Every year more than 1.6 billion Christmas cards are purchased in America – they are the most popular seasonal greetings card. The majority of these Christmas cards end up being thrown in the trash at the end of the holiday. As a great project with your kids, how about making some truly creative and personalized cards that you will want to treasure forever? Here are some great ideas to get you started.

A beautiful family portrait

Some of the most wonderful Christmas cards are the ones that are personal to you and your family. Creating a portrait is a great way of making a unique card that you will want to keep and treasure. The pictures of your family don’t have to be complex, your children could simply draw cartoon faces, or even stick men. You can add Christmassy details, such as Santa hats onto your people, or sprigs of holly. Don’t forget to put a date on the back of your family portrait card, so you can look back on it in the years to come and remember how much your kids have grown.

Using your tablet or iPad

For toddler and very young children that don’t yet have pen control, using a tablet to create images can be really good fun. It will also help to develop their dexterity. Using a greetings card app will help to simplify your Christmas card, and make them easy to print. Felt, Red Stamp Cards, Touchnote Cards and Appygraph are all good apps with ready made templates that are easy to use. All you have to do is put the right sized card in your printer ready to go.

Get out the glitter

Using glitter and glue is one of the most wonderful ways to make Christmas cards with your kids. A word of warning though, a little glitter goes a long way. Keep the vacuum to hand for when you’ve finished, or you might find yourself picking glitter out of the Labrador’s fur until New Year. On your blank card, first create the design that you want using a glue stick. Then sprinkle the card with your glitter. Reds, greens, silver and gold are very Christmassy colors to use. When your card is finished, give it a coating of spray mount, and the glitter will remain attached to the card, all ready to send.

In the cold winter months, making your own Christmas cards will entertain the kids. You can create beautiful keepsakes together that your friends and family will want to treasure.