My 2-year-old daughter has recently discovered the wonderful world of art. Give her a box of crayons and some paper, and she’ll create for you a fantastic toddler masterpiece. And if you turn your back on her for more than two minutes, she’ll also create some colorful murals on the wall…and on a chair or two…and, most recently, in the bathroom sink. (My mother calls this “payback” – apparently she hasn’t forgotten what I did to a few good walls in the family homestead back in my younger years.)
These paper handprint flowers make nice keepsakes for Grandma.
Photo Credit: Jenny Hooks
Bring a special touch to your holiday table settings with kid-made place.
Photo Credit: Jenny Hooks
Wanting to encourage my child’s newfound love of art – while saving what’s left of our furniture – I now try to come up with little craft ideas that we can do together. Our most recent project – originally created in the spirit of spring – turned out to be a great holiday craft that parents can do with their toddlers and school-aged kids alike.
These flowerpot place cards are fun and easy to make, and they’ll bring a special touch to your Passover or Easter dinner table. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Colored construction paper
- Crayons, markers, paint (your medium of choice)
- Scissors
- Tape or glue
- Green pipe cleaners
- Small terra-cotta pots (found at your local craft store or garden center)
- Puffy paint or paint pens (or something else appropriate for decorating pots)
- Floral or plastic foam
- Basket grass
Directions
- Trace your child’s hand on the construction paper, cut it out and have him or her decorate their handprint on both sides of the paper. (If you have a toddler decorating the handprint, I recommend cutting out the hand after the decorating process – less chance of marker-meeting-table that way.)
- Fold the ends of the palm heel together at the base, creating a little cone at the bottom of the handprint. Glue or tape together.
- Curl the fingers of the handprint back, using your own fingers or a pencil. (Now say hello to your child’s lily bloom.)
- Gently push a green pipe cleaner down the center of the flower to create the lily’s stem. (Use an extra piece of pipe cleaner to create leaves around the stem.)
- Put the flower aside. Using the puffy paint or paint pens, decorate the little terra-cotta pots, including the name of each dinner guest on each pot. (This part’s particularly fun for the older kids.) Set pots to the side to thoroughly dry.
- After the pots have dried, cut out a small piece of foam and put it in the bottom of each pot. Stick your pipe cleaner flower stem in the foam, then cover the top with basket grass.
And there you have it – a very fun and cute craft that not only keeps the kids busy, it makes a nice grandchild keepsake for Grandma and Grandpa to take home with them at the end of your holiday dinner.
Celebrating the holidays with your family and friends is a special time, and getting the kids involved in the preparations makes the celebration that much more special. My daughter may only be 2, but my lil’ budding artist sure loved decorating her handprints and watching them turn into flowers. (And hey, I loved that she was no longer decorating the tables and chairs…so everybody wins!)
