Handprint and Fingerprint Crafts for Mother’s Day

I guess it’s because Mother’s Day falls during the school year and Father’s Day does not (in America, anyway) that there seem to be so many more crafts and activities for Mother’s Day than there are for Father’s Day. Of course these same ideas could be done for dads, and every parent enjoys a craft made with handprints or fingerprints to one day show how much their kiddo has grown.

These are also great ideas for grandparents if you include them in your Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations, or to save for Grandparents’ Day.

A classic in this genre is the handprint bouquet of flowers (I have one my kid made in preschool!). Get the details and a printable for the vase from A Little Pinch of Perfect. Or you can just have kiddos paint the stem of the flower and use handprints for the flower itself, like on this one from Coupons are Great.

This flower vase from Lovebugs and Postcards uses cutout hand shapes and the kids or their teacher can write a reason they love their mom on the hand. This one is shown as being for grandma but again it could be used for any adult.

You can also use handprints to decorate a tote bag (because moms always need more bags, right?). This is another spin on the handprint flower you can find at Nifty Mom.

Fingerprint flowers are even easier to make, and this cute version from Hopping from K to 2 is easy for kids to make and super sweet.

And while this one doesn’t exactly preserve the size of the hand since it’s a Shrinky Dink, it’s still super cute and a fun way to make a remembrance for everyone in the family. Just cut out handprints (with or without flower stems) and punch a hole to make it into a keychain. Get all the details from Easy Peasy and Fun.

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Hand Print Crafts for Father's Day

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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