Whether you want to make this for yourself or to gift to the grandparents – I’ve got some easy directions to make your keepsake mugs and make them dishwasher safe! **This post may contain affiliate links. A small commission may be earned.**
First I want to say, you are a great mom whether you do a Christmas keepsake or not. When my first baby was 6 months old (her first Christmas), I did not have the patience or bandwidth to do anything like this. We attempted a plaster handprint and it was so stress. This will be the first Christmas (she’s now 3.5) that I am doing any kind of actual Christmas keepsake with her – and that’s okay. I’m still a great mom!
This Christmas keepsake is a great handmade gift idea for the grandparents. If you need ideas for Christmas gifts for anyone in the family, be sure to check out my Christmas Gift Guides! There are ideas for everyone in the family, as well as various hobbies, White Elephant, and Teachers.
These Christmas mugs were actually way easier to make than I anticipated and I’m so happy how they turned out. The hardest part was getting my daughter’s handprint and my son’s footprint. BUT, if you mess up, you can just wipe it right off with a damp paper towel and try again. Personally, I did all my daughter’s handprints while the 18 month old was sleeping. And then I did his feet when he was in the high chair eating.
Check out all the steps and my tips and tricks for the whole project below.
What You Need:
– Ceramic Mugs
– Acrylic Paints (I also found some colors individually here)
– Paint Brushes
– An oven
Step By Step
1. Make sure your mug surfaces are clean.
2. Decide on what you are going to turn your hands and feet into (this will help you decide if you want them to be upside down or right side up.
For colors I did Evergreen for the trees, Coffee Bean for the Reindeer, and then Lipstick Red, Licorice, and Gold for the details.
3. Paint your kid’s hand or foot and press it on the cup
** If you mess up at this part, don’t worry – the paint will wipe right off with a damp paper towel or a baby wipe!
** For my 18 month old I had him sit in the high chair distracted with food and painted his foot!
4. Let the hand prints dry for a couple hours.
5. Decorate or let your toddler the different hand prints and foot prints.
**Make sure the paint dries before baking. If your toddler is helping, try to pay attention for air bubbles in the paint.
6. Paint on the names of your kiddos and/or who the mug is going to (You can also put the names on the bottom of the mug with sharpie.
7. Place the mugs in the oven while it is cool. Turn the oven on to 350 and let the mugs heat up with the oven. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off. Keep the mugs in the oven and let them cool with the oven.
It is so important to let your mugs heat up and cool down with the oven. This helps to prevent cracking of the mugs themselves!
8. Wait 24 hours!
9. Your mugs are done and dishwasher safe! **To be safe I usually just handwash these keepsakes, but I have run them through the dishwasher and they do fine.
If you wanted to created a ceramic cookie plate or serving plate for the holidays – follow the same directions.
Be sure to keep an eye out our other keepsakes we’re doing this year: Floral Mistletoes and a Cookie Cutting Board for Santa! We also have 25 activities for Christmas coming soon. Also be sure to check out my Christmas Gift Guides for the Family – get all your shopping done soon! xx Ciara
