Vacation Souvenir Crafts
These craft projects can be done by children, they may need some supervision with scissors or glueing. Use your best judgement to help supervise them so that they have a good time.
These crafts do not have to be done during the vacation itself, this can be a project that your family does once you have returned home. It could be a fun project that you plan for during the trip.
Seashell Crafts
Many families visit the beach during their vacation. There are a number of seashell crafts that are easy and fun to make. The first step is to collect seashells. Consider carrying them home in a large plastic bag. Wash them off before doing any crafts.
Seashell Magnet are very simple to make. Simply purchase a roll of magnet tape at your office supply or art store. Help your child add a piece of the magnet to the back of the seashell. Optional ideas could be dipping the seashell in a little glue and glitter to give them a little sparkle.
Seashell Pins can also be fun to make. Seashell pins are fairly simple. Purchase pinbacks from your art supply store and also get a strong glue. Gorilla Glue is a brand of glue that is well known for being very strong, but children will need supervision using this glue. Add a dab of glue to the back of the seashell and then add the pinback. Allow it to dry overnight. Optional ideas could be purchasing small fake pearls or little beads to glue onto the shells, or even stickers, or glue and glitter.
Seashell Frame is also a project that children will have fun making and this is a project that you can enjoy in your home, or bring to your office to remember your vacation all year-round. Purchase a picture frame with a wide frame, at least one and a half inches thick. Consider first painting the picture frame with some craft paint (ask art supply store for non-toxic paint for children). Allow paint to dry. Then glue seashells onto frame in a pattern that you like. Allow seashells to dry.
Postcard/Map Crafts
Most families have the chance to pick up some postcards and at least one map while traveling. These can be great craft items. If you want to do postcard or map crafts be sure that you have enough postcards and maps to go around, it always easier to have extra than to get home and discover that you do not have enough. These tend to be fairly inexpensive items. It is easy to store these in a manilla envelope in your suitcase.
Postcard Picture Frame is a craft using decoupage. Decoupage is a craft where you cut and glue paper onto an object. You will need a foam brush and some glue used for decoupage, a good glue to use is called Modge Podge. Select a frame at least one and a half inches thick, preferably thicker and for a picture at least four inches by six inches. Now look at your postcards and see which images you would like to wind up on your frame. Start to measure and cut the postcards according to what will fit on the frame, so that you wind up creating a frame out of your assorted postcards. Once they are glued onto the frame give the frame an extra coat of glue and allow this to dry. Then add a picture from your vacation to complete this project!
Postcard/Map Placemats is a craft that young children can have fun doing. They may need some help cutting and pasting depending on age. Most copy places will laminate a piece of 8 x 14 paper for a very inexpensive amount, in my area it is for a dollar fifty (check in your area). Then get a piece of 8 x 14 paper at your copy center for your child to work on and let them cut postcards and maps and glue whatever pictures they like the best onto the paper. Have this laminated and let them use it as a placemat. This placemat craft is a fun easy, inexpensive craft that you can repeat over and over with different items if this is something your child enjoys doing.
