Free Printable Christmas Handprint Template – A free printable Christmas handprint template is a ready-to-print page with a holiday scene and a marked space for a child’s painted hand or fingers. Parents, preschool teachers, and daycare staff in the U.S. use these pages as quick keepsakes: print on US Letter paper, add washable paint, write the name and year, and frame or gift the result.
Most legitimate templates are offered by craft blogs as a free PDF. Some download instantly on the page. Others arrive by email after a short form. None of the sources below charge for the handprint files listed here. Use them for personal and classroom keepsakes, and check each page for its personal-use note before sharing the file itself.
What These Templates Include?
A typical Christmas handprint template is an 8.5 by 11 inch page with a border, a short saying, and a blank area for the print. Common designs turn the hand into a tree, reindeer antlers, Santa’s beard, a wreath, string lights, or the letter shapes in “JOY.”
Footprint versions exist too. A footprint often becomes a tree, snowman, or reindeer face. Templates do not replace the paint step. They give you the layout so the finished page looks finished without extra drawing.
Free Printable Christmas Handprint Template
Where to Get a Legitimate Free Printable?
These four pages are current craft resources that offer the files at no cost. Open each one and use the download button or form on that page.
No email, 12 designs. Busy Blooming Joy hosts a free set of eight Christmas handprint pages and four footprint pages, including a wreath, deer antlers, Christmas tree, JOY, lights, a red cardinal, a footprint tree, and a footprint snowman. The site states no sign-up is required. Print as many copies as you need for home or school, and do not resell the files. Get them on the free Christmas handprint and footprint templates page.
Ten designs by email. The Best Ideas for Kids updated its free Christmas handprint printables in December 2025. The set has 10 designs sized for hands and feet, meant for baby books, memory boxes, and gifts. Enter your email at the bottom of the post and the files are sent to your inbox. Start at the Christmas handprint printables page.
Twelve mostly secular pages. The Artisan Life posted a free set of 12 Christmas handprint crafts in December 2025, including Santa, presents, and a snowman. The publisher notes that most pages are secular and suitable for school. Scroll to the download arrows on the free printable Christmas handprint crafts page.
US Letter PDF, 10 designs. Marley Doodle Digital offers 10 kids’ Christmas handprint art printables as a US Letter PDF, which matches standard home printers in the United States. Designs include a tree, gnomes, reindeer, snowman, Santa, elf, and JOY. The file is free for personal use after you enter an email and open the download link. Find it on the Christmas handprint art printables page.
Skip sites that hide the file behind a paid “activity pack” only, or that never show a download button or email form. A real free printable is either a direct PDF on the page or a file sent after a simple form.
How to Print for a U.S. Home or Classroom?
Set the printer to US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches), actual size, and portrait. Do not use “fit to page” if the design already fills the sheet, or the border can clip.
Cardstock, 65 lb or heavier, holds paint better and frames more cleanly. Regular copy paper works for a same-day classroom craft. Print a test page first so you know where the hand should land.
Write the child’s name and the year on the front or back before you paint. A dated print is the part families keep.
Supplies That Keep the Print Clean
You only need a few items:
- The printed template
- Washable tempera or washable finger paint
- A foam brush or a paper plate for dipping
- Baby wipes or a damp cloth
- An old shirt or art smock
- A black marker for eyes, a date, or a name
- Optional: googly eyes, a red pom-pom, or glue
Green suits a tree or wreath. White or gray suits Santa’s beard if you print on colored paper so the print shows. Red works for ornaments and lights. Brown works for reindeer antlers.
How to Make the Handprint?
- Tape the page to the table so it does not slide.
- Brush a thin, even coat of paint on the palm and fingers. Thick paint smears.
- Press the hand straight down on the marked area. Do not wiggle.
- Lift straight up.
- Let the page dry flat before adding marker details or a pom-pom nose.
- Wash hands right away. Washable paint still stains fabric if it sits.
For a tree, point the fingers up. For reindeer antlers, point the fingers up above a drawn face. For Santa, a white or gray print becomes the beard under a printed hat. For lights, stamp fingertips along a printed string.
Ideas for Home and Preschool
One template page is enough for a parent gift. A short set works better for a class: tree, reindeer, and JOY cover most ages from toddler through kindergarten.
Send the dry page home in a folder so wet paint does not smear in a backpack. If you want a sturdier keepsake, print on cardstock and slip it into a dollar-store frame.
These pages are keepsakes, not toys. Supervise paint, scissors, and small pieces such as pom-poms and googly eyes.
FAQ
Is a free printable Christmas handprint template really free?
Yes, on the four pages linked above. You may need an email address for three of them. Busy Blooming Joy states that no sign-up is required. You should not have to pay for the file.
What paper size should I use in the United States?
US Letter, 8.5 x 11 inches. Marley Doodle Digital states its file is a US Letter PDF. Cardstock gives a better keepsake than thin copy paper.
Can I use these in a classroom?
The Artisan Life set is described as mostly secular and suitable for school. Busy Blooming Joy allows printing for home or school personal use. Do not resell the PDFs or post the files on your own site.
What age works best?
Toddlers through early elementary. Babies do better with a footprint page, because a handprint needs a child who can press and lift.
Paint or ink pad?
Washable tempera is the usual choice. An ink pad gives a sharper print but less of the soft, painted look families expect on a Christmas keepsake.