This simple Papercraft Christmas tree paper craft doubles as a fun Geometry lesson for kids! Looking for more fun winter and Christmas themed paper crafts? Try our snowman papercraft!
3D Christmas Tree Papercraft
What You'll Find on This Page
This 3D Christmas tree papercraft makes a wonderful STEM Christmas activity for kids! It’s a fun companion to these DIY Light-up Christmas cards!
These trees are super easy to use! Simply download the template at the end of this post, print, fold, and cut!
You can print your tree out on green paper like we did, or print on white paper and then color with crayons or markers or paint before cutting out your tree.
This activity took a lot of concentration for eight-year-old Emma (there is a simpler version at the end of this post for younger children who want to participate.
The lines are easy to cut for the first fold, but the more cuts you make, the less stable the paper becomes. I helped her hold the two layers together for the final cuts. This is great fine motor practice for older kids!
The final product is really neat! Besides transforming from a flat sheet of paper into a tree, it bounces up and down nicely like a spring. That was Emma’s favorite part!
Papercraft Christmas Tree Printables
I first learned how to make this neat 3D paper Christmas tree from the mom of a girl in Lily’s kindergarten class. I had never seen anything like it! My friend makes them just by guessing the distances, but I found that hard to do the first few times, at least, so I deconstructed it into a printable for you to try!
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We printed ours on green paper to give it a tree-like appearance. You fold along the dotted lines, printed side out. Unfold the paper between each fold – this will help give the finished product a tree-like shape, so be sure to make the folds even if you opt for an X-ACTO knife for the actual cutting (not recommended for kids).
After seeing how difficult this craft was for Emma, I made a simplified version for younger kids to try:
The shape is not as tree-like. I think we will print it out on gold paper next time to make a bell!
Our friend makes them out of foil, which means they are brilliantly shiny! Have you ever seen a craft like this?
What are your favorite Christmas crafts for kids? We would love to see photos if you make this Christmas tree papercraft!
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This paper craft is awesome! Will try with my son!
That’s awesome! I love it!
Thank you, Jen!
That is SUPER cool!
Thanks! It was a really neat craft to discover!
This looks amazing! Emma did an awesome job with your tutorial!
What patience!
Our Christmas season is even busier than usual. Much fun & learning but not a lot of time for Christmas Crafts. Hopefully we’ll have time to do some baking for friends and family.
That’s a great fine motor project! It came out great! Will you use it to decorate your house?
Super neat!! We should give it a try :-D
I hadn’t seen a 3D tree craft out of a single sheet of paper like that. How clever of you to deconstruct it so the rest of us could give it a try. I’m also impressed at Emma’s cutting skills… even as an adult that much precision would be a challenge I think.
So neat!! We will have to try it.
This is very cool, thanks for the printable!
Thanks for the printable versions – these are great! I think you’re right, the smaller version would make a beautiful bell.
I remember making something like that when I was living in California, my Mom had this big book of paper-cutting crafts.
It is such a clever idea!
Awesome! I’ll print this out for my kid to try (probably the easier one).