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Run, run, as fast as you can… You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man. This is a great way for younger kids to make a pretty realistic gingerbread man without all the mess and hassle of making them in the kitchen. This also makes a great bulletin board display or Christmas Ornament!
If you happen to be reading one of the many stories about gingerbread men, then this project would be ideal to go along with the story and reinforce what you’ve read with your child.
You’ll Need:
- Brown sandpaper
- Scissors
- Markers, crayons, pom poms, glitter, buttons, etc. to decorate
- Hole punch (Optional)
What to Do:
1. Print out the template below and trace it on to the back side of the sandpaper. Cut it out (a grown up may have to do this for younger children).
2. Decorate the gingerbread man any way you desire.
We used glitter glue in the example, but here are some other suggestions:
- Color with crayons or markers
- Use pom poms or real buttons to make the man’s buttons and eyes
- Glue on pieces of cereal to make the features
- Glue on pieces of real candy
- Embellish with yarn or ribbon
- Use glitter or confetti to “shine” up the gingerbread man
- Glue on cotton ball hair
You get the idea.
3. Punch a hole and tie on a ribbon to make an ornament or to hang from the ceiling. Most sandpaper is stiff enough without having to glue it onto another piece of paper or cardboard.
The Template
Be sure to enlarge the template on a copier to make it larger if desired.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This craft is a personal favourite of mine. We made one at our local museum one cold December afternoon at a craft faire. Most of the items being made were from “natural” ingredients and of the old-fashioned variety (ie. popcorn and cranberries) This gingerbread man was made as an ornament; however, somehow a ginger scent was added, not quite sure the way that was accomplished. It really made it nice. That ornament hangs on our tree every single year, one of my very favourites! Thanks for bringing the memory back.
It’s great and easy to make. Thanks Chris
th gingerbread man idea is lovely and I can make it with some paper I recycled
which is quite rough textured. Thankyou for the template too – I shall use it.
Thank for the idea. My kids enjoys doing this activitives. They love it. To make a gingerbread man. We also use plasticine or play dough
BEFORE DECORATING THE SANDPAPER GONGERBREAD MAN, YOU CAN RUB IT WITH A CINNAMON STICK… THEN YOU HAVE SOME NICE AND FRAGRANT ORNAMENTS!
Kids love this activity, especially when accompanied by the story. Instead of sandpaper, I have the kids cut the gingerbread man out of brown construction paper. Then I have them cover the gingerbread man with white glue and then sprinkle sand all over it. It’s a great sensory activity.
I have a thought to give a bit more dimension to this project. Start with brown paper or felt or foam and cut out the shape a bit larger than original (1-2 inches all the way around) Then cut the shape from the sand paper in the templates size. Glue the sandpaper to the center of larger shape and then embellish. Perhaps use glitter glue to outline the sand paper shape from the larger one. This would also make it more of an heirloom piece as it would hold together better for storage. You could also further preserve it by spraying it with some sort of matte spray.
I took this craft to my son’s kindergarten class Friday (12/8/08) and did it with them – it was a HIT!!! they loved it! I took some paper punchouts to decorate with as well as glitter. I punched a hole at the top and added ribbon so that they could hang it on the tree. They loved the sandpaper!!