Christmas Crafts and Decorations

What is in this section

• Placemats: a landscape sheet with a scene to colour in the middle and a name line underneath, in eight subjects.
• Door hangers: two or three to a sheet with the keyhole cut marked, printed or left plain to colour, with your own greeting.
• Party invitations: two or four to a sheet, flat or folded, with lines for where, when and the RSVP.
• Gift vouchers and reward certificates: one or two to a sheet, with lines for what it is for, a value and an expiry date.
• A blank dinner menu: three, four or five courses, one or two to a sheet, typed on screen or written in by hand.
• Posters: A4, US Letter or A3, with a big heading you type and up to six lines underneath.
• A stand-up tree: two slotted trees that cross at a right angle, with the how-to on the second sheet.

Which of these a child can do alone

The placemat and the colour-in door hanger are the two that need nothing but pens. Both are drawn with large open shapes at a bold line weight, so a five year old gets a result worth keeping on the fridge.

The stand-up tree needs an adult for one step. The slots have to be cut with a knife against a rule rather than with scissors, because scissors widen a slot as the blades open and a slot a millimetre too wide gives you a tree that leans. Everything after that is a child's job.

Typing on the sheet before you print

The invitations, the vouchers, the menu, the poster, the door hanger greeting and the name line on the placemat are all fields you can type into on screen. Click the line, type, and what you typed is what prints, in the same position and the same type as the sheet shows.

You do not have to use them. Every one of those documents prints perfectly well blank with a rule under each line, which is usually quicker when you are filling in twelve of something by hand at a table.

Paper and printing

About 250gsm for door hangers, which hang on a moving door, and 160gsm for invitations, vouchers and menu cards. The stand-up tree wants 300gsm if you are building it from two printed trees glued back to back, or plain paper if you are using the trees as a pattern on board. Ordinary 120gsm is enough for a placemat that goes under a plate once, and card if it is to be wiped down and used again.

Print at 100 percent scaling with Fit to Page switched off. Fit to Page shrinks a sheet by three to five percent, which does not matter on a poster and matters a great deal when a cut line has to line up with a keyhole or a fold.

Questions

Are the Christmas craft printables free?

Yes. Every sheet in this section prints and downloads free, with no account to create and no watermark. You can print as many copies as a home, a class or a party needs.

Which of these need more than scissors?

Only the stand-up tree, which needs a craft knife and a rule to cut the two slots cleanly. Everything else is scissors at most, and the placemat and the poster need nothing but a printer.

Can I type on the sheets before printing?

Yes, on the invitations, the vouchers, the menu, the poster and the door hanger. Click a line, type, and that text prints in the same place and the same type you see on screen.

What paper should I use?

About 250gsm for door hangers and 160gsm for invitations, vouchers and menu cards. The stand-up tree wants 300gsm if you glue two printed trees back to back. A placemat is fine on 120gsm for one meal and better on card if it is reused.

Will these print on US Letter as well as A4?

Yes. Every sheet offers both and the layout adjusts to the paper rather than being cropped, so nothing falls off the bottom edge. The poster also offers A3.