Last year, my husband was overseas and unable to be home with us. I asked him to mail us a cutout of his handprint so we could use it for a project. I decided to make a Handprint Christmas Tree with each of our handprints and let my son decorate it. (See last year’s tree here.)
My youngest was just about a month old when we did this project and my oldest too has grown a lot since, so I wanted to try it again this year to see how our tree grew over the year! It definitely has and it makes for a fun keepsake that we can frame and hang on the wall. This project would also be fun as you add new children to your family!
What You Need
- Green construction paper (a few sheets, depending on the number of handprints)
- Crayon or pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
- White paint
- Paint brush
- Finger paints, glitter glue, and anything else your child may like to decorate with
- Star sticker or star cutout
- Brown construction paper (optional)
- Something to frame the tree (optional)
Directions
1. Using the crayon or pencil, trace one hand for each family member. We each traced our left hand. Of course, we needed to help the kids with theirs.
2. Draw a peak at the the base/wrist of each handprint.
3. Cut out the handprints and paint a little white on the tip of each finger to look like snow on the branches. This will help you to be able to see where each handprint ends as well.
4. Layer the handprints from largest on the bottom to smallest on the top. Do a dry run first to see where you want them then glue them together.
5. Let your child decorate the tree. We used red finger paint to make ornaments and glitter glue for garland and topped the tree with a star sticker.
6. Before moving further, make sure you allow the decorations to dry completely.
7. If you choose to frame your artwork, tape or glue the tree to the center of a piece of brown construction paper. This will also be a great guide to see how your tree has grown over the years.
8. Frame your tree and proudly display for Christmas!
Bonus tip: This tree would make a lovely gift to grandparents and you can even add last year’s tree to the frame to show the progression. Be sure to add the year somewhere so you know when it is from!
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-Where will you hang your wall art? Be sure to take pictures and share them on my Facebook page!
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