There are lots of lovely things you can do to decorate for Christmas using only paper and scissors. You can reuse bits of junk mail, repurpose pages from a catalog or magazine, use old envelopes, letters, or try newspapers for some interesting designs for a frugal and fun paper Christmas.
A. This ornament is many years old because yes, I am that sentimental, and my little boy made this. My little boy is a 20 year old college student and he's 6'5" tall.You can make this easier or more complicated, depending on the age of the child.
1. Easiest version: Use a cookie cutter for a template or trace a shape you find on the internet. Cut a gingerbread person, mitten, or stocking shape from a paper bag or Christmas card. Decorate if desired. Paper punch a hole in one corner and string a ribbon through for hanging.
2. Next easiest- Cut two identical shapes from a Christmas card, paper bag, or (as in the picture) one each (you can't see it here, but the other side is a picture of a teddy bear soldier playing a drum. Martial themes were once most popular with a certain party around here). Place them together so the picture on the Christmas card shows on one side. Decorate the paperbag side if desired. Glue around the edges.
3. Beginning sewer: instead of gluing around the edges, use crochet thread (or embroidery floss) and a needle and sew the edges as pictured above. Or punch holes around the edges and lace with yarn and a needle made from a pipe cleaner.
The decoration on this mitten came from a Christmas card. We lightly glued it to the paperbag, and then used glitter glue to pipe around the edge.
Hang these on the tree or use as gift tags.
B. Two colours of paper, make a woven paper basket that can hold a few pieces of candy, a cookie, or a bit of greenery. Hangs on the tree.
C. Origami: I am not a handy person. I am not good with small, fiddling, detail work which requires care and attention. I have ten thumbs. On one hand and some days I don’t even think they’re opposable. I don’t know what’s on the other hand, but it’s not very useful when it comes to this sort of thing. So while Origami ought to be easy, I find it a challenge.
I also have trouble with spacial skills, and the directions to every origami book I have ever used completely undid me, leaving me sitting among wads of crumpled paper and fistfuls of the hair I’d pulled out of my head in despair. Until I found this one.
Origami, by Hideaki Sakata is the first book I found where I could understand the directions. I still can’t do everything in the book, but for the first time I could understand what it was I was supposed to be doing, and I can actually make several of the simpler items. And since I figured out how to do some origami projects from this book, the instructions in other books are more understandable to me, too.
Origami isn’t just for folding paper animals and things like that. Easy Origami, by Kazuo Kobayashi and Chiharu Sunayama, has directions for folding napkins, making folded paper gifts such as little frames, holders for business and credit cards, paper boxes and fun containers for snacks at Christmas and other parties. They make cute little stocking stuffers, the little frames and business card holders.
Look around on the internet for origimi projects you can do. We have, in past years, dipped in wax the origami paper cranes made for us by Japanese exchange students when we lived in Japan. Tey lasted well over 20 years and a dozen moves.
D.
Look around on the internet for origimi projects you can do. We have, in past years, dipped in wax the origami paper cranes made for us by Japanese exchange students when we lived in Japan. Tey lasted well over 20 years and a dozen moves.
D.
E. I like to fold tiny gift boxes from Christmas cards, tie them with ribbon and hang them on the tree. Of course, I have moved so many times and been so remiss with my own Christmas list that nobody sends me Christmas cards any more. I think when we get back to the U.S. I will buy some old boxes of Christmas cards from the thrift shop for this craft. It's very much in the tradition of cardboard sloyd. Instructions here.
F. Make these little paper lanterns- they look very cute over the Christmas tree lights!
Three of four other Crafts you could use for Christmas gifts or decorations are included in
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