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101 Days of Christmas: Handprint Calendar {Updated}

Handprint CalendarThe handprint calendar is one of our most popular projects, and it is one of my favorites!

It’s really a lot of fun to watch handprints transform into animals, characters, and symbols, and my girls have always loved the feel of the paint on their hands.

This year I’ve added a few new handprints — and footprints! — ideas and my three-year-old got to make handprints for the first time! She absolutely loved making these, and each morning she would ask me, “Can I paint? Can I paint ‘nother one?”

Although they’re a bit of work, this is a very special gift, and I’ve put together a 2013 calendar template that’s ready for your child’s handprints as well.

Click here to download or print your calendar template.

Grab one of the handprint poems for the front page of your calendar. There’s space at the bottom of each for you to add names and the date!

Then browse through this list of handprint ideas, each with a picture and description, to choose the ones you’ll use for your calendar:

A few tips from our experience:

  • Have your children wear smocks or old clothes. Clip hair back away from the face.
  • There’s beauty in imperfection, so don’t worry about smudges or other “mistakes.”
  • We usually do only one or two different designs at a time rather than trying to work through all 12 pages at once.
  • Try using a wet washcloth or rag to clean their hands rather than washing them in the sink each time.
  • When using multiple colors, it’s always easier if you let the bottom layer dry first, but it’s not necessary for most of these.
  • Have fun!

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Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!