3 nostalgic kids’ crafts that would make perfect Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gifts

A woman's hand reaches into frame to hold a dried piece of air-dry clay that's been traced and cut out into the shape of a child's hand; there is a perfect circle cut out in the palm of the clay hand; the hand of the child that the craft is modeled after is reaching into frame with a paintbrush to decorate the piece; nearby is a small plastic paint palette with different colors of paint on it.

From dandelions picked out of the yard to bites out of their chocolate chip cookie, little kids understand how good it feels to give someone a gift. And these Mother’s Day and Father’s Day kids’ crafts are a perfect way to provide them an opportunity to get creative and share some love with Mom or Dad!

So gather up some supplies, a snack or two and a little one who loves to make things. We’ve got three adorable, nostalgia-filled ideas ready to give Mom and Dad all the feels.

Inspired? Create and share by tagging @HallmarkStores.

Craft #1: Felt Gift Envelope  

A breakfast tray made up for a dad by his children for Father's Day; the tray holds a mug filled with coffee, a plate with toast and jam, as well as orange and kiwi slices; a greeting card envelope with

 

This cute craft is perfect for presenting Mom or Dad with a bunch of little gifts, like a special rock, a pretty flower, a gift card to their favorite shop and a heartfelt, crayon-written note. 🥰

Materials needed to create the Felt Gift Envelope include a sheet of felt fabric (also known as crafting felt) in any color, scissors, embroidery floss, embroidery needle, hot glue gun, and embellishments like gems, buttons, and mini pom-poms.

You’ll need:

•  A sheet of felt fabric (aka crafting felt), any color
•  Scissors
•  Embroidery floss
•  Needle
•  Hot glue gun
•  Embellishments like gems, buttons, mini pom-poms, etc.

A woman's hands cut a perfect square out of a rectangular sheet of green crafting felt by folding a corner of the felt sheet down to create a right triangle with equal sides and then cutting around it.

Step 1: Cut a square out of the felt sheet. Fold one corner of the felt sheet down into a triangle, so that the bottom edge of the triangle is parallel to the bottom edge of the overall sheet. Cut around the triangle. You should now have a square of felt. (Save the rest of the felt sheet for another craft!)

A woman's hands uses an embroidery needle threaded with blue thread to make large, linear stitches around the border of a square of green crafting felt.

Step 2: Add the stitched border. Thread your needle with some embroidery floss and make large stitches all around the outside edge of the square of felt.

A woman's hands uses a hot glue gun to affix corners of a piece of craft felt that have been folded into the center to create an envelope shape.

Step 3: Make the envelope. Turn one corner of the square toward you—we’ll call this the “bottom corner.” Fold the right corner into the center of the square and place a small dot of hot glue on it, then fold the left corner into the center and press it onto the glue dot until it’s cooled. Then put another dot of hot glue on top of the left corner you just glued down, bring the bottom corner (the one facing you) up into the center and press it down until the glue has cooled.

A woman's hands hold a hot glue gun while a child's hand can be seen at the bottom of the frame, reaching in to place a gem embellishment on the felt gift envelope they have made from a piece of crafting felt; nearby is a shallow, yellow dish filled with gems in other shapes and colors, as well as buttons, small trinkets and mini pom-poms.

Step 4: Decorate! This is where the kiddo gets to shine. Have them pick out all the little embellishments they want to add. They pick out where they want the embellishments to go, you add the glue dots. Have them carefully press the embellishments on—remind them, the glue is hot!

A child's hands place a gift card into a DIY felt gift envelope that they have made with their mother; also in frame is a light yellow tray with a greeting card envelope with

Step 5: Add gifts. Let your little add whatever gifts they want! They could be toys, fun things they’ve found, a special note they’ve written or gifts you’ve helped them purchase. Then let them give their gift envelope to Mom or Dad on the big day.

Craft #2: Melted Crayon Suncatchers  

A DIY suncatcher made by a child as a gift to their mom for Mother's Day; the suncatcher is comprised of a stick wrapped with colorful string, with pendants hanging from it; the pendants are in different shapes and are made from various colors of melted wax crayon shavings; at the end of one of the strings hangs a mini greeting card and inside the card in childish scrawl is written,

 

If you’ve got a kid, you’ve probably got more than a few crayons laying around. And a lot of them are probably broken. But that’s actually perfect for this colorful craft idea! 🌈

Materials needed to create the melted crayon suncatcher craft include a small, thin stick; at least two different colors of yarn or twine; crayons in a variety of bright colors; a pencil sharpener; a hole punch; a pair of scissors; a marker; pieces of wax paper; pieces of brown craft paper; a kitchen towel; and a clothing iron.

You’ll need:

•  Crayons in different colors
•  A pencil sharpener (to make crayon shavings)
•  Wax paper
•  Kraft paper
•  Scissors
•  Hole punch
•  Marker
•  Clothing iron
•  Dish towel
•  Sturdy stick or small branch
•  String or craft cording

A child uses a pencil sharpener to create shavings from a yellow crayon, which are being collected in a glass bowl sitting underneath the child's hands; a tray holding different shades of yellow, green and pink crayons lays nearby, as well as three additional glass bowls filled with different colors of crayon shavings from the crayons on the tray.

Step 1: Make crayon shavings. Take the receptacle off the bottom of the pencil sharpener and let the shavings fall into a bowl. We used different colors in the same color palette to create an ombre effect with the shavings, but you can use your kiddo’s or Mom’s and Dad’s favorite colors, too. We suggest having a 4-5 tablespoons total of crayon shavings. Definitely something you can do together…it’ll go much faster!

The hands of a child sprinkle crayon shavings onto a piece of wax paper; next to this is a man's hand placing a piece of wax paper on top of his own piece of wax paper with crayon shavings sprinkled on it; the man's wax paper is set on top of a folded kitchen towel, to protect the surface underneath from the heat of a clothing iron used in the next step of the craft.

Step 2: Start making your suncatchers. Lay a folded dish towel onto a hard, flat surface, ideally a kitchen counter. (The dish towel is needed to protect the surface from the heat of your clothing iron.) Place a piece of wax paper on top of the dish towel. Have your kiddo sprinkle the crayon shavings in the colors they choose on top of the wax paper. Help them spread the shavings out in an even layer.

A man uses a clothing iron to melt wax crayon shavings between two pieces of wax paper; a folded kitchen towel has been placed under the wax paper to protect the surface underneath from the heat of the clothing iron; a tray holding crayons in various bright colors and glass bowls holding crayon shavings sit nearby on the same surface.

Step 3: Melt your crayon shavings. Plug in your clothing iron and set it on medium-low. While you’re letting it warm up, place another piece of wax paper on top of the crayon shavings, then a piece of craft paper. Once the clothing iron is hot, apply it to the kraft paper and smooth it around until the crayon shavings are melted.

A child uses a marker to draw a shape on the outside of two pieces of wax paper with wax crayon shavings melted in between them; a pair of safety scissors lays nearby to be used in the next step of the craft.

Step 4: Create some fun shapes. Leaving the layers of wax paper stuck to one another, remove them from the towel and let them cool until the wax has rehardened. (This should only take a few minutes.) After it’s hardened, help your kiddo use a marker to draw some shapes on the wax paper where you’ve melted the crayon shavings. Simple shapes like stars, moons, hearts, diamonds and circles work great. We used fruit shapes for ours!

A man and a child use scissors to cut shapes out of pieces of wax paper that they have melted colorful wax shavings between; the man is cutting out a shape that looks vaguely like the moon, from yellow wax shavings, while the child cuts out a pear shape from green wax shavings.

Step 5: Cut out your shapes. Using a pair of scissors, have your child cut out the shapes they drew in the last step, using the marker lines as guides. Now you have cool little suncatchers!

A child uses a hole punch to place a hole in a pear-shaped piece of wax paper with green melted crayon shavings on it; across from him, a man threads a piece of yarn through a hole that has been punched into the yellow, banana-shaped suncatcher he is holding.

Step 6: Add string. Punch a hole near the top of each suncatcher. Then peel off just ONE side of the wax paper, leaving the other side attached to the melted crayon shavings. (This will help hold everything together.) Cut different lengths of string and tie them to the suncatchers using the holes you punched.

A man ties a melted wax suncatcher made of yellow crayon shavings and in the shape of a banana to a stick with some orange string; other suncatcher shapes have also been tied to the stick using the same method, including a string of purple circles, a big orange and red circle, and a pear-shape suncatcher in different shades of green.

Step 7: Attach your suncatchers to the hanger. Tie your wax suncatchers to the stick you’ll use to hang them up. They look best hanging in a window, where they can do their job of catching the sunlight. ☀️

Craft #3: Handprint Photo Frame Magnet  

A photo frame magnet made out of air-dry clay and in the shape of a child's hand is stuck to the front of a refrigerator; the handprint photo frame has been painted blue and decorated with yellow and purple dots; in the palm of the hand is a perfect circle cut out that reveals a child's picture; the handprint photo frame magnet is helping to hold a Mother's Day card up on the refrigerator door; additional drawings, a takeout menu and magnets are also stuck to the refrigerator door.

 

Is there anything more precious than a child’s chubby little hands? Okay, yes…tiny toes and baby cheeks and the little curls in their hair. But handprints are the easiest to capture in craft form. 😂

Materials needed to crate the handprint photo frame magnet craft include Crayola air-dry clay, a crafting mat, a hot glue gun, a rolling pin, a pencil, a craft knife, a pair of scissors, a biscuit or circular cookie cutter, magnet disks, a photo of the child making the craft, and paint to decorate with.

You’ll need:

•  Air-dry modeling clay
•  Acrylic craft paint
•  Paint brush
•  Crafting mat
•  Scissors
•  Rolling pin
•  Pencil
•  Crafting knife
•  Hot glue
•  Cookie or biscuit cutter (1″ to 1 1/2″ diameter)
•  Magnet dots
•  Copy of a fave photo

A mother's hands use a small rolling pin to roll a ball of Crayola air-dry clay into a flattened disk on a crafting mat; at the bottom of the frame, a child's hands rest on the opposite end of the crafting mat, holding a ball of the air-dry clay.

Step 1: Roll out your clay. Help your little use the rolling pin to roll the air-dry clay out on a crafting mat. The clay should be rolled out to about 1/4″ thick and be large enough for your child to fit their hand on, with their fingers spread wide.

A child places their hand on a flattened piece of air-dry clay with their fingers splayed out; a woman's hand uses a mechanical pencil to trace an outline of the child's hand into the surface of the clay.

Step 2: Trace your child’s hand. Using a pencil, trace around your child’s hand. Then use a craft knife to cut away the excess clay. (Definitely a grown-up task.)

A mom uses her left hand to hold her child's hand, while she uses her right hand to cut a hole into the center of a piece of clay that has been cut from a tracing of the child's hand.

Step 3: Cut out the space for the photo. Help your kiddo press the cookie or biscuit cutter into the center of the hand cutout. This is where your photo will go! Let the clay dry overnight.

A woman's hand reaches into frame to hold a dried piece of air-dry clay that's been traced and cut out into the shape of a child's hand; there is a perfect circle cut out in the palm of the clay hand; the hand of the child that the craft is modeled after is reaching into frame with a paintbrush to decorate the piece; nearby is a small plastic paint palette with different colors of paint on it.

Step 4: Paint the frame. Once the clay handprint frame is dry, help your kiddo paint it with whatever colors and designs they like. Allow the paint to dry for at least an hour.

A woman holds a small diameter biscuit cutter down over a photograph of a child with her right hand, while tracing around the biscuit cutter with a pencil using her left hand.

Step 5: Trace your photo. Use a slightly larger cookie or biscuit cutter than you used in step 3 to trace a cutting guide on a favorite photo to go in the handprint frame. It needs to be a little bit bigger so you have room to glue it onto the back!

A woman uses a pair of scissors to cut out a circular portion of a printed photograph, featuring her child's face.

Step 6: Cut out your photo. Use scissors to carefully cut out your photo. It’s okay if it’s not perfectly round…the frame will hide any uneven parts.

A woman applies hot glue to the back of the air-dry clay that's been traced and cut into the shape of a child's hand with a hole cut in the palm; nearby is a circular photo of a child's face that will be displayed in the frame.

Step 7: Glue your photo onto the back of the frame. Add a thin line of hot glue to the back of the handprint frame, around the hole you cut out. Then gently press the photo onto it. (The back of the photo should be facing up, toward you.)

A woman's hands glue magnets to the back of a handprint-shaped photo frame made out of air-dry clay.

Step 7: Add the magnets. Place a bead of hot glue at the top of the photo and one at the bottom. Then have your little gently press the magnet buttons onto the glue. Let the glue cool.

A photo frame magnet made out of air-dry clay and in the shape of a child's hand sits on a piece of brown kraft paper smeared here and there with paint; the handprint photo frame has been painted blue and decorated with yellow and purple dots; in the palm of the hand is a perfect circle cut out that reveals a child's picture.

Step 8: Ta-da! All done. Now you have a photo frame that captures their sweet little hand. And since it’s magnetized, Mom or Dad can put it about anywhere! On a fridge, a file cabinet, a tool chest…anywhere they want to be reminded of that little light in their life.

We hope you have SO much fun bringing these crafts to life with your kids this Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Who knows…creating something together might become a yearly tradition! 😊

 

Want some more kid-friendly Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ideas? We’ve got ’em!: