This fine motor Christmas card is a great activity for therapy sessions during the holidays. Use this holiday fine motor task to build hand strength, coordination, and dexterity skills. Here’s the thing: Kids love to create gifts they can give to family and friends. One easy way to get the kids involved in holiday gifting (with minimal mess) is to have them make holiday cards. These Christmas cards were kid made and have a fine motor component, too.
Making Christmas Cards to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills
Making Christmas cards with kids is a GREAT way to develop fine motor skills, and kids take ownership of their craft. They love to see the response on the recipient’s face when they make a card on their own. When there are fine motor skills being addressed, too…it’s a win-win situation!
So many kids struggle with fine motor skills, hand strength, coordination, and precision of grasp. However, when they are making a card for a loved one, there is motivation involved.
When kids are motivated by a task (like seeing their loved one smile!) there is intrinsic meaningfulness happening. Kids will LOVE to create cards that actually work on the skills they need to develop (fine motor skills).
So, let’s add Christmas card making to your therapy line-up this holiday season!
Homemade Christmas Card Fine Motor Skills
You might have seen our Christmas Tree hole punch activity. It’s a fine motor and proprioception powerhouse and very fun to make these hole punch Christmas trees. We can’t get enough of these easy Christmas decorations and used them to make Christmas cards.
This is a fun craft that addresses a variety of fine motor skills, including open thumb web space.
Kid Made Christmas Card with Christmas Trees
You’ll need just a few materials for this craft. (Affiliate links are included in this post.)
- Green Cardstock
- Brown Cardstock
- Hole Punch
- Glue Stick
Glue Stick, in assorted colors - Scissors (This is my favorite brand of scissors or kids!)
- White Cardstock
- Embroidary Thread
- Tape
Make the scissor skills Christmas trees. The only difference is that you’ll want your child to punch holes through two Christmas Trees at a time, so the holes line up. Mark one side of each tree so your kiddo knows which side to apply glue. The pencil sides will be the inside of a Christmas Tree “sandwich” where the trees are the bread.
How to Make this Fine Motor Christmas Card
Tear the tissue paper into small pieces. Tearing tissue paper is a great way to practice fine motor skills and intrinsic muscle strength, as well as building arch development and an open thumb web space. You’ll only need very small pieces of tissue paper, and tearing such small pieces of tissue paper really works the muscles of little hands.
Spread glue on the marked side of a Christmas tree. Stick the small tissue paper pieces on the holes. Be sure tissue paper does not overlap other holes.
Fold the white cardstock in half, lengthwise. Place the tree on the paper and draw a rectangle-ish shape around the tree. Cut out the rectangle to make a large window on the front of the card.
Cut two pieces of embroidery thread and twist them together. Tape one end of the twisted thread to the top of the card on the inside of the window. Place the thread along the length of the Christmas Tree and place another Christmas Tree on top, lining up the holes. Tape the other end of the embroidery thread at the bottom of the card window, inside the card.
The twisted thread will allow the Christmas Tree to spin when the card is opened, giving it a 3D look.
Write on the inside of the card for a peekaboo effect. I love the cute kid writing you can see through from the front of the card!
Who can you make these cards for this Christmas?
MORE Christmas Crafts you will love:
- Christmas Tree Sun Catcher Craft
- Fine Motor Christmas Tree
- Winter Bird Crafts
- Icicle Scissor Skills Template
- Paper Icicle Scissor Skills Craft
- Snowflake Craft
- Spaghetti Wreath Ornament
What if you had themed, NO-PREP activities designed to collect data and can help kids build essential fine motor skills?
Take back your time and start the year off with a bang with these done-for-you fine motor plans to help kids form stronger hands with our Winter Fine Motor Kit. This print-and-go winter fine motor kit includes no-prep fine motor activities to help kids develop functional grasp, dexterity, strength, and endurance. Use fun, winter-themed, fine motor activities so you can help children develop strong fine motor skills in a digital world.
The Winter Fine Motor Kit includes reproducible activity pages include: pencil control strips, scissor skills strips, simple and complex cutting shapes, lacing cards, toothpick precision art, crumble hand strengthening crafts, memory cards, coloring activities, and so much more.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
