This Christmas craft for kids is super easy, inexpensive, pretty quick to put together, and turns out lovely every time! It makes a nice table decoration or centerpiece, so it’s a great way to get your kids involved in the holiday decorating. This is a good Christmas craft to do one-on-one with your child, and also works well for a small group. It’s appropriate for young children – as long as they are able to cut and glue, they should be able to do it successfully. Older children will also enjoy this craft because the end product is so pretty. I made this Christmas tree lantern with my eight year-old and twelve year-old and they both enjoyed it. It’s low on mess and can be finished in less than an hour, so it’s a great choice for a class activity or a party. Read on for instructions for this free printable Christmas craft for kids.
Materials for the Christmas Tree Lantern Christmas Craft for Kids
The Christmas Tree Lantern Christmas craft for kids only requires a few materials that are pretty inexpensive and easy to find. You probably have many of them on hand already. If you don’t already have the materials, you should be able to find them at your local craft store. You will need:
- Christmas tree lantern free printable (find the free PDF below).
- Card stock in the color of your choice. I used a natural light brown color. I found it at Hobby Lobby.
- Scissors
- An Exacto knife and cutting mat – this is optional, and only recommended for teens and adults. It is not necessary, but it is easier to use than scissors for cutting out the interior shape.
- Green vellum or cellophane – you can find rolls of cellophane with the wrapping paper or party supplies. You can find vellum at craft stores. Vellum is easier to work with for this craft, but might be harder to locate. Look near the scrapbook paper at your local craft store. If you really want vellum but can’t find it in the color you want, Amazon does carry it in a variety of colors.
- Craft glue or double-sided tape. I used The Ultimate! craft glue and it worked great!
- Battery operated LED tea light
- One sheet of tissue paper in the color of your choice
Instructions for Christmas Tree Lantern Christmas Craft for Kids
- Print the free printable for the Christmas Tree Lantern (below) onto a piece of cardstock.
- Cut around the outside of the lantern. *Note: the lines for the sides of the lanterns might not print all the way to the edge of the paper, depending on your printer. Just know that the side edges of the sides of the lantern are right on the long edges of the paper (the side that is 11 inches), so make sure you cut the sides all the way to the edge. I hope that makes sense! If you look at the PDF before you print it I think you will understand what I mean.
- Cut out the Christmas trees. Older kids might want to use an Exacto knife for this step, with supervision of course! If you are doing this project with young kids you might want to do this part for them. It’s a little tricky to cut the small shape out from the inside of the box. But if you want to let them give it a go, that’s ok too! It doesn’t have to be perfect. My eight year-old managed it just fine.
- Crease the box along the edges of all the sides and the tabs.
- Cut 4 rectangles out of green vellum or cellophane to overlap the Christmas tree cut-outs with enough space to tape or glue around the edge.
- Glue or tape the vellum or cellophane over the cut-out tree spaces.
- Fold the sides up and glue or tape the tabs to the inside of the adjoining sides. I used craft glue for this and it worked great. You just have to hold the sides together for about 30 seconds to help the glue start to set.
- Now that your Christmas tree lantern is assembled, you can prepare it for display.
- First, line the lantern with a small square of tissue paper. An 8×8 inch piece is about the right size.
- Place a battery operated LED tea light, or a small LED light of some kind, inside the tissue paper in your lantern. We used LED tea lights from IKEA and they were perfect.
- Now your lantern is all ready for display!
Ideas for Displaying Your Christmas Tree Lantern
Here are several ideas for displaying your Christmas tree lantern craft:
- Make several lanterns and place them down the center of a table or a mantle. Use a garland, fake snow, or a table runner to complete the look.
- Make a lantern for each of the guests at a Christmas gathering. Put a place card by each lantern to mark each guest’s place at the table.
I hope you enjoyed this easy Christmas craft for kids! See the links below for more fun crafts that you can do with your kids.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you stop by again!
Merry Christmas!
