Wrapping paper is a fun and easy craft for your preschooler to make. Using lots of odds and ends around the house, your preschool child will enjoy designing unique wrapping paper to make gifts for others extra special. This is a craft that your child can be proud of all year long when occasions come up that require gift wrap. Encourage your child to create several styles of wrapping paper, from holiday to birthday, and everything in between! Here is a guideline for materials and crafting this personalized project:

Materials to Use for Paper

1.Scrap paper- construction, old cards, magazine clippings, etc.
2.Newspaper comics
3.Cereal boxes (these will be harder to fold as paper, but can be made into a gift bag/box
4.Computer print outs or pictures, pref. in color
5.Wax paper
6.Aluminum foil
7.Brown paper bags
8.Scraps of leftover wrapping paper
9.Calendar pictures
10.Butcher block paper


Materials to Use for Artwork

1.Pencils, regular and colored
2.Oil pastels
3.Acrylic paints
4.Poster paints
5.Watercolors
6.Markers
7.Crayons
8.Rubber stamps and ink pads
9.Ruler
10.Scissors
11.Craft sticks
12.Ribbon
13.Stencils
14.Glue Sticks
15.Sponges for sponge paint designs

Ideas for Designs

1.Create an animal on the wrapping paper
2.Animal prints, or paw prints
3.Linear designs
4.Shapes
5.Rubber Stamping
6.Holiday scenes
7.Stencils
8.Paint Splatters
9.Flower prints
10.Seasonal designs, like snowflakes

Unique Items to Use and Design as Wrapping

1.Empty and clean flower pot
2.Used gift bag, design it anew
3.Plastic tumbler
4.T-shirt (this could be tye dyed or fabric painted)
5.Old bedsheets (painted in a unique way)
6.Baskets
7.Cereal Boxes
8.Shoeboxes
9.Deflated helium balloons
10.Empty coffee cans
11.Small plastic wastebasket
12.Department store cardboard bag
13.Old,clean socks
14.Tissue boxes
15.Paper towel rolls

Art kits are great to have on hand to design not only wrapping paper, but also complete lots of creative art projects throughout the year. Faber Castell Creativity For Kids "Big Fun Stamp Art Kit" is an awesome stamping resource that your preschooler is sure to love. Crayola also offers a great coloring kit with many safe and sturdy artistic resources for design. You may even find yourself joining in on the fun of creating wrapping paper!