Need ideas for easy Christmas cards to make with toddler

[chillipickle]

Can anyone suggest a very quick and easy Christmas card idea that I can make with 3yo DS?

In previous years we have enjoyed messy painting, sticking and sprinkling glitter, but this year I have a climbing, crawling 8-month old, so time and energy is much more limited.

My christmas card list runs to 40 people, but not all of those need to receive a lovely hand-made card if it's going to give me a nervous breakdown.

So far I have 40 blank cards in white and cream. It's tempting to buy a pack of Christmas-themed stickers for DS to artfully apply, but I feel that something a bit more crafty would be nice.

Any ideas would be most welcome!

we have had considerable success with the following:

White paint, square of red card with artfully torn edges. Egg cup or similar for body, pritt stick top for head, print on to red card for snowman.

Leave to dry, add detail of black hat, face, stick arms etc. An adept 3yo could do this?

Or potato print rudolph, cut a tate in half and it looks oddly like a reindeer's head; add lack antlers, red blob for nose, black eyes and mouth.

(sorry is paint a no-no?)

Are they up to cutting out a christmas tree shape? If you fold the paper in half and get them to draw round a template? And then stick on card?

Personally I'd say only send the handmade ones to close relatives. Hard work for a 3 year-old to make 40 cards!

For that many, I'd say stickers.

For a select few, Clary's ideas sound nice - think I'll steal them myself next year when DS will be 4! Or do as you've done before - painting, glitter, collage (e.g. torn up bits of old bits of Xmas wrapping paper), or you could get glitter glue - quicker and easier than separate glue and sprinkling.

Cut out pictures from old cards or wrapping paper and sick on, Stickers work too.

Use glitter glue rather than glitter, much less mess and sequins/confetti sprinkles for gluing on if you must!

Sponge paint a xmas tree on to each card. When it has dried let him decorate the tree with glitter glue, felt pens (washable crayola is best), pompoms (preferably ones with a sticky pad on) and sequins/confetti sprinkles. You can also get metalic marker pens which give more glitz and are easier to cope with than glitter and glue with the baby to chase round after too.

Paint his fingers white, his thumb and heel of his hand red and his palm pink. Plonk onto an upside down card. When dry turn it round add a white thumbprint for the bobble on Santa's hat and two black fingerprints for eyes.
Should easily get a dozen or more done before he gets bored

How about cut out a bunch of green triangles for Christmas trees, stick em on yourself or get him to, then let him decorate them with crayon scribbles (for strings of lights) and shiny star stickers for baubles? Very low maintenance (unless he's a crayon eater!)

draw round his foot (brown paper) and cut out. Draw round his hands (orange paper)

Reindeer face and antlers you will have!

Add googly eyes or just eyes, nose etc.

Ta dah!

We are making those this year but only about 8 or 10 lol

oh we have in the past painted our apper first, but time consuming.

You could get him to colour them also

• Cut out triangles out of green paper

• Decotate with colouring in, glitter glue and christmassy stickers

• Glue on to cards as Christmas trees

• Print out standard Greeting, perhaps with a picture of your kiddies (if I was your friend I would like this), cut out and stick in middle.

The edges will look crisp as the colouring over edges etc is done before sticking onto the card.

Have your DS colour in your envelopes while you do the writing and personal greeting bit

Something my Mum has helped me with that saved lots of time was I did my cards small, popped them in envelopes but then instead of writing loads of addresses (I can;t write anyway) she popped the relevant ones in her cards so they were posted together.

handprint body of angel, stick on wings, drawn face

Fabulous ideas, thanks all! I am liking the green triangle christmas tree plan. Clary's snowman printing is a possibility though, at least for a small number of cards for very dear family!

DS has only just turned 3, and he is not quite able to draw as such. So decorating is the level we are at.

Actually I'm thinking, if I gave him a couple of large sheets of green paper, he could go mad and decorate them all over, and I can cut into triangles and stick them on cards when he's in bed. And he can finish them with a star on top. Hurrah!