Football Handprint Keepsake Kits

A football handprint keepsake preserves your child's hand at the size it is right now, on a display-quality ball that sits on a shelf instead of in a drawer. Choose walnut or maple, set aside an afternoon, and you will still have it in twenty years.

What comes in the kit

Everything you need, nothing you have to go buy separately.

  • Display-quality 5-inch football
  • Child-safe ink pad
  • Alcohol prep wipe
  • Brush-on water-based sealant
  • Solid wood display base in walnut or maple

How it works

Four steps, about twenty minutes of actual work, and most of that is waiting.

  1. Wipe the ball down with the alcohol prep wipe and let it dry.
  2. Press your child's palm onto the ink pad, then onto the ball.
  3. Let the print set, then brush on the sealant the way you would apply nail polish.
  4. Set the ball on the base once the sealant has cured.

The sealant is brushed on, not sprayed, so there is no aerosol and no overspray to worry about indoors.

Walnut or maple

The finishes are the same base in two woods, and the choice is mostly about where it is going to live.

Walnut is dark and warm. It reads well on a desk, a bookshelf, or an office credenza, and it is the one most dads pick for themselves.

Maple is light and clean. It suits a nursery, a playroom, or a shelf with other light wood on it, and it photographs well, which matters if you are giving it as a gift.

Questions parents ask

How do I get my baby to open their hand for a handprint?

Newborns and young infants keep their hands closed most of the time, which is the single most common reason a first attempt does not work. Wait until your child is drowsy rather than alert. Stroke the back of the hand from wrist toward fingers and the hand usually opens on its own. Do not pry the fingers apart. If it is not happening, stop and try again after a nap.

What age works best?

Any age. Infant prints are small and take more patience. Toddlers and older kids can press their own hand down, which usually goes faster and is more fun for them. There is no window you are going to miss.

Will the handprint smudge or fade?

The brush-on sealant locks the print in once it cures. After that it is a display piece you can handle normally. Keep it out of direct sunlight the way you would with a framed photo.

Can I do more than one?

Plenty of families do one per child, or one each year. The prints stack up on a shelf and the size difference between them ends up being the thing people notice.

Why a ball instead of a frame

Handprint keepsakes usually end up in a drawer. A ball on a wood base does not, because it looks like something that belongs on a shelf rather than something you are storing. That is the whole idea. They grow up fast, and the things you keep should be things you actually see.

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