Paper Christmas Decorations: A Family Craft Afternoon

What Christmas decorations can you make at home?

Make paper Christmas decorations by looping strips into chains, cutting folded paper into snowflakes, layering stars and covering a paper plate to make a wreath. Add salt dough ornaments if you fancy a keepsake. Start with the paper and glue already in your cupboard, then follow the afternoon plan below or choose the make your child wants to try first.

You don't need a matching set. A wonky chain in your child's chosen colours belongs here just as much as a carefully cut star.

What should you get ready before the afternoon?

Gather ordinary paper, coloured scraps, a paper plate, a glue stick, sticky tape, pencils and scissors. For the optional dough ornaments, check all ingredients against your child's known allergies before mixing. If your child has a wheat allergy or reacts to another ingredient, choose one of the paper crafts instead. Otherwise, prepare a batch beforehand using the Royal Horticultural Society's salt dough method, and put out a rolling pin, cutters and a tray.

Choose a weekend afternoon when the table can stay messy. Leave painting the dough for another day.

Stay alongside young children during cutting and making, as Action for Children advises. With under-3s nearby, keep beads, loose ribbon and hanging cords out of reach: small parts can choke and loose ties can strangle, as GOV.UK's toy safety advice explains. Keep button batteries out of reach too; GOV.UK warns they can cause serious internal injury if swallowed.

How do you turn the paper pile into decorations?

Work through this suggested sequence, or stop after the make your child enjoys most. The age suggestions help you share out jobs: you can take over the cutting while your child chooses colours, folds or sticks. Put finished pieces on a separate tray as you go.

1. Choose colours and share jobs: 5 minutes

Ask, "Which paper shall we use first?" Give your child the colour choices and put out a scrap-paper bowl.

If they want to start sticking now, hand over the wreath base while you prepare strips.

2. Link a paper chain: 10 minutes

Suggested ages: 3 to 8; prepare strips for younger children.

1. Cut strips about 5 x 20 cm, following the National Trust's paper-chain guide.
2. Curve a strip into a ring and tape the overlapping ends.
3. Thread another strip through it, close that ring and repeat.

If they forget to link a ring, open its taped join and try again.

3. Unfold a snowflake: 10 minutes

Suggested ages: 5 to 8 for assisted cutting; ages 3 to 4 can decorate an adult-cut shape.

1. Fold a square diagonally into a triangle, then in half again.
2. Snip small triangles from the edges, leaving plenty of each folded edge intact.
3. Open gently and smooth it flat.

If it tears, keep the pieces for the wreath.

4. Layer a paper star: 10 minutes

Suggested ages: 3 to 8; offer ready-cut shapes to younger children.

1. Draw a large star on paper, or draw around a star-shaped biscuit cutter.
2. Cut it out, then make a smaller star in another colour.
3. Glue the smaller star onto the middle and add pencil patterns.

Crooked points can stay. Let your child decide which way up it goes.

5. Cover a paper-plate wreath: 10 minutes

Suggested ages: 3 to 8; a grown-up cuts out the plate's centre.

1. Leave a broad ring around the plate's edge.
2. Tear green paper into leaves and glue them around the ring.
3. Draw red berries, then leave the glue to dry.

This adapts the Royal National Institute of Blind People's wreath. If they cover the hole, keep it as a festive plate.

6. Shape a salt dough keepsake: 10 minutes

Suggested ages: 3 to 8, with a grown-up alongside.

1. Roll your prepared dough flat and cut a shape.
2. Make a hanging hole near the top with a pencil.
3. Place it flat on the tray to dry before painting.

If shaping becomes squashing, that's fine. Keep dough out of mouths and wash hands before and afterwards, following the Food Standards Agency's flour guidance.

7. Clear the table and admire: 5 minutes

Put scraps away, close the glue and lay out the finished paper pieces. Let your child choose where they'll go once dry.

Then sit together and look at what you've made. Ask them to choose a favourite detail, or simply enjoy a quiet look before moving on.

Can you fit it into an hour?

The suggested plan totals 60 minutes: 5 for getting started, 10 for each make and 5 for clearing up. That's time at the table, with dough mixed beforehand. Drying comes afterwards: the Royal Horticultural Society allows about 2 days for its salt dough to harden.

If you've only got a short gap before tea, make the chain and stop. You can put the other supplies away for another afternoon.

What if the cutting and sticking goes wrong?

Keep the decoration and change the job. Offer ready-cut paper if cutting is frustrating, tape a join that won't stay glued, or turn a torn snowflake into a collage. If your child has had enough, stop with whatever they've made and leave the next project for another day.

For a chain that falls apart, overlap the ends further and tape across the join. For a wreath that looks bare, put the biggest scraps underneath and save the smaller pieces for gaps.

If siblings want different things, give each a tray and let their decorations look different. Nobody needs to copy the grown-up's sample. For another kind of festive afternoon, try these Christmas activities for nursery and Reception.

How can you keep the decorations for another Christmas?

Put aside a labelled box while you're making, so there's somewhere for favourites to go when you take them down. Store flat paper pieces between sheets of clean paper, give chains room to keep their shape, and wrap dry dough ornaments individually before packing them.

Keep the box somewhere dry. Add your child's name and the date to the back of keepsakes, and save a spare star shape as a template.

For the next session, keep unused paper together and choose another small make from these Advent calendar activity ideas.

Once the craft table is cleared, fancy some movement together? Browse Yogi-Me's mats for your next indoor afternoon, with 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make paper chains?

Curl a strip of paper into a ring and tape its ends together. Thread the next strip through the ring, then join its ends. Repeat until you're happy with the length. Your child can choose colours while you help with the joins.

What paper is best for paper decorations?

Use ordinary printer paper for snowflakes and paper chains, and coloured paper or wrapping-paper offcuts for stars and wreath leaves. Keep thicker card for backing shapes. Before cutting a whole batch, fold and glue a scrap to check that it does what you need.

How long do salt-dough decorations last?

Keep them for another Christmas if they're dry and intact, and check them when you unpack. Let the dough dry completely before painting, then let the paint dry before packing. Wrap each ornament separately and store it in a dry box. There's no guaranteed number of years.

Are homemade decorations safe on a tree with lights?

Keep paper clear of bulbs and don't attach decorations to light strings. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also advises keeping decorations away from candles and heaters. Switch fairy lights off and unplug them before bed or when you leave home.

Sources

• Royal Horticultural Society: Make and decorate salt dough shapes
• Action for Children: Christmas activities and crafts
• GOV.UK: Buy toys safely this Christmas
• GOV.UK: Button batteries and powerful magnets
• National Trust: Make festive paper chain decorations
• Royal National Institute of Blind People: Paper-plate Christmas wreath
• Food Standards Agency: Handling flour and flour products safely
• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: Festive safety