101 Days of Christmas: Handprint Calendars

by Mandi on September 20, 2011

Although we haven’t done one in a couple years, one of the most popular gifts we’ve given our parents and grandparents were these handprint calendars. With 4 little ones and 8 sets of grandparents / great-grandparents, they became a little too time-consuming to keep up with every year, but I think we’ll probably do them again next year because I know they’re treasured!

Although they’re a bit of work, this is a really special gift, and I’ve put together a 2012 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:

If you’re looking for more ideas, I’ve pinned a ton of handprint and footprint ideas on Pinterest as well!

A few tips from our experience:

Have your children wear smocks or old clothes. Clip hair back away from 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. Washing hands in between each one gets a little tiresome!

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!

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

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way as well as a wife and homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

anne

these are sooooo cute!
i posted on the old post about what kind of paint – is washable tempera good for this? and i saw you suggested cardstock for the paper…
but like someone else asked – how do you recommend finishing it? i mean, what sort of way to bind it?
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  Hi Anne! I’m so sorry — I really was no good at responding to comments last year. It’s one of my top priorities now, though!
  
  Anyway, washable tempera should work; we always just use whatever we have on hand.
  
  In the past, I’ve punched a hole in each top corner, threaded a piece of ribbon through each one and tied a simple knot so that you basically have to little loops that the pages can flip around. I’m sure there are fancier ways, but that’s worked for us!
  - anne
    
    Thanks for the reply! I actually never saw your blog until today, and I accidently asked the question on the old post :) I’m so interested in trying this!
    - http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
      
      Ah, I get it now. I didn’t get a notification of that comment, so I was confused, LOL!
Elaine

Will this be available for printing tomorrow? Do I have to print it out today? How long will this be available to access? Is there a deadline? Thank you!
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  No deadline — we won’t be taking them down, so whenever you’re ready to grab them!
Katie

There’s a good chance you used to be my favorite blogger. But now that you have 101 days of Christmas, there’s no question! LOVE THIS.
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  Aww, thanks, Katie — this literally made my day!!
danielephant

How cute!!!!! Do you know of anywhere where you can buy a calendar that doesn’t have anything in it…that you fill in…That would work for our family as well as yours as the time consuming part is in the making of the calendar itself right?

-I am so enjoying reading through these…i am wanting to go and get my decorations out!!! MUST BE PATIENT!!! HEHEHE
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  There’s a download available in this post that you can print and then just add your handprints to; is that what you meant?
http://shoesonthewrongfeet.com Shoes

I saw this post last year and liked it so much I saved it to my favorites. I was so happy to see that you updated it for 2012! I can’t wait to start on this and give them as gifts to the grandparents (or maybe keep one for myself). :-)
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  Yay — so fun! I’d love to see pictures when you’re done!
Srwalker

is there anyway to change the size of this to legal paper?
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  I don’t have a legal-size version available, and I’m not entirely sure how you could print it that way. But you might be able to print it out and copy it onto legal-size paper if you really want the larger pieces!
lauren

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this! This is going to be a great Christmas gift for family members from our little guy. Thank you for the work you have put into this and for sharing it with us!
- http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way
  
  You’re so welcome, Lauren!
http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

So cute — I love your American flag!!
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