This handprint reindeer craft is such an easy personalised Christmas card idea to make and send to friends and family. This craft uses a photo of your child along with their little hand prints so it makes an adorable keepsake and is sure to bring a smile to faraway relatives, especially grandparents!
This one of a kind Christmas card is easy to make and is sure to make folks “ho ho ho” with delight.
Supplies
For this Christmas card craft you will need
- Paint Brushes and Paint – Brown, White and Red. Pre mixed poster paint is great like these from Amazon
- Coloured card – We used green but you can use any colour that you prefer
- A photograph of your child – Using a photo printed out on regular printer paper works better than a picture on glossy photo paper.
- Glue – a Glue stick like pritt stick works great.
Method
Choose the photo that you would like to use. A clear photo of just your child’s face is the best option.
Paint your child’s hands ready to create two clear hand prints on a separate piece of paper. Once these have dried, you will need to cut them out to stick on to the craft. Brown is best to create a clear reindeer effect, but if you like you can experiment with colours.
While the hand prints are drying, have your child dab white paint all over your card to create a snowy background.
Next, cut out the dry hand prints, and the face from the photograph and have your child glue them in place on the snowy painted background card.
Finally, have them paint on a nice round red nose and their reindeer transformation is complete.
Digital Version
If you’re short of time, don’t have paint on hand or want to avoid mess, you can try this digital version for a similar effect. You can create this personalised reindeer picture in Canva and send as an e-card to friends and family, or print it out and glue onto some card to create a Christmas card to send out in the post, or mail.
This is a very easy personalised picture to make, even if you do not have any skills on Photoshop or other photo editing programmes. Kids can even have fun playing around and making these themselves, depending on their age.
To make this digital version, I used Canva pro which has a background remover tool.
Step by Step How to Make a Personalised Digital Christmas Card Graphic
- Remove the background of your child’s photo using Canva pro background remover tool, or a similar tool on your preferred editing programme.
- Search for a Christmas background to find one that you like and place it in, behind your photograph
- Optional – add some extra snow over the front of the image, using a snow patterned “element”
- Search for a handprint graphic and add two handprints for reindeer ears. Using graphic rather than a photo allows you to change the colour of the handprints, and for this reindeer picture you will want to use brown.
- You can change the size and direction of the handprints easily within Canva just rotate or pull the element to make it bigger or smaller.
- Add a red circle for your Reindeer’s red nose just like the most famous Rudolph the red nosed reindeer that we all know and love from the popular Christmas carol. I reduced the opacity of the red nose just a bit so that it didn’t over power the face.
And you’re done! You can play around and add more details like a frame, or some fun little graphics stickers – whatever you like.
If you liked these reindeer craft ideas, feel free to share this blog post link with your friends or Pin to your Pinterest boards – Thank you!
More Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids
If you’re looking for another cute way to use Kids handprints for a Christmas craft, this snowflake handprint craft is another great alternative for easy personalised Christmas card designs.
Pin the nose on Rudolph Printable Christmas Party Game
Keep the kids busy over the festive season with this fun printable game, for Christmas party time fun. This is a festive spin on the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey party game for kids.
Personalised Photo Christmas Ornament Craft
Another easy way to use family photos to create a personalised Christmas craft to give to relatives and friends.
Make Salt Dough Christmas crafts with the kids, as a beautiful festive keepsake for years to come.
Home made Christmas Wrapping Paper
Keep the children busy painting and stamping to create this beautiful homemade wrapping paper in the style of Christmas lights.
Rudolph the Reindeer Cake Idea
Kids will absolutely love this festive reindeer cake with a big red nose just like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
What a delightful Christmas craft idea! The handprint reindeer card is not only a personalized keepsake but also a heartwarming way to spread holiday cheer. I love how you incorporated the child’s photo and handprints to create a festive reindeer. It’s a perfect activity for making meaningful Christmas cards to share with loved ones. Well done.