6 Fun Thank You Card Ideas

YES, IT'S THAT time of year again--time to force small children into writing those thank you cards. And if you’re wondering, YES, they are important. If not to thank the appropriate people for the gifts of the season, then for a lesson in persistence and proper manners. I have dug around and come up with six fun card ideas your kids will WANT to make and send. No, really, they’re fun and think of how wonderful the friends and family will feel who receive them.

You’ll want an array of crafty things, depending on which cards you plan to make. Blank paper cards are nice but not a necessary thing to have as you’ll see soon enough. Depending on the ages of your kids, your involvement will be all, nothing or somewhere in between. We’re in the somewhere-in-between area, where we have to ride them hard to make it happen, but once it gets going, the creativity just flows. Don’t push it too hard, but don’t let it slide away either, being thankful is important and it is also a learned behavior.

1. Get Out The Paints: Have your kids paint a picture of the gift OR them playing with the gift or using it. FUN and creatively exciting.

2. Grab a Photo: Take a picture of your kids playing with OR using the gift. Better yet, have your kids use the camera to take a picture of the gift in their room. Be sure to monitor camera use and get the photos printed in a timely manner.

3. Hire Them: We once hired our middle son to make our Christmas cards. He worked for days painting and touching the up with glitter. They were beautiful and we loved sending them, and we got the cards for very little.

4. Get Online: Lots of places like Shutterfly and Walgreens and Costco have templates for making cards online. Upload a picture, choose the text, send in the order and pick up your cards in your mailbox or in the store. Then it is simply signing a name and mailing them off.

5. Write in Hidden Ink: Better known as white crayon! Write the message in white crayon and paint over it. This one is FUN!

6. Black Out: Cover an entire blank white card with crayon, then paint over with black tempura paint. Scratch your thank yous in the black paint and let the colors shine through.