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    Home » Crafts

    Christmas Pattern Place Mat

    Modified: May 11, 2022 · Published: Dec 11, 2013 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

    146 shares

    Inspired by these Woven Paper Placemats, today I am sharing a simple Christmas Pattern Place Mat you can make at home. My favorite thing about these place mats is that they not only look cute, but they are great activities for fine motor skills.

    They are super easy to make and only require a few supplies, making them a perfect activity for the kids to do while you are preparing the Christmas meal. If you want to keep the kids busy with other fine motor activities, don't miss 18 Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers and Fine Motor Practice with Straws.

    Christmas Pattern Place Mat - This place mat is fun for kids to make for the holidays and provide fine motor practice as well.

    Love these placemats? Try our Free Printable Valentine's Placemats!

    You will need:

    • 9 x 12 Construction paper (one sheet of red and one sheet of green)
    • Scissors
    • Tape
    red and green construction paper

    Fold a red 9 by 12 inch piece of construction paper in half and make four cuts almost to the end. You can see below how I left the ends of the paper attached. You don't need to measure these but try and make them a similar size.

    making a place mat

    Next, you will cut 6 strips from the green construction paper. Try to get these strips roughly the same width as the lines you cut on the red piece of construction paper. It doesn't need to be exact though, so you can just eyeball it. If you are using a 9 x 12 piece of construction paper, 6 strips will be enough to weave the entire paper.

    paper place mat supplies

    Demonstrate how to weave in an over under fashion. I weave the first strip while my child watches and then remove it so they can start again. Begin with the first strip under the paper and then pass it over the second cut and under the third and so forth. When your child is done with one strip have them rotate the mat and repeat the process on the other side.

    weaving paper

    When you are finished weaving a strip, push it to the strip next to it so there will be room for all the strips and they will be spaced evenly.

    woven paper place mat

    This is a great fine motor activity since it requires lots of manipulation of the paper to create a pattern.

    paper weaving

    When my daughter was finished, I taped the ends down. You can see that the ends will stick up a little bit. If you skip this step the strips will move about.

    child making a place mat

    If you want to make these mats last and use them over and over again, you can have them laminated. You can leave them as is if you just plan to use them for Christmas dinner. Your kids can also draw on the mat or use stickers to decorate them.

    Christmas paper place mat

    For more fun Christmas crafts check out:

    Angel Christmas Ornament

    Contact Paper Christmas Stickers

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Jackie Higgins says

      December 11, 2013 at 12:40 pm

      I used to love making these in Elementary School but had forgotten about them. You are so right about this being great fine motor practice. I'm setting out supplies for my boys today!!

      Reply
    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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