Cute as they are, kids tend to be crumb making machines. Enlist them to create some adorable placemats to help catch some of the mess with a fun placemat making activity. Spend some quality time with your little ones and add a little color to the kitchen table with this fun activity. This activity is simple, inexpensive, and limited only by creativity!
Supplies Needed:
- Thin cardboard (from a shoebox or cereal box rather than a shipping box)
- Shelf Liner Sticky Paper (clear, white, and/or a favorite pattern)
- Scissors
- Markers, crayons, stickers, photos, other decorating materials of choice
Instructions:
- Cut cardboard to desired size and shape.
- Decorate the placemat. Anything goes on this step—let creativity shine! There are several options for how to decorate the placemats:
- Cover it with a favorite patterned liner paper for a simple placemat. If your child is old enough to use a permanent marker, he or she could draw on white contact paper to decorate the placemat as well.
- Allow your kids to decorate the cardboard however they choose. Let them express their creativity with stickers, markers, crayons, glitter and more. Make sure any decorations are one dimensional so you can easily laminate in step 3.
- Make it personal. Let your child choose a favorite photo or two to glue to the cardboard. If desired, he or she can add decorative touches around the photos.
- Cover. (this step may be omitted if your child chose option a for his or her placemat). Use clear shelf liner paper to serve as a seal or laminate of sorts over your child’s design. This will make it easy to wipe any spills and crumbs off the mat and protect your child’s artwork he or she did on the mat.
Encourage your child to make a placemat not only for him or herself, but enough for the whole family for fun dinnertime decorations!
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