Paper Strip Christmas Tree Craft for Kids

Wanting to complete at least one Christmas tree craft with my 3-year-old, I thought of this classic tree craft. It's simple and easy to prepare and fun and rewarding for a child to complete. This is a Christmas craft that easily accommodates different ages, including the preschool age.

If you like the idea of this Christmas craft but don't have time now to complete it, consider taking the time with your child the week after Christmas.

This doesn't need a lot of explanation, but I want to share a few things.

Typically I gather supplies and make all the needed preparations in advance for preschool crafts. However, Little Sister was eager to watch me and it only took a minute or two to cut the paper into strips. Older children could complete this craft independently.

Be sure to have a separate work area for placing glue on the backside of the paper strips. This may have been the first time I handed her the glue stick and didn't assist her. (It's been a while since we have glued.)

We used some small scrapbooking paper for this project. If I had not already been working with scraps of paper, I would have had Little Sister cut the paper some herself.

Let this be the child's project. Don't adjust the paper strips to be straight or centered. However, if you want a perfect paper strip Christmas tree, you can create one, too. (I jest. Sort of.)

As Little Sister was building the paper strip Christmas tree, we began at the bottom. After gluing the trunk, I asked her to find the biggest green paper. She did. She placed glue on the backside and placed it on the background paper. I asked her to find the biggest green paper again. By the third piece, she knew to look for the largest green paper and finished the tree independently. When it was time to glue the star, I just asked her where it goes. (We actually have an angel on our tree, but children are observant!)

Christmas Tree Craft

Supplies Needed
green paper
scissors
background paper
star sticker or cut from paper
brown paper, if desired
glue stick
work area

Directions
Cut the green paper into strips of various sizes. Cut a yellow and brown trunk, if desired. Show how the papers can be arranged to form a tree, and ask the child what it looks like. Once the child sees it, mix the paper pieces together and ask the child to find the brown piece for the trunk. Have the child glue it to the bottom of the background paper. Have the child find the biggest green piece of paper and glue it. Repeat process and finish with the star.

Are you looking for more children's crafts? Most of mine are quite easy! Check out all of our Children's Crafts, including our Christmas crafts. The simple nativity craft is still my favorite. Our children are 3, 6, and 8 so there are a variety of levels of difficulty.