Homemade wrapping paper: stamping with kids

Age: 6+ · Time: 45 min · For: Ages 6–9 Ages 10–12

Homemade wrapping paper turns every present into something special, and plain brown paper with red and white stamps looks beautiful under the tree. It is also cheaper than store-bought paper, and plain paper with water-based paint is easier to recycle than shiny foil.

What children do, where you help

Children: choose the colors and patterns and do all the stamping.
You: carve the potato shapes and roll out the paper.

Pattern ideas

Starry night: gold stars and white dots on brown paper.
Forest: rows of green trees with red cork ornaments.
Snowstorm: white pencil-end dots all over.

Tips

Test on scrap paper first.
Older children can carve their own stamps from a block of craft foam glued to a cork.

You need

a roll of brown kraft paper, white drawing paper or the back of an old roll of wallpaper
tempera paint in a few colors (for example red, green, white and gold)
a few shallow plates or lids for the paint
2 raw potatoes
a few corks
an empty toilet paper roll
a pencil with an eraser on the end
a small knife (for the grown-up only)
newspaper or an old tablecloth

Steps

Cover a large table or the floor with newspaper and roll out the paper. Weigh down the corners with books.
A grown-up cuts the potatoes in half and carves simple shapes into the cut sides, such as a star, a tree or a heart, by cutting away everything around the shape.
Pour a thin layer of each paint color onto a plate.
Press a potato stamp into the paint, then onto the paper. Repeat across the paper in rows or at random.
Use the corks for ornaments, the pinched toilet paper roll for leaves and the pencil end for tiny dots of snow.
Leave the paper to dry flat for at least an hour before wrapping.