This family handprint Christmas tree is one of my favorite keepsake Christmas crafts, alongside this baby handprint ornament. You can also make this craft with the hands of a class full of children, or a group of friends.
We always up our Christmas tree up right after Thanksgiving, so today seemed a fitting time to share this fun family handprint Christmas tree (and foot print, actually, if you have a child small enough). It’s a craft we make every year. Check out first-ever handprint Christmas tree. The kids were so tiny!
If you see this post before Thanksgiving, have a go at our family handprint turkey craft – always a hit with the kids!
Family Handprint Christmas Tree Craft
What You'll Find on This Page
Building the tree is super simple:
- Trace everyone’s hands (we just did the kids, this year), plus baby’s foot for the trunk of the tree.
- Add a star on top, and any other decorations you like. Dot stickers make great tree ornaments that kids can easily put on. You could also decorate the tree with baubles created using photos of family and friends, or simply colored paper.
Handprint Tree Variations
This craft can easily be switched up! Here are some fun variations to try:
- Cut the handprints out of felt to make a fun Christmas tree scene your child can build over and over.
- Applique the hands onto fabric for a more polished family handprint Christmas tree wall hanging.
- Print the hands onto fabric using fabric paint for a quilt or wall hanging.
Please share photos if you make this craft with your family – either the paper version or the more permanent fabric one.
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Thank you. We have always loved it too! I’m thinking of trying your smaller family tree with my grandchildren this week.I’ll see how it goes. They are 4 and 2. Should be fun!
I hope they like making one!
This is a great idea. I like your suggestion for felt hands. If they were dated each year, kept and added to, the tree could grow with the children and you would have a wonderful record of the growth of their growth through the changing size of their hands.
I make a similar tree with my class each year. I have blogged about it in my post”10 reasons for including Christmas in the classroom” http://wp.me/p3O5Jj-8u
I love your class version of this tree!
This is really cute idea. My daughter is already 7. I feel like I don’t do enough crafts. (I’m not very crafty) Should I start this now? I would like to make memories for her!
Sure! It’s never too late to start making memories! My seven-year-old loves this craft!
Thanks so much for adding your awesome tree to our roundUP over at PreK+K Sharing. I know it will be an idea that is replicated. Simple is a VERY good thing. This is such a sweet idea.
Debbie
This is so adorable – I love your idea to make it in felt so it can be rebuilt each year.
And now I need to actually do that!
What a wonderful tree! I love seeing handprints in artwork.
Thank you! I love handprint artwork, too!
Love how all the hands make such a beautiful tree! I was shocked when Jeremy put Christmas music on the iPod on our drive to Texas before Thanksgiving. So yes, it’s definitely been playing!
That’s something I would do :)
YES! We are listening to Christmas music! I especially enjoy a CD by popular Dutch violinist André Rieu (only instrumental)! Also the MoTab selection is quite good, esp. the one with the brass ensemble.
For FHE tonight I wanted to start a Christmas service paper chain – one chain for every kind deed – but now that I’ve seen your idea, I am changing it last minute to a growing handprint service Christmas tree! Thanks, Mary Anne! Happy holiday peace and activities!!!
P:s.: fUNNY, last year we did the fan-/footprint turkey for the first time and repeated it this year when I did a Thanksgiving English lesson in Quinn’s class. The kids loved it – only Q was bored by doing the same craft again but she got to help her classmates. :)
I have a few Andre Rieu CDs, but not his Christmas one. I’ll have to look for that.
I wish I could see your handprint service Christmas tree!
Aw this is so cute! Perfect with the varying hand sizes too. We listen to Christmas music in the car!
What a cute activity! We don’t celebrate Christmas, but I could use this for my daycare as they will definitely want something Christmasy!
I’m glad you like it! It would work beautifully for a daycare :)
This is so sweet. I’ll have to do this! I have been listening to Christmas music with the kids for about two weeks now; we love it!
It’s interesting to see how your tree gets bigger as the years go by :) We kicked our Christmas music season the day after Thanksgiving.
I loved seeing this on your video!! Yay for handprint crafts! :)
That is adorable!
Aww, this is such a sweet idea!
So cute! If I made it from felt, could I make it into a large-ish tree ornament and date it on the back as a keepsake? Or do you use it as a wall decoration?
How big is your tree? It wouldn’t really work as an ornament on ours, but our tree is only five feet tall.
We listened to it all the way down to the Ren Fest yesterday!
Hooray for Christmas music!
I love this idea!
Very cute! I wish I was better about making handprints of my kids as they grow. This is a good reminder to do so!