This was one of my favorite holiday crafts I did with my girls when they were little… a snapshot in time with their handprints and one I hang on our walls every year! Hopefully you’ll cherish it as much as I did. {PS… it makes a great gift for parents or grandparents 😉}

Materials Needed:

• paper
• brown &/or green tempera paint
• brown paper
• color paper scraps
• hole punch
• black fine-tipped marker/pen
• paintbrush (wide tipped one works best)
• scissors
• glue

Directions:

1. cover the hand with paint using a paintbrush – green if doing the tree, brown for the deer/moose
2. if you’re making the tree have the child hold all their fingers together & slowly press the hand down with fingers facing the top of the paper.
3. If you’re making either of the animals, have them spread their fingers apart & keep their thumb as straight as possible with fingers facing the bottom of the page
4. >> TIP: kids tend to move their hand as soon as it touches the paper so be sure to hold the top of it with them to press it down and remind them to lift it straight off the page like a helicopter rising
5. While the handprint dries, use the hole punch to cut out various colors of paper- shape them into bulbs for Christmas lights or leave them as is for ornaments.
6. Cut out a star for the top of the tree and antlers, hooves, head & ears for the animals. I also cut out white almond shapes for the eyes & used the pen for the pupils. {I used my cricket machine to cut out the deer antlers… just for a fancier touch then I was able to do by hand}
7. I liked the look of ripped paper for the tail… to me it looked more hair-like, but you can use scissors if you prefer
8. When the handprint is dried, you can begin attaching the pieces you just cut out: trunk, star, and light string for the tree; hooves, tail, head, ears, antlers & eyes for the deer/moose.
9. Use your pen for the final touches- eyeballs, nostrils, ornament & light strings, & of course name and year. Plus any additional ideas you have to personalize the craft.

That’s it! You could also use one long piece of paper to make a herd if you want to capture the entire family’s handprints!

Holiday wishes to you and yours & happy holiday crafting!