Make sensory Christmas cards

The beauty of DIY Christmas cards is they're all unique, so let your imagination loose and create something truly meaningful and personalised.

What you’ll need

• A4 card
• PVA or craft glue
• Scissors
• Card decorations. Include a range of things that appeal to different senses, e.g.
  • Dried pasta, cotton wool or puffy paint for texture
  • Scented markers, pine needles or cloves for smell
  • Foil, sequins or other bright, reflective material
  • Tissue paper or craft bells for sound
• Old newspaper to protect the table

Start by folding the card in half. Choose brightly coloured, plain card that will provide good contrast against any decorations you will be using. Cover the area where you will be working with old newspaper and get ready to be creative!

To make a snowman card:

Step 1

Using puffy paint, string or a scented marker, create three circles – one small on top of a medium sized, on top of a larger one – to create the outline of your snowman.

Step 2

Fill the medium and larger circles with any white tactile elements you have collected: cotton wool, scrunched up tissue paper or faux fur pieces are ideal.

Step 3

If you can, glue brightly coloured buttons or sequins to the middle of the largest circle for the snowman’s ‘coat’. You could also use sequins for his eyes.

Step 4

Add arms using pipe cleaners or small, dry twigs. Foam or fabric shapes can be used for a hat and scarf. Finally, use puffy paint, scented markers or pieces of fabric to give your snowman a big smile and any other special features he needs!

Step 5

If your child enjoys messy play, why not add snowflakes using fingertips dipped in white paint?

You can encourage your little elf to send their card to a friend or loved one, but they also make great keepsakes for when they’re older too.

Children love to send cards to their friends but a child with vision impairment may not be able to see all the detail of a printed version. Taking time to create a card that they can explore using their other senses will make a child with vision impairment feel included at Christmas.