Turn Your Baby Photos Into Christmas and Hanukkah Cards

Get crafty and turn your baby’s photos into holiday cards! Forget about generic Santa-clad greetings this year. Now that you’re a parent, it’s time to transform the zillion pics of your little one into custom keepsakes for grandma, grandpa, and everyone else in the extended family. 

Not a Pinteresting-ly awesome crafter? Don’t add Martha Stewart-level art-making expectations to your list of holiday stress. We’ve got you covered with instructions for some of the easiest (and most adorable) DIY Christmas photo cards and Hanukkah cards a parent could create. Don’t worry – all of our suggestions are super cost-friendly.

Sweet Snow Globes 

Christmas cards aren’t always flat rectangles made from red and green paper. Treat your loved ones to something special with this sweet, snowy holiday card design. These holiday cards make cute keepsakes and are environmentally friendly. That’s right, you’ll reuse more than just pics of your littles in this Christmas-y craft!

What You'll Need

1. Cardboard boxes. It’s time to do something with the massive mountain of cardboard boxes leftover from the endless stream of Amazon deliveries. Before you trash the board, nab a few boxes and reuse the fronts, backs, and sides as an eco-art material.
2. Scissors
3. Baby photos
4. Glue
5. Permanent markers
6. Embellishments of your choice!
7. Permanent marker 

Instructions 

1. Make a circle template on a piece of paper.
2. Cut the template out and use it to trace globes onto your cardboard boxes.
3. Cut each globe out and get ready to make it snow! 
4. You have a few choices for the next steps. You can cut an oversized headshot of your baby into a circle and glue it onto the globe. Or, if you’re not into just one pic, make a collage on cardboard. But the possibilities don’t end there. If you’re feeling extra artsy, let your inner crafter out and paint a snowy scene on the cardboard.
5. Add your baby’s photo to the head of a snowman or glue a family photo into the middle of your winter landscape. 
6. Use a permanent marker to write a special message in a blank space on the front of the globe or turn the cardboard over and pen your holiday greeting on the back. 
7. Cover the entire card (front and back) in one piece of clear cling wrap. Leave an opening at the top for your globe’s ‘snow.’ 
8. Add opal-hued glitter or silver snowflake sequins. 
9. Seal the edge of the wrap with tape or glue to complete the faux snow globe photo holiday card craft. 

Photo Flame Menorah 

Celebrate Hanukkah with crafty DIY menorah greeting cards. This project works with both individual baby photos and family photos.

What You'll Need 

1. Letter-sized matte white cardstock paper
2. Cardboard/paper plates
3. Kids paint
4. A thin paintbrush
5. Scissors
6. Baby photos
7. Glue

Instructions

1. Start with a blank piece of letter-sized matte white cardstock paper. Position the paper vertically and fold it in half to make a tent-like card.
2. Get the little ones involved with this part. Pour colorful tempera onto reused cardboard or paper plates. The mini Monets can dip their fingers into the paint and press their hands onto the cardstock, creating nine candles (one for each night of Hanukkah and a raised center Shamash). If you don’t have pint-sized Picassos to help with this part, you can paint the candles onto the card with a thin brush.
3. While you let the paint dry, start cutting baby photos or family photos into ‘flames.’ You can create a flame template using cardboard or scrap cardstock to help you – position the template around the face in each photo, trace the stencil, and cut out the flame.
4. Glue each picture to the top of one candle. Use nine super-sweet baby photos of your newborn or baby, or add family members (one by one) to each candle.
5. Open the custom card and write your special holiday greeting inside!

Artsy Option 

Step up your card design style with an artsy black-and-white greeting. Christmas cards aren’t always in color. If you’ve sent the same old brightly-hued holiday cards year after year, try a subtle approach with a film school-ish feel. And don’t worry if you haven’t hired a pro to snap super-stylized black-and-white pics of your baby yet. Through the magic of your smartphone, you can turn almost any full-color photo into a black-and-white masterpiece.

What You'll Need

1. A smartphone
2. Cardstock paper
3. Glue
4. Snowflake confetti/stickers

Instructions 

1. Choose a few baby photos to use for these Christmas cards. Go to the first pic on your phone and click on ‘edit.’ Use the color settings to adapt the photograph to black and white. You can adjust the tone to create a bold contrast or make a more neutral look if you like! If your phone doesn’t have an editing option, use an app (such as Snapseed or Ansel) to turn your color images into black-and-white baby photos. 
2. Get the photographs printed as 5x7-inch prints. 
3. Fold a letter-sized (or larger) piece of cardstock paper in half. If the printed photo is vertical, position the paper horizontally and fold it side to side. Position the paper vertically and fold it down from top to bottom to use a horizontal photo.
4. Glue the photo to the front of the card.
5. Add silvery snowflake stickers or similar accents for extra shine! 
6. Write personalized holiday greetings inside each custom card. 

"Oops" Outtake Holiday Cards 

I’m sure that the adorable newborn photos of your baby boy or baby girl have already scored the coveted special spot on your mantle or dot your stairway wall. 

But what happened to the outtakes? You know what I’m talking about – the photos of your baby sneezing, your toddler accidentally knocking the paci out of your newborn’s mouth, or the family portrait that the dog photobombed. The real-life stuff! These playful pictures are ready to see their day and become part of your family’s holiday traditions.

What You'll Need 

1. ‘Outtake’ baby photos
2. Glue
3. Cardstock paper/cardboard 
4. Pen

Instructions 

1. Print your silliest, strangest, or wackiest outtake photos to use as DIY Christmas cards or Hanukkah holiday cards.
2. Create a collage on a piece of cardboard or glue each print to one piece of cardstock paper.
3. Fold the card in half and write, “Merry Christmas!”, “Happy Holidays!”, or “Happy Hanukkah!” in the middle. You can also use the ‘oops’ outtake idea to craft wedding invitations, New Year’s cards, birthday party invitations, or holiday-time birth announcements! 

Snow People Holiday Greetings 

Your baby’s precious face deserves the spotlight! Highlight your little one’s sweet smile with this snowman craft card.

What You'll Need

1. Scissors
2. Thick white matte paper
3. Glue
4. Baby photos
5. Stickers, markers, or paints

Instructions 

1. Cut three circles in different sizes from thick white matte paper.
2. Overlap the edges and glue the circles in a vertical line. Now you have a blank snowman that’s ready to decorate.
3. Cut a pic of your baby’s face into a circle shape.
4. Glue the image onto the top circle (a.k.a. the snow person’s head).
5. Decorate the rest of the snowman with stickers, markers, or paints.
6. Write “Happy Holidays!” or a similar greeting on the bottom circle. 

More DIY Holiday Photo Card Ideas 

The crafting doesn’t have to stop here – you can take the holiday season to the next level and embark on a day full of card-making with your family. Here are some more ideas: 

1. Add a ‘pop-up’ element to your card 

Attach a paper tab to the back of your baby’s photo. Glue the tab to the middle of the card to create a surprise pop-up. 

2. Create a card that doubles as a tree ornament

Cut a holiday-themed shape, such as a candy cane or a present, from red or green cardstock. Glue the baby photo of your choice to the paper, punch a hole at the top, and thread a gold ribbon through the hole to make an ornament hanger. 

3. Add a ‘Santa’ element 

Turn your baby’s picture into Santa’s face! Print an 8x10-inch image and cut the face into a circle. Glue the photo onto a piece of card. Add a cotton beard and a red felt hat. Turn the card over to write your holiday greeting. 

4. Make a family portrait collage 

Don’t have a family portrait to send? Don’t worry! Collage together different photos to make one holiday card. Get creatively silly and choose old photos of yourself and your spouse/partner from years ago. 

5. Make a snowflake shape card

Use white paper to make an oversized snowflake. Glue a photo of your little one at the center and write a holiday greeting on the edges. 

6. Make a sponge paint menorah

Instead of finger painting, sponge paint a menorah. Add your baby’s face as the flames or place the picture in the middle of the card as a playful pop-up.

7. Make a dreidel theme card 

Use a template to trace a dreidel shape onto a piece of cardstock. Cut the dreidel out. Cover the entire front of the card with a family photo collage. Use the blank back to write a Hanukkah greeting. 

8. Try a present-themed card

Turn index card-sized pieces of paper into Hanukkah (or Christmas) presents. Add a real ribbon to the card and make a name tag that features your little one’s smiling face. 

9. Create a craft stick frame

Paint craft sticks with red and white stripes to represent candy canes. Glue the candy cane sticks to the border of a 4x6-inch baby photo. Add cardboard to the back for support. 

10. Create an emotional ‘then and now’ card

 Find a few baby photos from your first holiday season. Craft a photo card that compares ‘then and now’ or ‘parent and child.’ Glue your pic side-by-side with your child’s Christmas print.