Ten Tips for Making Christmas Cards

Making Christmas cards is fun and creative. It is also a fun activity to do with your kids. Here are ten tips to get you inspired to create handmade Christmas cards.

Making Christmas cards is fun for a variety of age ranges, but make sure that it is safe. Supervise kids when they are helping to make Christmas cards. Give kids tasks which are appropriate to their age while you do the more complex parts such as cutting paper or addressing envelopes. That way, making Christmas cards is a safe, fun activity to do together. Also, use child-friendly tools and supplies suited to your kids' ages such as kids' safety scissors and non-toxic glue.

Think color. Christmas is about celebrating the season so let your imagination run wild with color. Some great sources of bright colors for Christmas cards are construction paper, colored tissue paper and colored foil. You can sometimes buy colored foil for making Christmas cards from a florist.

If you can't get out the sparkles at Christmas, then when can you get them out? Make Christmas cards opulent and sparkly with glitter, beads, sequins, lace and metallic threads. A simple 'sparkly' idea for Christmas is to design a Christmas tree for the front of the card. Make the Christmas tree by drawing it or by using cut paper or felt. Then, decorate the Christmas tree with lots of sparkly accents.

Pets are a fun theme for making Christmas cards. Let your pet in on the act. Make a Christmas card which features your puppy wearing a Santa hat, for instance.

Making Christmas cards is a good opportunity to distribute family photos. Create a card with slots in the front so you can use it to frame a family photograph. Another idea is to simply insert a family photo inside the card. It makes a nice surprise that grandparents and relatives will love.

If you want to use a non-denominational theme when making holiday cards, there are lots to choose from. Here are some ideas: peace on Earth, snow scene, snowman, and cardinal.

If you don't want to make every Christmas card by hand, there are time-saving techniques. Many color printers produce copies of very good quality. Use your color printer to reproduce your design on card paper. That way, you can produce enough copies of the Christmas card for everyone on your list.

On a similar note, computers can be helpful in making Christmas cards. Use your computer to resize or reproduce your design.

The free imaging software Photoscape lets you edit your images for a range of effects. I like the 'watercolor filter' which makes photographs look as if they are hand painted. Photoscape is a fun tool for making Christmas cards.

Lastly, one of the best things about making Christmas cards is that it saves you money during a time when holiday bills can be overwhelming. Stick to a budget when it comes to supplies. Better yet, recycle colored paper which you have found around the house. Recycled paper is the perfect material for collage. Making Christmas cards should be low in cost but full of fun.