Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Charleston, SC

There are those that craft with their kids, and there are those who would rather get poked in the eye with a hot fork than put glue onto googly eyes for a little creativity.  I happen to lean pretty far to the crafty side of things, and I'm convinced that even the sworn non-crafters among us can handle making these easy card ideas with kids.

Seriously: keep it simple, and everyone can get in on the homemade card fun.

Little Picasso: Abstract shapes

For this project, you'll need a variety of colored paper, scissors, and a glue stick.

Cut (or have an older child cut) a variety of geometric shapes in holiday colors.  For instance, for Christmas you might cut green triangles, brown rectangles, red circles, and gold stars.  Fold a piece of paper into a card, and then let your child arrange the shapes in whatever manner he likes on the front of the card.  Don't worry about placing them into a cohesive image -- just play.  Even if the shapes go off of the edge, you can trim them down later.  The shapes and colors will convey the theme, and the arrangement will be unique! 

Add stickers, written messages, and glitter as desired.  (Warning: glitter only for those who can tolerate finding shiny flecks from now until summer.)

Potato Stampers, Holiday Style
 
You'll need a potato and a knife or cookie cutter, paint and paint brushes, and paper for this card.

Slice a potato in half and use a knife or cookie cutter to carve a shape into the cut surface.  Cut away all of the potato around your shape, leaving a raised "stamp."  Let your child paint the stamp with paint and stamp it onto the paper card.

One hint: limit their color choices to those that go best with your holiday theme if you want them to look traditional.  If you don't care, hot pink menorahs it is!

Keep it minimalist with a single, centered image or play with multiple stamps.  Experiment with paint amounts, overlapping images, and colored backgrounds.  Use paintbrushes (or fingers!) to add detail.

Snowflake Squares

This card option requires a little more precision and a lot more cutting with scissors and is probably best suited to older kids  (4+).  You'll need paper, scissors and a glue stick or regular glue with a paint brush.

Cut your paper so that it folds in half to make a square (5x5 inches is probably good).  Cut a single sheet square of the same size or slightly smaller.  Fold that sheet in half several times, and then cut small shapes on the fold to create a snowflake.  Play around with different folding methods (straight versus on the diagonal) and see how it impacts the final shape of the snowflake.  Point out the symmetry. 

Once the snowflake is cut, spread glue onto the back and stick it onto the square card.  Try out different combinations of paper: a white snowflake on a printed card, a blue print snowflake on a silver card, stripes on polka dots, whatever suits you.

Of course, you can take any of these ideas, use a single rectangle or large oval instead of a card, and turn it into an ornament for the tree.  The potato stamper also works brilliantly for dressing up plain wrapping paper.

Now, get crafting!