Click here to read Turn Cards Into Bookmarks: An Easy Gift Kids Can Make on Hands On As We Grow
After Christmas is over, what do you do with your cards? Some are just too beautiful or meaningful to recycle.
Instead of tossing your Christmas cards, use them in a fun DIY bookmark craft that also doubles as a fine motor activity!
(Hint: you can even use this technique to let the kids make their own gifts to grandparents and friends!)
Over the past few years, my daughters and I have had fun turning Christmas cards into bookmarks. We love this activity! It gives my preschooler a fun way to practice cutting skills.
Plus, we get to reuse cards that may otherwise be tossed and create an inexpensive handmade craft to keep for themselves or to give to the book lovers in their family.
Learn fun ways to reuse wrapping paper.
To turn your Christmas cards into bookmarks, you’ll need:
- ruler
- scissors
- hole punch
- thin ribbon
- pen or pencil
- Christmas cards (that you are willing to cut apart)
If you’ve already used up all of your saved Christmas cards or your stash has writing inside the front cover, don’t sweat it. For $1 plus tax, I was able to buy a pack of 20 Christmas cards at the Dollar Tree.
First, decide how you would like your bookmark to look and draw lines using your ruler and pen or pencil. We decided to make three different bookmarks from one card, so we drew multiple lines.
It helped to hold the ruler in place while my daughter drew the lines.
Help your children to cut along the lines with hand-over-hand or other guidance if needed. For extra cutting practice, try these Christmas-themed cutting activities for your child: Santa, Snowflakes, and Spiral Christmas Trees.
Finish your bookmarks with fancy touches.
Together, add a hole punch in the middle top of each bookmark. With your child, measure and cut a piece of ribbon about 6-8 inches in length.
Fold the ribbon in half and insert it into the hole at the top of the bookmark. Push the loose ends of the ribbon through the circle end of the ribbon and gently pull. Be careful not to pull too tightly.
You can get extra practice measuring and use some hand-eye coordination skills to make the bookmarks even more beautiful.
For an extra fancy touch, we like to round the corners or use fancy scissors along the edges.
If you’re giving these as gifts, have the kids write a special message on the back! Even toddlers can scribble and add some fingerprints for a cute keepsake.
You can repeat this craft throughout the year with other greeting cards, too!
You can change bookmarks with the season or give them as gifts throughout the year. Another option is to cut your Christmas cards into smaller gift tags.
Want more holiday-themed hand-eye coordination practice? Make these Classic Glittery Christmas Stockings.
Saving your place in a good book will be even more fun, and festive with your new Christmas bookmarks! Your friends and relatives are sure to love this thoughtful gift, too.
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