Christmas presents are all wrapped. And now, we were left with those odd bits and ends of wrapping paper. So instead of throwing them all away, I decided to turn it into a preschool craft activity. This is an easy craft for toddlers too. What did we create? The recycled paper Christmas tree craft – a fun craft that not only enhances the kids’ cutting and pasting skills, but it’s good for the environment too, because wrapping paper scraps get saved and turned into a Christmas home decor easy enough for young kids to make.

Materials needed for this Recycled Paper Christmas Tree Craft:

A4 paper – ideally, it should be thicker than the normal bond paper. We used 90 gsm coloured paper.

Excess wrapping paper in different shapes and sizes. You can also include ribbons, catalogue cut outs and any other colorful scraps of paper.

Free paper Christmas tree craft template by Kidz Activities (below)

Glue stick

Scissors

How to create a Recycled Paper Christmas Tree Craft:

1. Click on the paper Christmas Tree Craft template by Kidz Activities below and print 2 Christmas trees on A4 paper (90 gsm in thickness). An alternative is to print the template on normal bond paper, cut out the Christmas tree, then trace it on a thicker piece of paper or cardboard. You can trace this on recycled shopping paper bags or cereal boxes. Remember, you will need 2 Christmas trees.

2. Cut out the paper Christmas tree craft template. Young toddlers may need help. Our 4-year-old insisted on cutting it by himself, which was great. His tree wasn’t perfect, but the activity made him practice his cutting skills. Scissor cutting, with a proper scissor grasp, will give the thumb, forefinger and middle finger lots of practice in working together, and will strengthen your child’s hand muscles.

3. This is the part that kids of all ages (including 2-year-olds) enjoy… Once the paper Christmas tree craft template is cut off, give the kids glue stick and let them stick the pieces of scrap wrapping paper, ribbon or catalogue cut outs onto the Christmas tree. If they go beyond the edges of the Christmas tree, it doesn’t matter. Let the kids do both sides of each of the 2 Christmas trees.

4. After they are done with their pasting creations, an adult may have to trim off the edges for toddlers or preschoolers.

5. Take a look at the paper Christmas tree craft template again, and notice the broken lines in the middle of the tree. On one Christmas tree, cut a straight line from the bottom till the middle of the tree. Then on the second Christmas tree, cut a straight line from the top till the middle of the tree.

6. Connect the 2 trees together to make it stand. Then top it off with a star at the top. In this case, we ran out of time and the kids chose a red flower that resembled a star shape for their paper Christmas tree craft.

And the finished product…

This simple paper Christmas tree craft is fun for kids to do and it enhances fine motor skills like cutting and pasting. But the best part is we teach them how to create new things with stuff we would have otherwise thrown away… a little lesson on helping the environment.

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