Christmas Cards for Hot a Weather Christmas: Make It With Kids

Since moving to Australia nearly a decade ago, the most common question I have gotten from people at home has to do with Christmas in the summer. The idea perplexes many of my northern hemisphere friends. My answer is that I have determined myself to celebrate an Australian Christmas, rather than try to recreate some sweatered up, fireside replica from home. And, in truth, I am not a stranger to warm weather Christmases, having celebrated several of them in beachy Florida.

In that spirit, I’ve tried to steer our decorations away from “winter wonderland” – including my attempt at making “THE Most Australian Christmas Decoration in the World” with our thong/flip-flop wreath. For this year’s Aussie-as Christmas craft, I decided to turn “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” on its head, since waiting for snow is the last thing our family will be doing during this season.

This year, we’ve made “I’m Dreaming of a Colourful Christmas” cards. We’ve used our lovely local flora to give our family back home a touch of what our Christmas might look like.

You can download our printable (with the option for the American spelling of colorful for our friends in Florida, Hawaii, California, etc!), and here’s what we did:

What You’ll Need

Printed out card from the template (I used a light cardstock in white)
Clear contact paper
Markers or crayons for colouring
Dried flowers and leaves from your area (we used sand, as well)
Scissors (not pictured)

The Process

Collect and dry flowers and leaves

We loved going for a long walk – Miss 6 with a basket in hand – and collecting as many lovely colors and shapes as we could find in nature, including eucalyptus leaves, bottlebrush, and lots of fallen jacaranda (not native to Australia, but a quintessential sight around Sydney during late spring).

We pressed our finds between paper towels in a heavy book, then topped that with another heavy book. A week of pressing will make them flat enough, but two weeks is better for drying.

Colour the Card

When your dried plants are ready for their day in the sun, print out the template, and get your artsplorers to color in the letters with markers or crayons – the more colourful the better!

Make It Sticky

Once colored, cut out the frame, as marked.
Cut a piece of contact paper a little larger than the frame (I suggest 13cm x 17cm or 5inches x 6.5inches).
Peel the protective layer off, and lay the cut contact paper, sticky side up, on the inside of the card.
Close the card, and gently press around the frame edges to make sure your contact paper sticks well.

Decorate!

Now, use your pressed flowers/leaves to decorate!
I suggested to the kids that they think about Christmas things like Christmas trees, wreaths, Santas, reindeer, etc., and encouraged them to try “draw” something like that with the pressed materials. (Having them lay it out on a piece of paper before transferring to the contact paper is not a bad idea).

Depending on their age/preferences, they might enjoy the process of making a “picture,” or they might just want to go abstract. I say whatever their heart desires!

Cover It

Cut a second sheet of contact paper the same size as the first.
Carefully cover the front of the card, sticky side down (great job for the supervising adult, unless your kids are a bit older.)
*The sand moved around a bit, so I added an extra couple of long strips of clear sticky tape to the bottom of the contact paper for added security. Use your judgment.

Your card is complete!

Alternatives

If you don’t have time to press flowers or you or your kids prefer to go a different direction, you can also leave the framed in section intact, and just color it in or collage it. Again, follow your hearts – just make it colourful!