Keep your carbon footprint green this festive season. If you want to be environmentally responsible and share some together time with your kids, try your hands at designing your own holiday cards, wrapping paper and gifts from materials you have on hand.
Cards
Used manila folders, old holiday cards, and blank index cards all offer possibilities! Be imaginative in selecting paper to use as a base for your personalized cards.
You can draw your own pictures on blank cards, or collect materials to glue onto the cards to make a mini work-of-art to send to special friends.
Write the messages free-hand, print them out from the computer, or use an alphabet stencil to create uniform lettering.
Kids can also design, print, and e-mail their own cards by going to HighlightsKids.com
Wrapping Paper
Newspaper, aluminum foil, brown craft paper and even paper towels can be decorated to make one-of-a-kind wrapping paper.
You and your kids can draw, glue, paint or print designs on the surface.
To be totally original, your child can coat his or her hand with finger paint and press it onto the paper.
You can also try a variety of objects as stamps. For example, dip the tops of paper or plastic cups of various sizes into shallow, flat containers of paint and use them to create circles on the paper. Cookie cutters make great stamps as well.
Gifts
The December 2007 issue of Highlights (pages 20 and 21) shows how to make holiday gift bookmarks and picture frames. Also go to HighlightsKids.com, where you'll find many ideas for presents that kids can make.