Christmas time is nearly here and we’re ready to celebrate with tons of fun crafts for kids.
Kids love creating handprint crafts, and since Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer is one of the most iconic characters of the holiday season, we knew we needed to start with him.
This adorable handprint reindeer craft is perfect for children of all ages, from toddlers to preschoolers to elementary aged children.
It’s also super simple and uses common supplies like card stock, glue, and craft punches. Plus, our free template makes it even easier to create this keepsake gift!
If you’re looking for a fun and easy Christmas craft for kids, read on below to see how easy it is to make this craft with your family.
And if you want more ideas, check out all of our reindeer crafts for kids!
Reindeer Handprint Craft
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Christmas handprint crafts are some of our favorite crafts to make at our house around the holidays.
Kids love to see their handprints magically transform into a cool new art project and parents love this great keepsake to preserve those little hands for the future!
This Christmas handprint craft is easy because it doesn’t use paint, so you don’t have to worry about making a mess.
Reindeer Craft Supplies
- Colored paper or cardstock
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Reindeer printable template
Directions
Print out the reindeer template on white cardstock, trace it onto the colored paper and cut out all the pieces. If you’re making this craft with several children, print the 2nd template out on the coordinating colored paper and skip the tracing!
Begin making the reindeer head by gluing the inner ears in the middle of the reindeer ears.
Next, glue the eyes to the center of the reindeer’s head.
Glue the big, red nose just below the eyes, near the bottom of the head.
Place the small pink cheeks on either side of the nose, by the bottom of the eyes, and glue in place.
If using, glue the small brown eyebrows just above the eyes near the top of the reindeer.
Trace your child’s hand onto the dark brown paper two times and cut each handprint out.
Add glue to the bottom of the child’s handprints and glue behind the reindeer’s head, with each hand slightly angled outward.
That’s it! Isn’t this such a cute Christmas craft for kids?! If you’d like, you can also draw on a smile with a marker under Rudolph’s nose.
Or, you could even add some string and transform this craft into a handprint reindeer ornament for the tree!
Looking for some more fun Christmas activities to keep the kids busy? We’ve got you covered with this Christmas printables bundle! There are color by numbers, pattern block mats, do a dot printables, letters from Santa and so much more. No more hours of screen time – these activities will keep them engaged and happy!
Rudolph Handprint Craft For Classrooms
This reindeer craft is pretty simple, but if you’re working with young kids like preschoolers and PreK kids there are a few adaptations you can make to help things go smoothly.
My number one recommendation when working with several small children is to have all the shapes pre-cut ahead of time.
If all your pieces are ready to go when the children start, it’ll be much easier to show the kids where to glue all the pieces.
If you have toddlers (or lots of children) you could even have the entire reindeer face preassembled and glued together. Then all the kids would have to do is trace their hand, cut it out and glue it onto the head.
Do keep in mind that if the children aren’t able to cut out their reindeer handprints, they’ll need some adult help with that part as well.
Another option to simplify this craft even more is to use the handprint antlers, but then have the kids draw on all the other pieces.
This way there’s no additional cutting needed or glue. Just set out some markers and let them go to town on their handprint reindeer crafts!
Christmas Unit For Kids
Don’t let the fun stop here! Create an entire Christmas-themed unit to go with this reindeer craft. Below are some of our favorite ideas to get you started.
Reading to your kids (or students) is so awesome for their development! It can help with vocabulary, help foster a love of books, improve focus and so much more!
For all these reasons, we recommend starting any new unit with books.
Below are some of the top Christmas books to read to your kids.
Dasher: This wonderfully illustrated Christmas book for kids gives you the back story on one of Santa’s favorite reindeer, Dasher! Girls will especially love to read this since Dasher is a girl.
Construction Site On Christmas Night: Fans of the fun characters of the construction site books have to add this Christmas themed story to their collection. See how the trucks get ready for Christmas!
How To Catch An Elf: Kids everywhere love the silliness of this Christmas story. The rhymes and the illustrations will draw the kids in as well. This is a Christmas book kids will want to read every year!
Kids’ Christmas Crafts
Crafting is a popular activity for kids because it boosts their creativity and fine motor skills. Crafting can also be a great way to relieve stress and is good for family bonding.
Try some more of our favorite Christmas crafts:
Christmas Tree Paper Bag Puppet Craft – This pretend play Christmas tree puppet is the perfect craft for getting kids into the holiday spirit! All you need is a brown paper lunch bag, some construction paper, scissors, and glue. Your kids are going to love this fun Christmas craft!
Photo Gingerbread Man Craft – Looking for a festive and fun photo gingerbread man craft for kids? This easy and adorable photo craft will turn your little ones into gingerbread boys and girls. It would also make the perfect gift for grandparents or other family members!
Popsicle Stick Grinch Craft – The Grinch is a grumpy, green creature who hates Christmas. But even the Grinch can’t help but love this mischievous popsicle stick Grinch craft! Grinchmas is the perfect time to make this fun and easy project with your kids.
Buddy The Elf Ornament Craft – Buddy the Elf is one of the most iconic Christmas characters of all time. And what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by making your very own Buddy the Elf paper ornament? This craft is easy and fun for kids of all ages!
Christmas Activities For Kids
Kids will love these Christmas do a dot printables! These are perfect for preschool and kindergarten-aged children. They’re great for practicing counting and fine motor skills, too. There’s also letter recognition practice in here to help your kiddos!
These Christmas pattern block mats are perfect to use as a fun quiet time activity for younger kids. They can work on their fine motor skills while learning shapes and colors!
Christmas matching worksheets are not just fun, they’re a festive activity for the holiday season! With colorful images of jolly elves, twinkling Christmas trees, and friendly snowmen, these worksheets will have your little ones honing their observation skills, counting, and even practicing color recognition and more – all while wrapped up in the joy of the season.
This nativity play dough kit is perfect to get the kids in the holiday spirit. It’s made with natural ingredients and has lots of fun pieces to encourage play. It’s great for open-ended play, encourages fine motor skills, exploration, and creativity, and supports cognitive development!
Share With Us
Did you make this handprint craft with your child or class? If so, we’d love for you to share it with us on our Facebook page.
Don’t forget to enter your email in the form below to have the reindeer template link emailed directly to you.
More Christmas Ideas For Kids
Handprint Reindeer Craft
Make this cute and easy handprint reindeer craft with the kids this Christmas season!
Materials
- Colored paper or cardstock (red, dark brown, light brown, pink)
- White cardstock
- Glue stick
- Reindeer template (enter email in form for download link)
Tools
- Scissors
- Pencil
Instructions
- Print out reindeer template on white cardstock, trace onto the colored paper and cut out all the pieces. If you're making this craft with several children, print the 2nd template out on the coordinating colored paper and skip the tracing!
- Begin making the reindeer head by gluing the inner ears in the middle of the reindeer ears.
- Next, glue the eyes to the center of the reindeer head.
- Glue the big, red nose just below the eyes, near the bottom of the head.
- Place the small pink cheeks on either side of the nose, by the bottom of the eyes and glue in place.
- If using, glue the small brown eyebrows just about the eyes.
- Trace your child’s hand onto the dark brown paper two times and cut each handprint out.
- Add glue to the bottom of the child's handprints and glue behind the reindeers head, with each hand slightly angled outward.
Free Reindeer Craft Printable Template
Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.
Emily
Wednesday 20th of December 2023
Thank you so much for your generosity in providing such awesome templates! I'm excited to get some of these holiday crafts all prepped for my 4 nieces and nephews!
Sam
Wednesday 20th of December 2023
Oh, yay! You're welcome! Merry Christmas!
Cecelia
Wednesday 20th of December 2023
Can't wait to do this with my kids
Sam
Wednesday 20th of December 2023
Awesome! We'd love to see your finished results in our FB Group here if you feel like sharing them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/funcraftsforkids
Tamika Walker
Monday 18th of December 2023
Can't wait to do this with my kids!
Sam
Monday 18th of December 2023
Awesome! We'd love to see your finished results in our FB Group here if you feel like sharing them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/funcraftsforkids
Pou
Tuesday 12th of December 2023
Cute
Sam
Wednesday 13th of December 2023
Thanks so much!
Amy
Sunday 10th of December 2023
fun
Sam
Monday 11th of December 2023
Thanks!