Christmas Gifts for Kids to Make – Fingerprint Frames

Oh how I love to use the children’s fingerprints and hand prints to create in the classroom! This particular creation is one of my favorite Christmas gifts for kids to make their parents. It’s a simple frame with the kids’ fingerprints and photos – what’s not to love?

Originally published on December 16, 2014.

Christmas gifts for kids to make their parents

No, this isn’t a completely original idea! Children’s fingerprints have been used to create Christmas lights for many years. In fact, I’d seen a picture floating around Pinterest that inspired me to wrap the kiddos in lights for the picture to go inside this frame. Unfortunately, the pin only led to a photo so I don’t have a source to cite. If I ever find it, I’ll be sure to include it here!

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Materials
Wooden frames to house 4×6 photos (I got mine at a local craft store for $1 each)
Acrylic paint (we used white, blue, green, orange, and red)
Christmas lights
Santa hat
Camera

Directions for the frame
1. Have the children paint the frame white. One coat worked well for us, but that might depend on which kind of paint you use. Obviously, since the kiddos painted the frames, they weren’t “perfect”. To me, those little imperfections make gifts like this even more special!

2. Once the white has dried (we let ours dry overnight), add the fingerprint Christmas lights. I let the children do most of this part by themselves. Yes, I was sitting next to them so I could grab their fingers if they used to much paint! 🙂 Some needed help, but most were fine on their own. With younger children I’d probably let them choose the colors and where to put the fingerprints, but I’d hold their hand and make sure paint didn’t get everywhere.

3. After the fingerprint lights have dried, add the “strings”. I used black permanent marker and connected the kids’ fingerprints the best I could. I added little swirls and loops while I did so.

4. Add the kids’ names and the date. Using a fine point black permanent marker, I added each child’s name to the top of the frame. I wrote “2014” at the bottom of each frame, too.

5. Place each child’s photo inside the frame, wrap it all up, and send it home. 🙂

Directions for the photos
I must admit, I had SO MUCH FUN taking these pictures! The kids and I had our own “photo shoot”, and they seemed pretty entertained as well! My only concern was that some of them would tell their parents, “Miss Mary Catherine tied me up in Christmas lights!”

1. Choose a background for the photo. I didn’t want to have the white classroom walls in the picture, so I made my own “backdrop.” I grabbed a length of green butcher paper and hung it on the wall with some tape. Nothing fancy, but it worked!

2. Get the kiddos geared up! For the photos, I wrapped the children in white Christmas lights. Colorful lights would work well, too, but the white lights are the only ones I had on-hand at school. Then I placed a Santa cap on each child’s head, and we were ready to go!

3. Plug the lights in and snap away! I referenced Snap Happy Mom’s guest post “How to take pictures by the Christmas tree” to help with camera settings. I ended up adjusting them as I went along, but the tips from the post helped.

Do you have any suggestions for Christmas gifts for kids to make for their families? Anything with fingerprints, hand prints, or pictures? If so, I’d love for you to share them in the comments below!!