Making our own greeting cards for friends and family members is a fun holiday tradition in my household, and when the card making stuff comes out, everyone joins in!

Over the years we have collected quite a few things that help us create one-of-a-kind cards, but when we were starting out, we used very basic items such as:

Cardstock paper, construction paper, scissors, glue, pencils, rulers, markers, crayons, paint and paint brushes, and stickers

Now we use some other things like stamps, stencils, cut-outs, paper punches, holiday paper, decorative scissors, old Christmas cards and anything else we have on hand!

We make many of our own stamps by putting foam stickers on bottle caps and make stencils and patterns from recycled cereal and cracker boxes.

After writing down a list of people we need to make cards for, we get busy.

Here are some of the things we put on our holiday cards, depending on who we are sending it to:

Trees, presents, sleighs, candy canes, snowmen, holly, stockings, snowflakes, bows, a nativity scene, a snow scene, a cabin in the woods, a religious symbol, train, puppy, a cup of hot cocoa, penguin, gingerbread house, etc.

When it comes to making homemade greeting cards, anything goes! For us, the main idea is to think of how to put a smile on someone’s face this holiday season and to be as creative as we can be.

The natural benefits of making homemade greeting cards?

We make our own holiday cards because it is something we enjoy and look forward to doing a few times a year, but there are many natural benefits to making them, depending on the challenge we are up to at the time. Making cards that pop-up or out, slide, or fold a certain way, all take patience, planning and measuring. Simple cards can offer the maker a chance to be creative, use their imagination, practice cutting and/or drawing skills, and help to build language skills and self-confidence. We personally find it fun to challenge and add to what we already know.

I hope holiday card making becomes a fun family tradition in your home, as it has in mine.

Need some inspiration?

Christmas Pop-up Card
This site offers illustrated instructions for making a beautiful holiday pop-up card with presents inside.

How to Make a Christmas Tree Pop-Up Card
Illustrated pictures show you how to make a simple pop-up card. Be sure to check out the how-to video on the bottom of the post as well.

Related posts on FranW.com…

Christmas/Holiday House

Candy Countdown Calendar

December Activities