Paper Plate Fine Motor Christmas Trees

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We have gone a bit Christmas tree crazy! Pair that with the fact that we've always been a bit paper plate crazy, and you have our paper plate Christmas tree! This is one of those classic Christmas crafts that always turns out unique. You could decorate your tree in all kinds of ways. I chose to add a fine motor twist for my tot. 

What we used: 

White Paper Plates (These are our favorite paper plates for crafting! They are super affordable!)

Green Fingerpaint

Ornament Stickers or snowflake stickers or star stickers (just about any other circular sticker/winter sticker will work!)

Glue

Scissors

The first step was to tape down the plate (K is getting A LOT better at not trying to rip his artwork in half, but still requires taping!) and squirt some green paint on. We decided to make three Christmas trees. This was determined by the different types of ornament stickers we had! Kingston did a great job painting his plates. He is pretty good about getting full paint coverage. 

After the plates dried, I showed Kingston the different stickers. Here is where the fine motor part comes in. K has NEVER used a sticker before. What I didn't anticipate was just how difficult handling stickers would be for a young toddler. At just over 14 months, K had to work REALLY hard and concentrate to get the stickers onto the plate. I demonstrated and then helped him when he got stuck. I was thrilled to see just how much he utilized his fine motor skills: picking, pulling, and sticking. He did one and a half plates before he was over it. He basically threw up his hands and laughed, signing "all done". He was definitely saying,  "I'm totally done Mama, but that was fun!" I finished the rest.

After the sticker decorating, I cut the plate in half, and then cut the last piece into two sections, one larger than the other. Then I stacked and glued them into the shape of a tree. Voila - a tree! An older child could make this entire project on their own with little to no help.

We hung ours up on the sliding glass door. They are beautiful homemade kid crafted goodness!! 

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