This colorful Christmas tree paper craft idea is a fun family project to get into this holiday season.
Kids will have a great time trying to cut the tree shapes, and thread the straw tree trunk through the carefully folded paper branches.
Full instructions and a video demo are below so you can make your own Xmas tree decorations at home.
Prepare your Paper Craft Materials
This craft activity is very light on materials with colored paper making up almost the entire project.
If you don’t have any handy you can have your kids decorate some regular paper after you complete the cutting stage and customize the look of their xmas tree.
Paper Christmas Tree Video Demo
The video below will walk you through the project from start to finish.
The folding of the paper can be a bit tricky, and when threading through the straw you need to be careful. Watching the full video will help you with the written instructions as some of the cuts are difficult to explain.
How to Make a Christmas Tree Paper Craft
This Christmas tree craft idea is a colorful decoration to add to your household this holiday season. Utilizing some colored paper you can cut and fold your way to these cool xmas tree shapes threaded through a straw to hold them up.
Kids will have a lot of fun trying to thread them through the straw without breaking them, and evening out the paper to make that recognizable tree shape.
Materials
Tools
Instructions
Stage 1: Cut Your Paper Christmas Tree Shape
- Step 1- Take a piece of red or green colored paper and fold in half, then fold into thirds.
- Step 2 - Ensure all folds are creased and then completely unfold the paper to show six creased boxes.
- Step 3 - Cut down the center crease and then from the side to create a piece of paper two side by side boxes.
- Step 4 - Fold this piece of paper in half and then draw a line from corner to corner to create that triangle shape of half an Xmas tree.
- Step 5 - At intervals of 1/3 of the length of your line, mark two small indented lines in pencil.
- Step 6 - Cut the length of paper to create the triangle shape.
- Step 7 - Next we will cut into both indented lines so there are two slits on the long edge of the triangle.
- Step 8 - Then, cut from the bottom of the triangle at an angle towards the end of your slit. This creates a jagged edge of the Xmas tree to mimic layers of branches. Repeat this in the next section above to the second slit.
- Step 9 - Unfold the paper and you have your Christmas tree paper shape.
Stage 2: Add Your Straw Tree Trunk
- Step 10 - Starting from the thicker tree base, fold the paper halfway to the first indented branch layer and crease. Then fold in the opposite direction so the next crease aligns with the indent. Repeat until you get to the top of the tree.
- Step 11 - Using a hole punch, cut a hole in the center of the folder tree laters. Make sure the hole is in the exact center of the paper so that the thin paper edges towards the top of the tree are as strong, and your end result is as straight as possible.
- Step 12 - Thread a straw through the hole, being careful not to damage the paper.
- Step 13 - Gently start to unfold the layers of paper as you slide them down the length of the straw.
- Step 14 - Using yelllow colored paper, cut out a small star shape.
- Step 15 - Glue this to the top of your Christmas tree.
- Step 16 - Your paper Christmas trees are now ready for decoration!
Why Make a Paper Craft Xmas Tree
They are cheap to make, almost mess-free, and only take a few minutes.
Being lightweight you can hang these on your life size xmas tree, or just hang them around the house to add some Christmas color to any room you like.
You can take this project further by encouraging your kids to decorate the tree branches in unique ways. This is a great activity to keep them engaged in the project for longer while also encouraging creativity.
For More Christmas Crafts
If you enjoyed this project then check out our full list of Christmas crafts ideas for toddlers.
Every project comes with a full written tutorial and videos. Including:
Final Word
This project will challenge those fine motor skills just enough to be a good learning exercise as well as a fun Christmas craft.
The mix of precision cutting and threading of the straw will challenge older toddlers just enough.
In the end you get a versatile decoration to hang up.
