This year Erin has really begun to understand Christmas a lot more. However, unlike a lot of families, we aren’t bringing Erin up to believe in Santa in a traditional sense. While Erin will know that St. Nicholas gave out gifts to do nice things for others, she won’t believe that Santa brings her presents and certainly not down the chimney. Instead, we are very open with Erin about the fact that we buy her presents, as well as other family and friends.
With that in mind, we want Erin to learn about something that doesn’t seem to be done quite as much any more and that is sending thank you cards. I think it’s important to send proper thank you notes or cards after receiving gifts for Christmas. People might prefer to make a phone call or send an email now but I prefer the traditional way to say thank you.
Last year I made homemade thank you cards for the very first time and it was so easy. In fact, it took less than 10 minutes to make as many as I needed and they are so simple to make. I am not a crafty kind of person at all so if, like me, you have little experience in this department, then this is something you’ll definitely be able to do!
What You’ll Need
Red card (5 A4 sheets will make 10 cards)
Green paper or card
Colourful paper or card
Glue
Metallic pens
Scissors
Pencil
How To Make The Cards
Step 1
Holding the piece in portrait, fold each of the A4 pieces of red card in half and then cut. Then, fold each of the 2 pieces in half again to create your blank card.
Step 2
On the green paper or cards, draw out the outline of a Christmas tree. Make sure the tree is sized to fit onto the red card. Cut out and repeat for as many cards as you need. Use the first tree as a stencil once you’ve cut it out to save time and to make sure they’re all about the same size.
Step 3
For the presents, I chose gold and silver card just because they’re super shiny and fun. You can do these in whatever colour you want though. Also, I only added 2 presents to my cards but again, add however many you want to.
All you need is a strip of each colour and then cut them into squares of various sizes.
Step 4
Once you have the trees and the presents cut out it’s time to arrange them on the card. I did all of mine with the same layout just for ease and quickness but you can change them up each time if you want to. Glue the pieces down once you have them where you want them.
Step 5
The last step is just decoration. I added some lines for bows on the presents as well as tinsel on the Christmas tree. I like how plain my cards were but with a bit of sparkle for good measure. If you are more creative than me and wanted to spend more time on your cards, you could make your presents fancier or add additional items. I also added ‘Thank You’ in metallic pen to fill some of the spare space at the top.
So that’s really it! I would definitely make them again myself as I didn’t have to buy anything as Erin already had all of the supplies in her craft box. I made these as a quick thing to do while Erin was busy playing and I am so pleased with how they turned out.
Aww these are lovely and it’s such a special touch to give homemade thank you cards at Christmas! It really shows that extra bit of appreciation 🙂
So lovely to receive a thoughtful handmade card – you are super organised this Christmas!
These are so sweet, very thoughtful indeed. I love thank you cards they are so personal. PS- I am dreading the day I have to tell mine about Santa!
We’ve not sent any Christmas cards for a couple of years now. Writing them was the most dreaded tradition ever !
These are so sweet and simple and such a lovely gesture! I love receiving a thank you card, even better that they are hand made.
These are so cute and such a great idea. Luke writes thank you letters for birthday gifts but not for Christmas presents. Creating these cards seems like a less taxing way of thanking everyone who’s bought him a present. I’ll be doing this this year, thank you for sharing!
What a lovely yet simple idea. It just goes to show it doesn’t take a lot to show your appreciation, but it’s very effective!
That’s lovely. Our kids always write thank you notes or cards 🙂
I love that you told Erin where here presents come from and love this card idea
We have St Nicholas who fills shoes on the 6th December, and Santa who fills stockings on Christmas Day (both with fruit, nuts, chocolate and some small gifts). All other gifts the boys know exactly who they came from and whom to thank.