Create Your Own Holiday Cards

• Glitter is always a favorite with children. To create a snowy scene, draw a rolling hill, glue on a simple evergreen tree shape, and let your child dot the card with small blobs of glue. Then help him shake silver glitter over it and enjoy the sparkle.


• Use treasures from your yard or refrigerator to create beautiful nature prints. Dip or paint one side of the object and then press or roll onto the card. Cool prints can come from an apple sliced horizontally, corn on the cob, leaves, shells, pine needles, and pinecones. Be creative!


• If you really cringe at the thought of letting your kids go freeform, consider downloading holiday-themed coloring pages and letting them go wild with them. Then, simply cut out the central image and glue to heavy card stock, write your message on the inside, and voila! You have a homemade card without the mess.


• What kid doesn't love making those ubiquitous white snowflakes? Set her to work creating each individual masterpiece while you address envelopes. Then, help her paste (don't use regular glue, which will bulge out through the holes) a snowflake to the front of the card. For extra pizzazz, use black paper as the background. Simply paste a white paper inside for writing your message.

An Event to Enjoy

To get maximum creativity, participation, and fun out of making cards together, plan your card-making day as a precursor to all of the upcoming holiday parties. Ask the kids what makes them think of the holidays. Hot chocolate? Stir up that first mug of steaming deliciousness. Cookies? Throw some ready-to-bake cookies in the oven for that home-baked goodness without the work. Christmas carols? Get out the CDs that have been gathering dust since last January and enjoy singing along.

If you plan to send a family newsletter in your cards, this is also a great time to ask your kids what they'd like to share with family and friends. You might have forgotten about your son's big game-winning goal in spring soccer, but he hasn't. And your toddler may be anxious to let everyone know how much she loves her new big-girl bed. Give everyone a chance to share what they remember about the past year, and your newsletter will practically write itself.

Instead of viewing holiday cards as a solitary event, done grudgingly after the kids are in bed, try doing it together as a fun tradition that your kids (and you!) will actually look forward to each year.