This fun toilet paper roll Christmas craft is actually four-in-one! Using the same basic method you can make either a snowman, Santa, Rudolph, or a penguin! They're perfect to hang on the tree and you can even pop a chocolate or other little treat into the heads for an extra surprise.
We have other fun Christmas crafts and resources that you might also like to try. See the end of the post for more!
BASIC:
- Crepe paper
- Ribbon or fabric strips
- Pipe cleaner
- Pom poms
- Single hole punch
- Black pen
- Scissors and glue and/ or double sided sticky tape
To make the Snowman:
- Orange paper or card for the beak, brown tissue paper for the arms and buttons
To make Rudolph:
- Brown card for the antlers and a red pom pom for the nose
To make Santa:
- Black paper or card for the belt, pink paper for the face, a round cotton pad (or cotton wool) for the beard and hair
To make the Penguin:
- White paper for the tummy and face, orange paper or card for the beak and black card for the wings
How to make the Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Crafts:
The basic method is the same for all the different characters, so I'll lead you through making the snowman and then briefly explain how to make each of the variations at the end of the post.
1. Cut a rectangle of crepe paper about 12cm x 16cm.
2. Take a toilet roll tube and measure about 4cm from one end. Cut to make two smaller rolls - one a bit longer than the other.
3. Apply glue liberally around each piece of toilet roll, and place on the crepe paper as shown in the photo. Make sure there is a gap of about 2cm between the rolls.
4. Roll the crepe paper around the tubes. If you have excess crepe paper just glue or tape it down.
5. Take a length of ribbon or a fabric strip about 25cm long. Tie it around the gap between the two rolls to make the scarf, and create the effect of a head and body. You don't need to pull too tightly.
6. Make a hole on either side of the head using the single hole punch. Cut a pipe cleaner in half and thread it through the holes, wrapping the ends over to fix in place.
7. Stick pom poms over the holes to finish the ear muffs. Use a strong glue or double sided sticky tape for this - a normal glue stick won't be enough.
8. Now add the details. For the snowman's arms I took a 2 squares of brown tissue paper about 6cm x 6cm and simply twisted them into 2 thin sausages. When we made these in class some of them didn't stick well to the crepe paper with a normal glue stick, so we ended up fixing them with a small piece of double sided sticky tape. However, you could also staple them on.
The snowman also has a small orange paper triangle for the nose and we drew the eyes and mouth with black pen. To finish, we added some adhesive buttons.
To make Rudolph:
For Rudolph, you just need to cut some simple antler shapes from brown card and stick them to the back of the head. Glue on a red pom pom for the nose!
To make Santa:
Glue a thin strip of black card around the middle of the body to make the belt. Cut a small semi circle of pink paper and stick onto the head to make the face. For the beard and hair, peel apart a round cotton pad. Cut a beard shape and a small piece of hair from one half of the pad. Stick the beard to the bottom of the face and the hair above. Draw a mouth onto the beard with black pen.
To make the Penguin:
Cut an elongated semi circle of white paper and stick onto the body to make the belly. Cut a smaller semi circle for the face, give it some shape if you like, and stick it onto the head. Cut two triangle wings from black card and fix them to each side of the body using double sided sticky tape, a stapler, or strong glue. Add a triangle of orange paper for the beak.
They look really cute altogether! Why not have a go at making the whole collection? You could also create some characters of your own!
They also make handy little treat holders!
This is a straightforward craft, but you will need to give more or less help depending on the age of your kids. Preschoolers will need a lot of help, while first grade kids should be able to do most of it themselves.
Some tips:
- Pre-cut the toilet roll tubes, scarves and crepe paper rectangles beforehand.
Areas that kids will likely need help / guidance:
- positioning the toilet paper rolls correctly on the crepe paper
- tying a knot in the scarf
- attaching the pipe cleaners
