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The holiday season is a busy time, but it’s also perfect for making crafts for handmade gifts or keep as keepsake decorations for years to come. This Christmas tree luminary paper craft is a great way to get creative and have a cute decoration for the mantle or a side table.

For this craft, you will need to download and print the free template and grab a few inexpensive materials. You might even have everything you’ll need already!

Don’t you just love it when that happens? Maybe you’ve already had all of the materials sitting around and you’ve been asking yourself, “what can I do with all of this construction paper?” Well, here you go!

For more fun and creative Christmas activities for kids, you could also try making some pinecone crafts or an elf bookmark.

How to make a Christmas tree luminary

This is an easy, fun holiday craft that you can make with toddlers (with supervision) and preschoolers through school-aged children.

You could also get creative with the colored window the light will shine through. Our Christmas tree luminary has stripes, but you could put those stripes in a diagonal instead of straight across or use a single sheet of tissue paper with a pattern on it like stars or snowflakes.

Get creative. It’s your craft to create in whatever way makes you happy. No matter what, it will look great!

Supplies

For each tree luminary, you will need:

Thick colored construction paper or cardstock
Colorful tissue paper
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Glue
LED candle

Download and print the free Christmas tree luminary template on a sheet of 8.5” x 11” paper.

Directions

Cut out the tree from the PDF template you’ve just downloaded to use as a stencil.
Use the tree stencil to trace a Christmas tree on a piece of black or dark-colored construction paper or cardstock.
Cut the tree shape out.

Fold the same black or dark-colored piece of construction paper or cardstock you used for the tree into three equal folds, but keep an extra ¾ of an inch on the last fold and fold it over making a flap.
Cut out a 2×6 inch rectangle from the center of the middle fold.
Cut out four same-sized strips of tissue paper in the colors or pattern of your choice; slightly more than 1 1/2 inch by 2 inches.

Take a strip of colored tissue paper and glue it on the top of the rectangle cut out, filling in the empty space.
Repeat this step with each strip of paper until you’ve filled in the rectangle cut out.

Turn the paper over then put glue on the back of the Christmas tree cut out and stick it in the center of the rectangle cut out, over the non-glued side of the tissue paper.
Apply some glue on one side of the ¾ inch folded flaps on the ends of the construction paper or cardstock.

Stick the glued and the non-glued flap together forming an open triangle shape.
Allow your Christmas tree luminary to dry, then place it over an LED candle to light it up.
Clap while oohing and ahhing over your gorgeous creation.

Now you have an easy, cute luminary that your kids will love to turn on and watch at night.

Set it on a mantle, tabletop, kids’ nightstand, or in a window. It would even make a cute gift for the grandparents or teacher.

Try more Christmas crafts with the kids!

Christmas Tree Luminary

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Estimated Cost: $10

Easy Christmas tree luminary for kids to make. Appropriate for toddlers (with help) through school-age kids and older.

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Cut out the tree from the PDF template you’ve just downloaded to use as a stencil.
Use the tree stencil to trace a Christmas tree on a piece of black or dark-colored piece of construction paper or cardstock.
Cut the tree shape out.
Fold the same black or dark-colored piece of construction paper or cardstock you used for the tree into three equal folds, but keep an extra ¾ of an inch on the last fold and fold it over making a flap.
Cut out a 2x6 inch rectangle from the center of the middle fold.
Cut out four same-sized strips (slightly more than 1 1/2 inch by 2 inches) of colorful tissue paper in the colors of your choice.
Take a strip of colored tissue and glue it on the top of the rectangle cut out, filling in the empty space.
Repeat this step with each strip of paper until you’ve filled in the rectangle cut out.
Put glue on the back of the Christmas tree cut out and stick it in the center of the rectangle cut out, over the non-glued side of the tissue paper.
Apply some glue on one side of the ¾ inch folded flaps on the ends of the construction paper or cardstock.
Stick the glued and the non-glued flap together forming an open triangle shape.
Allow your Christmas tree luminary to dry, then place it over an LED candle to light it up.

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How to Make a Festive Christmas Tree Luminary Paper Craft