My Military SavingsChances are you are 1 of 4 different types of Christmas people:
- You don’t do Christmas cards at all. If you receive them, great, but you’re definitely not concerning yourself with sending them. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
- You grab a pack of Christmas cards when you happen to stumble upon them at the store…if you happen to stumble upon them at the store…and you get to them when you get to them. Sometimes a little late, but better late than never is your motto.
- You type up the standard “This Year in Review” newsletter to fill everyone in on what’s been happening with your family and to prevent having to write anything personalized in individual cards, because handwritten letters are so last decade.
- You buy the matching outfits for your spouse and kids and you set up a photo shoot with your dog sitting in the front so you can send family pictures to everyone in your address book this Christmas, because of course all of those third-cousins-by-marriage want to put your photo on their fridge!
So, where did we land…homemade Christmas cards! That’s where it’s at! Let’s keep our kids busy by doing these things ourselves! They can be funny, cute, sweet…whatever you want. I’m going to share with you 2 traditional cards that I made, 1 sentimental card, and 1 funny one. At least I thought it was funny. You tell me what you think!
Fingerprint Lights Card
Supplies:
- White paper or card stock
- Black marker
- Different colored finger paints or non toxic poster paint
Directions:
- Fold your paper in half and using a black marker, draw a bunch of swirls to resemble a strand of Christmas lights laying around.
- Add little black squares along the line where you want to place your “lights”.
- Using different colored paints, stamp your kiddos fingers at each square.
- Add something cutesy about “May your holidays be merry and BRIGHT.
Ornament Card
Supplies:
- White paper or card stock
- Black marker
- Different colored buttons
- Glue
Directions:
- Fold paper in half and set buttons on the paper (stagger them) to get an idea of where you want your ornaments to be placed.
- Above each button, draw a straight black line down from the top of the card. Then add a small black rectangle at the very end of each line and draw an even smaller black square on top of each rectangle. Add a bow a few centimeters above the black square.
- Glue the buttons in place.
Christmas Tree Card
Supplies:
- White paper or card stock
- Different shades of green paper (I used 3 different colors)
- Scissors
- Star table scatter
- Glue
Directions:
- Fold the white paper in half. Cut out different sized triangles out of each different colored green paper. I cut 3 trees out of each (3) different colored papers.
- Glue the trees down starting about halfway up the card. These will be the trees in the very back and as you glue trees on top of them, they appear to be coming closer to you. Dimension, it’s all about dimension.
- I was too excited and forgot to take a photo of the final step, but glue a spangle to the top of each tree!
Reindeer After Dark Card
Supplies:
- Black construction paper or card stock
- Googly eyes
- Red craft ball, or pom pom, or fake berry
- Glue
Directions:
- Fold paper in half.
- Glue sets of googly eyes on the front of black paper.
- Add the red ball, pom pom, or berry underneath one set of eyes.
- Write something cutesy like “Reindeer After Dark.”
The reindeer card is the one that I found funny…in case you were wondering, but I did show it to my mother and her response was, “What, did you run out of noses?”…It took her a second to realize that it was supposed to be RUDOLPH and there is only ONE Rudolph, and he is the one that LIGHTS Santa’s sleigh, which is why his nose GLOWS! So, you know your family better than I do. So, send this card to someone that will “get it.”
There you have it! Save a couple bucks, have a bit of fun, and send some smiles to your loved ones!
Find Out More with My Military Savings and DIY & Crafts!
Jeanine McKelvy
