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These adorable Christmas Keepsake Ideas for Kids will ensure that this year’s Christmas is one of the most memorable ones your family has ever had!

keepsake /ˈkiːpseɪk/ (noun) – a small item kept in memory of the person who gave it or originally owned it

When I was young, I was enamored by those necklaces that had little heart-shaped lockets, which you could open and place photos inside. It was all so romantic and quaint, and I longed for the day I had someone whose photo I could put inside. Fast forward to today, when I have my ‘someone’ but not the necklace!

Of course, then I didn’t realize that most of the women who had them were wives of soldiers, who were far away on the battlefield. They probably didn’t see their husbands for months and years, and perhaps never. I guess that’s why they kept this little keepsake so close to their hearts.

Well, moving on to more cheerful things, we’re still talking about keepsakes, but of a different kind – the festive version! Every time Christmas rolls around, our kids get a little older, and soon they’re all grown up. Preserve the beautiful memories of these precious years with some adorable Christmas Keepsake Ideas for kids to make by themselves. Not to mention that these would also make great gifts for grandparents!

20 Adorable Christmas Keepsake Ideas for Kids

1. Santa Handprint Ornament

Your hands can create many things – they literally can! Turn little handprints into Santa, an elf and reindeer – The Best Ideas for Kids shows us how easy it is!

2. Baking Soda Handprint Ornament

Some Christmas keepsake ideas also double up as bling for your tree too, like this adorable ornament from Parents. It’s the perfect Christmas keepsake that you can reuse every year to remember that lovely Christmas years ago.

3. Fingerprint Ornaments

As if handprints weren’t cute enough, Cutesy Crafts makes it even better by using kids’ fingerprints in this project! You can also add kids’ names, and if you’re making these as gifts for grandparents, include each grandchild’s name. 

4. Handprint Christmas Tree Napkins

With the holidays here, you’re obviously entertaining a lot, and you need napkins, both in the kitchen and dining room. In that case, why not turn plain napkins into festive handprint ones, like these from Glued to My Crafts?

5. Reindeer Thumbprint Ornament

If you’ve got plain glass or ceramic ornaments that you’ve been using for many years and are a little bored of now, give them a little makeover – a cute one by using thumbprints! Little Bit Funky shows us how to use thumbprints as reindeer and then add details with markers or paint.

6. Footprint Tags

Why should hands have all the fun? Yes, Christmas keepsake ideas can involve feet too! Eighteen 25 turns cute little footprints into adorable gift tags. The smaller the feet, the cuter the end result!

7. Fingerprint Family Ornament

If you’d like to include the whole family in a keepsake, try out this idea from The Pinterested Parent. Everyone’s thumbprints come together in a little heart. This would work best for smaller families with younger kids. Or you can put in all the grandkids’ prints into one frame.

8. Photo Snowglobe Keepsake Craft

Everyone loves snow globes, and if you can make one, all the better! Easy Peasy and Fun gives us a project that’s really easy to make and it looks so good! Make them out of thick paper to keep them durable.

9. DIY Photo Block Ornament

We absolutely love this beautiful DIY from Peanut Blossom. It looks so custom and elegant and would last years if you store them properly. The best part is that every block has six faces, so you can add photos as well as names, dates, and messages.

10. Fingerprint Snowman Ornament

This is a fun ornament that kids can make from start to finish, from printing their fingers to painting the finished ornament and hanging it on the tree. Get all the instructions over at Crafty Morning.

11. Cookie Cutter Photo Ornaments

Got old cookie cutters that you aren’t really using anymore? Don’t throw them out – you can turn them into adorable Christmas keepsake ideas! Go over to Martha Stewart to check out how you can do this. If your cookie cutters are old or rusted, go ahead and paint them a gorgeous metallic color before starting the project.

12. Air Drying Clay Ornament

We love air drying clay projects, and we love this one from Mum in the Madhouse! It uses the absolutely genius idea of turning little fingerprints into Christmas lights of different colors. It may take a bit of effort to print those tiny fingers in so many colors, but the result is completely worth it!

13. Sibling Handprint Ornament

These are the perfect Christmas keepsake ideas if you’ve welcomed a new person into your family this year! Little Red Window captures this beautiful memory in the form of a clay ornament that you can paint in a metallic sheen.

14. Salt Dough Mitten Keepsake

Salt dough is one of the most popular choices for making ornaments, and with good reason. It’s economical, easily available and the possibilities are endless – like this cute mitten project from Fun Handprint Blog!

15. Baby’s First Christmas Ornament

Is this year baby’s first Christmas? In that case you absolutely must make this cute little Christmas keepsake idea from Smart Cents Mom! Get a print of that tiny hand, add a name and a date and you’ve got yourself a treasured memory!

16. Reindeer Photo Ornament

Hello, Wonderful has a fun craft that’s great for a tree at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s home, especially if the whole family is getting together, grandkids and all. Gather cute pictures of all the kids and turn them into reindeer – complete with red noses!

17. Snow Globe Cup Ornaments

Crafty Morning has a smart idea to create a snow globe made with a plastic cup and a photograph – and we love how it’s turned out! This is a great project that’ll last years and years if you store them properly.

18. DIY Silhouette Keepsake Ornaments

How elegant is this ornament from Simple as That Blog? We love how simple it is but still looks exquisite and adds a bit of understated glam to your Christmas tree. This would also make a great gift for someone if you can turn their picture into a silhouette.

19. Children’s Art Keepsake Ornament

Isn’t it fun to see how kids’ drawings evolve over the years? Well if you’d like to see the gradual transformation, preserve all their artwork – in the form of keepsake ornaments like these from Crafting Cheerfully!

20. Personalized Scrabble Tile Ornaments

Got random Scrabble tiles lying around? Well, you can turn them into wall art, or you could recycle them into Christmas keepsake ideas! Crafty Morning uses these tiles to spell festive words, but you can also spell out the kids’ names – they’ll love it!

You’ll notice that our list of Christmas keepsake ideas includes projects made with all kinds of materials, from paper to clay to salt dough to plastic to wood and much more. So whatever you have lying at home right now, you can make a cute little Christmas keepsake out of it!