In this post I’m going to show you how to make a very easy baby handprint Christmas ornament that you can cherish for many more Christmases to come.
Why baby keepsakes are so important to us
The first 12 months of a baby’s life go so quickly and before you know it they are a little toddler, running or crawling around and exploring. You can never get those precious early months of a baby’s life back once they are gone. But you can do your best to preserve their memories with sentimental and meaningful keepsakes.
When we see our baby growing so quickly, it can often leave us with feelings of nostalgia and bittersweet memories of when they were a newborn. Obviously, we can not rewind time, but we can create mementos of sentimental value that remind us just how small our baby was once.
By creating a keepsake, you can always think back to the time when you made something beautiful to celebrate your baby’s very first Christmas. And this can then jog other blissful memories, such as the first time your baby saw Santa or the first time you baked them a gingerbread cookie.
I hope you enjoy crafting your baby’s first Christmas ornament and I wish you and your baby a very Happy Christmas!
What you will need to make your baby handprint Christmas ornament:
- Piece of plain paper
- A piece of cardboard (an old cardboard box is fine)
- A paintbrush
- Mod podge gloss waterbase sealer glue
- 2 different coloured non-toxic baby safe finger paints – you can buy non-toxic paint online or try a taste safe finger paint recipe
- Glitter (this gives the ornament a Christmassy look)
- A hole punch
- Ribbon
- Something to draw 2 circles such as a drawing compass or even 2 different sized mugs
- A pen or pencil
How to make your baby’s first christmas ornament
- Use any colour paint and a paintbrush to paint your baby’s palm.
- Make a handprint on the piece of paper with your baby’s palm (it may take several attempts to get a decent handprint if your baby keeps moving).
- Once you have the perfect handprint, wash your baby’s hand to remove the paint.
- Next, draw a circle on the cardboard that’s big enough to fit your baby’s handprint and a hole for the ribbon inside. You can either use a mug or a drawing compass to make a circle.
- Paint the cardboard circle with a different colour paint – you can either paint the entire circle or just around the outside. Let both the handprint and the painted circle dry.
- Once the paint is dry, draw a smaller circle around the handprint (you want this to fit inside the cardboard circle).
- Cut out the cardboard circle and make a hole on the outside with your hole punch.
- Apply some mod podge glue over the entire cardboard circle and sprinkle some glitter around the outside of it. Shake any excess glitter off.
- Stick the handprint in the middle of the cardboard circle (like the image below).
- You can apply more mod podge clear glue to the handprint as this will help to preserve it. Lay your ornament flat until the glue has finished drying to keep it from bending.
- Once the glue has dried, you now need to thread a piece of ribbon through the hole at the top of the ornament and tie it in a bow.
Quick tip: If you want to take extra care with protecting your ornament you can also apply the mod podge glue to the back of the cardboard.
Time to put your baby handprint Christmas decoration on your Christmas tree
That was a quick and easy craft to make but it has huge sentimental value as now you can look back at your child’s handprint and remember how small and sweet they were as a baby. You can even make it into a more personalized baby Christmas ornament by adding your child’s name right next to their handprint.
By using the mod podge waterbase sealer glue, it helps to prevent your ornament from getting damaged easily so this Christmas handprint ornament should last you many years to come.
If you want more baby Christmas crafts and activities, you may like these to create more happy memories of your baby’s first Christmas:
How To Make A Christmas Salt Dough Ornament
Free Personalized Letter To Santa Template
Free Personalized Letter From Santa Template
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family!
