slightly touching. You can alternate left and right hands, or make this wreath a collage of handprints from the whole family. Don’t forget the thumbprint red berries! And, finish it off with a ribbon bow on the bottom, which you can adhere with glue once it’s complete.
Reindeer Footprint Craft
What you’ll need:
- 8×10 Canvas Board
- Non-toxic brown paint
- Paint brush
- Glue and Ribbon
- Pom-poms
- Googly eyes
- Black marker
Who knew feet looked so much like reindeer? For this activity, once again adults can help paint their kids’ feet, place and press on the canvas, and wait a bit for everything to dry. Then, use a black marker to draw on some antlers, glue on some googly eyes toward the top, and a pom pom on the heel for the nose (use a red one to make the perfect Rudolph!).
These are special decorations and memories that you’ll cherish every holiday, and the fact that each one only takes about 10 minutes to make is even better. Sure you might get a little messy, but remember to have fun and laugh while you’re making these because those are memories you want to look back on when you see these creations years later.
Have you ever tried to make handprint or footprints keepsakes?
