Craft Stick Christmas Tree

Make a three dimensional Christmas tree by cutting out and gluing four paper Christmas tree shapes around a craft stick.	First Palette
Materials Paper or card stock Craft stick Scissors Glue Pencil Paper cup or bottle cap Sand, clay or salt dough Sequins, small shapes, buttons, pompoms and other decorative materials Poster paint (optional)

Safety Tips

Small materials like buttons, beads, or pompoms are choking hazards. These are not suitable for kids below the age of three.

Steps

	1.	Gather four sheets of paper together. Green is the traditional Christmas tree color but you can also use other colors like white, silver, gold, or pastel shades.
	2.	Fold the gathered sheets in the middle and draw half a Christmas tree along the folded edge.
	3.	While keeping the folded edge in place, cut out the Christmas tree. If you are using card stock or if you have difficulty cutting through all 4 sheets of paper, cut out the trees individually or by pairs. To ensure that all 4 trees are identical, use the first tree as a pattern for making the rest of the Christmas trees.
	4.	Open up the folded pieces to reveal four identical Christmas trees. *Instead of doing Steps 1 to 3, you may print out any of these Christmas tree templates. Color the trees and cut them out. Don't forget to fold each tree in the middle.
	5.	Decorate the inner surface of each tree by doing one or both of the following: a.) Drawing or Painting Finger paint or use a cotton swab to paint dots. Draw sparkling lines, dots and shapes with glitter glue. Add raised/textured shapes with puffy paint. The paint's small nozzle also allows you to make finer details. Avoid making any puffy paint shapes along the middle crease of each tree.
		b.) Gluing Small materials that you can glue include paper or craft foam shapes, sequins, tiny pompoms, little bows, rhinestones, and gem-style stickers. If the paper is thick enough, you may glue heavier materials such as buttons or beads. Remember not to glue anything along each tree's middle crease.
	6.	When your trees have dried, crease the middle of each tree again to emphasize the fold. Attach trees in pairs by gluing together half of their undecorated outer surfaces.
	7.	Glue a craft stick along the middle of one of the paper tree pairs. If you want a colored tree trunk, you may paint the craft stick beforehand.
	8.	Glue both paper tree pairs together, with the craft stick sandwiched between them. You now have a four-cornered Christmas tree.
	9.	Make a Christmas tree pot with any of these materials: (a & b) Bottle caps (c) Tea light tins (d) Paper cup (paint and trim to the desired height) (e) Self-hardening clay shaped into small pots (f) Small glass jars or cups (g) Others (Not in photo): candy tins, yoghurt cups, small basket Fill the pot with sand, clay, salt dough, a piece of Styrofoam or any anchoring material. Gently plant the craft stick trunk into the pot.
	10.	Add some accents to the pot if you like. You can glue a ribbon around it or put some stickers. Additionally, you may cover the dough or Styrofoam filler with a thin layer of sand, confetti or glitter.
	11.	Finally, glue a star at the top of your Christmas tree. You may cut your own or go for ready-made fabric stars, sequins, beads or craft foam stars.

More Ideas

	Adapt this craft for your little tots. Let them decorate a paper or felt tree with colorful and tactile materials such as buttons, pompoms or craft foam shapes.
	Glue six or more paper trees together to make a lusher Christmas tree.
	Instead of planting the Christmas tree into individual pots, make a Christmas tree forest with your entire class or family. Fill a shallow box with sand or Styrofoam and let kids plant their finished craft stick Christmas trees into the filler. If you used Styrofoam, you may cover the surface with a thin layer of sand or confetti.

Related Categories

Comments

Back to top