Handprint Ornament and DIY Christmas Ornament Ideas

How to make an easy, keepsake handprint ornament …

It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are COMING! And one of my favorite things to do around the holidays each year is make a special ornament by hand.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have endless hours to sit around crafting each Christmas, but I do carve out about an hour each holiday season to make an annual ornament with my kids.

text: simply precious DIY handprint ornaments ideas with four examples - including snowmen, santa, reindeer

And this year, I’m sharing some of them with you as part of 31 Days of Handmade Christmas Ornaments, hosted by An Extraordinary Day, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Yesterday on Tuesday and Silly Pearl. Today is day 30!

So if this is the first post you’ve seen, there’s a lot of great ornament ideas to catch up on!

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I have three little kiddos at home, so my “handmade” ornament each year is some type of “handprint”.

It’s a great way to capture a moment in time and be able to pull it out each holiday season and remember how cute their little paw prints were, and how they’ve grown over the years.

Oh, and listen…if you wear many hats, mom, working parent, chief laundry office, president of the family steering committee, etc. and you feel like no matter how capable you are, keeping your home clean and clutter-free around the holidays is pretty darn impossible, I’ve got something for you! Grab a free copy of my “Decluttering for Christmas” quickstart guide! It will help you declutter now, so that you can actually relax, and enjoy the holidays this year!

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The great thing is, a handprint ornament is NOT hard to make, and they require very little in the way of supplies, none of which break the bank.

Alright, here are some good, staple-type supplies that are good to have on hand when creating your own handprint ornaments…

Handprint Ornament Supply List:

ornament (color of your choice, but the larger the better, and I’m most comfortable using the UNBREAKABLE/shatterproof variety, just in case)
Acrylic craft paints
Craft paintbrushes, multiple sizes
Pipe cleaners
Ribbon scraps
Googly eyes
Glitter
Hot glue
Sharpie pen(s)

**Note: MOST of these items are fun little extras, and certainly not required. The only essentials for a handprint ornament are an ornament, some paint, and a handprint 🙂 **

We make a different handprint ornament each year. Pinterest is GREAT for finding handprint art inspiration. I’ll find something I like, then just bust my own move as inspiration strikes. Above is our attempt at a handprint Christmas tree.

Santas were fun to do. The kids love this handprint ornament project, no matter what we decide to make their paws into. They just like getting their hands painted.

Over the years, I’ve found what works best is to take a pretty big craft paintbrush (about 1″) and use it to actually put the acrylic craft paint onto their hands before they make their impression on the ornament. It helps get the paint applied evenly, and without being too thick.

These handprint snowmen were definitely one of my favorites. These took a little extra time because of hot glueing the little pom-pom (pipe cleaner) hats and ribbon scrap scarves on, but it was so worth it!

To make the handprint on these, the kids cupped the ornament in their hand from the bottom, like they were palming a basketball.

We did Rudolph, one year. Each year, I use a Sharpie pen to write their names, and ages next to their handprints. It’s just easier, in my opinion to use a sharpie instead of trying to paint their names on with the acrylic paint.

I let the kids pick all the colors for whatever embellishments there happen to be, and the older kids now write their own names and ages on the ornaments, too.

While we’re talking about personalized ornaments, I want to mention one other type that we make each year. And while they aren’t technically “homemade” they still kinda are, and I ADORE them.

We make one for each child, and you are able to preserve their sweet little voices in it for all time. We make them for the grandparents, too. I don’t think they are still as readily available, unfortunately.

And I couldn’t end this handmade ornament post without mentioning peanut Jesus.

I made this ornament in Girl Scouts when I was about 9 years old. I’m now 40, and this peanut and popsicle nativity scene has graced our family’s tree every year since.

Peanut Jesus was actually lost one year as we were disassembling the Christmas tree. I was completely distraught that he had been lost after a couple decades of having him around.

So, my husband, being the saint that he is, dug through the trash bin outside and rescued baby Jesus. He’s a little dirty and disheveled now, but there’s something about his ragged swaddling clothes that makes him even more lovable and real to me, you know?

Hope that the holiday spirit is starting to seep back into your homes as the cold air starts to blow in as it has at least in this neck of the woods.

And please, do yourself a favor and check out the 29 bloggers who have posted their amazing, much more inspiring ideas for you this month as listed below, and Sum Of Their Stories who finishes the month off tomorrow at her place.

Pin this post for later! And if you make one, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try this project, too!

Comments

Heather Colls says

December 15, 2015 at 3:27 am

Good Evening

I have done hand prints on glass ornaments and wondering what can I spray over these hand prints to protect them? I got my 3 1/2 put one hand on one side in red and tomorrow we will start to put his 1 1/2 year old to put his hand print in green on the other side. My feeling is that there needs a protection film but not sure what?

- Heather says
  
  December 15, 2015 at 11:54 pm
  
  Hey Heather! I have never sprayed mine with any type of finish spray. If you want to, you could try an acrylic spray, but I would definitely try it on a blank ornament first to see how it goes. I haven’t had any issues with ours not being sprayed, but I think it’s a great idea, as long as the acrylic spray will work ok on that surface!
  
Deborah says

November 18, 2015 at 11:45 am

I wish that I had done this when my kids were little. What a great keepsake for them.

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How to make an easy, keepsake handprint ornament …

Handprint Ornament Supply List:

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