Deck the halls with one of the best and easiest makes of the Christmas season – paper chains! These are easily made with strips of paper, but if you want the convenience of prepared strips of paper, Bright Ideas stock a fantastic pack of pre-cut paper chain strips!
There’s no better activity than making paper chains for Christmas! We even have a super festive set of red and white patterned paper chains. Read on for our ideas and tip on how to make your paper chains extra special this Christmas.
You will need:
- Paper or Bright Ideas ready cut packs of paper chains
- Glue, sticky tape or stapler
- Glitter, paper or anything else you want to decorate your paper chains with!
Step 1:
Have your pack of Bright Ideas paper chains at the ready, sort them into piles of colours so you can create a pattern with your different colours of paper.
Step 2:
Start making your chain, creating a loop with one strip of paper and stick together, then thread the next strip through the first loop, continue like this until the chain is as long as you want it to be!
Step 3:
When you have a long length of paper chains you can either stop there, or get even more creative with your decorations!
Step 4:
Use your imagination, glitter glue, confetti, paper shapes, anything goes here really! Decorate your paper chains and leave to dry. Then hang your paper chains somewhere prominent. You could even add them to your Christmas tree!
Get Inventive With Your Paper Chains!
Idea 1:
Create a Paper Chain Christmas Tree!
Use lengths of paper chains, in green (or in multicolours if you like), create a cascading Christmas Tree shape on the wall of you classroom or in your home. This project works well to decorate the back of a door. You can then make paper presents and decorate with a big star or bow at the top of the tree.
Image from: House of Baby Piranha
Idea 2:
Create a Paper Chain Snowman!
Use strips of white paper to create a long tall snowman, decorate with a paper hat and draw on his eyes, nose, mouth and buttons.
Image from: http://fromabcstoacts.com/snowman-christmas-countdown
Idea 3:
Create Heart-Shaped Paper Chains!
Completely re-invent how we make paper chains!
Use your strips of paper to create the heart shapes by folding in half, and bending the two halves towards each other meeting in the centre. You then need to add in your next heart shape by slotting the bottom folded part of the heart in between the two meeting ends of the strip of paper. Continue this pattern until you have a long heart garland, you could even then decorate with glitter to make your paper chain extra special.
Image from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankowsky/8464907843/in/photostream/
Idea 4:
Santa’s Beard!
Use your paper chains creatively in varying lengths to create a long jolly Santa beard. Draw a Santa face on a circle of paper, and create your lengths of paper chains, with the method described previously. You can use white paper, or go multi-coloured for a really colourful Christmas. Attach your paper chains and trim his beard where necessary. Finish the decoration with a red Santa hat and bobble. Ho ho ho!!
Now you have a multitude of ideas for decorating your classroom, school or home with fantastic paper chains. If you’re still stuck for ideas, why not check out our video on our YouTube channel which shows you some great ideas for turning plain assorted paper chains into something altogether more blingy! You can put in as much or as little effort in as you want!
