3 Sensory Christmas Cards for Your Tot to Make and Give

Christmas takes on a whole new air of magic once you have children of your own. Although babies and toddlers don’t necessarily understand the stories and are yet to learn the traditions, they are still mesmerised by the bright lights, entranced by the jolly songs and excited by the rustle of wrapping paper.

To help make Christmas with the newest member of your family extra memorable, we have found 3 fun and easy cards you can make with your little one. These crafts not only create a personal keepsake to give to someone close but they also provide a sensory experience for your tot which will support their learning and understanding of the world.

Cheerio Christmas Tree

Image sourced from http://bit.ly/2gprgWE

What You Will Need

• Green card

• Another piece of card of a different colour; red would be ideal for Christmas

• Scissors (to be kept out of reach from little hands)

• Cheerios

• Pritt-stick or equivalent white glue (also be careful with small children ingesting)

• Paint of various Christmasy colours

• Trays for painting (one for each colour paint you are using)

How To Make It

• Prepare in advance by cutting a Christmas tree shape out of the green card. Fold the other card in half and put both to one side

• Put a dollop of paint into a tray and a handful of Cheerios

• Let your tot push the Cheerios around the tray to get the paint on them (take obvious care not to let your child eat these painted Cheerios!)

• Carefully take the Cheerios out of the tray and put them somewhere safe to dry

• Repeat with other colours

• Once dry, use the white glue to stick the Cheerios on the tree like Christmas baubles

• Glue the back of the tree and stick onto folded card to make a Christmas card

Santa and his Sleigh Prints

Image sourced from http://bit.ly/2frVAO1

What You Will Need

• Card

• Scissors (to be kept out of reach from little hands)

• Green, brown and red paint

• Trays for painting (one for each colour paint you are using)

• Black pen and coloured pens for face

• A black bag or messy mat to protect the floor

• Messy clothes for you and your little one (or no clothes at all for them!)

How to Make It

• Fold the card in preparation

• Put a dollop of green paint in the tray and spread it around

• After ensuring the area is prepared for a child covered in paint, place your child’s bare foot in the paint. Make sure it is covered. For an extra sensory experience, paint onto their foot with a paintbrush

• Carefully print the footprint, side on as in the image of the card above

• Clean the foot before you continue

• Fill a brown tray with paint and repeat the activity as above but this time printing hand prints which will be turned into reindeer

• The final piece of printing is to make Santa. Use red paint and place 3 fingerprints on the slay. Two on top of each other for Santa’s roly poly body and one on top for his hat. Remember, this one needs a gap below for his face

• Use the colouring felts to create Santa’s face

• Use a black pen to fill in the details including the reindeer faces, the antlers, the reins and details on Santa’s face

Paper Plate Manger

Imaged sourced from http://bit.ly/2fuBJkE

What You Will Need

• A3 Card

• Black pen and colours

• Brown paint

• Messy mat or black bag to protect floor

• Old clothes for you and baby when painting

• Paper plate

• Scissors (safety first)

• Glue

• Crepe paper and any additional sensory resources that could be used for inside the manger: grass, leaves, real hay, wool etc..

How to Make It

• Prepare the environment for painting

• Paint the paper plate brown (Allow your tot to use their hands and/or a paintbrush)

• Once it is dry, cut the plate in half

• Take one half and cut the middle away, leaving only the edge

• Stick one edge onto the folded card near the bottom, place it so it looks like the shape of a hill (see above image)

• Stick the other half on top with the flat edge facing upwards; leave space so that the part already stuck protrudes out of the bottom. This is the manger.

• Draw baby Jesus inside

• Let your baby explore the sensory items you have provided to lay in the manger. Stick them onto the card.

Embrace the Christmas Imperfection

Enjoy these special moments with your little one, this time next year your baby will no longer be a baby. They grow so much at this age that these activities should be savoured. Your finished results may not always look quite like you intended and you may find yourself, your little one and your house covered in mess, but we suggest you just surrender to the mess! Embrace the perfect imperfection of it all.

Here at Tots Play, we provide classes all over the country, as well as resources to use at home, and we love the opportunity to help you create more of these precious memories with your own little elves.

For more information on the classes in your area, click here. Alternatively, you could start your own. Click here to find out about our competitive franchise opportunities.

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