How to Make Fun Placemats

Brighten up the dining table with personalized placemats.

Placemats help keep children--and some adults!-- from making a big mess on the dining table. Many kids like having designated places for themselves and others at the table ("my chair," "Dad's place"), along with personalized placemats to identify the spots. You can make a simple placemat out of a piece of tag board, decorate it with markers and then laminate it to make it easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Things You'll Need

• Tag board
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Markers
• Laminating machine

Instructions

1. Cut tag board into 15-by-12 inch rectangles, using a ruler to make a straight edge. Make as many placemats as there are family members who dine together.

2. Decorate the placemats with markers. Children can draw a picture of each family member on the designated placement, add the name and make a border with lines, dots or other repeating shapes.

3. Run the finished placemats through a laminating machine, which you can find available for public use at most copy centers.

4. Cut away excess laminating material, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the placemat to be sure the tag board is sealed in.

References

• Squigly's Arts & Crafts: Make Placemats Crafts for Kids