Did you know that you can make great crafts out of brown paper bags? While these bags may be used to help out with carrying groceries or carrying kids’ lunches to school, they can be used for so much more. Use the lunch-sized brown paper bags around the holidays to attempt a variety of crafts, and make sure you try this one! If you would like to make reindeer out of paper bags, keep the following materials on hand:
-lunch sized paper bags
-brown construction paper
-craft eyes
-craft pompons
-markers
-scissors
-Elmer’s glue
The first step to making paper bag reindeer is to decorate the paper bag. The bag will serve as a puppet, so the bottom folded part of the paper bag is where the eyes and nose will go. The mouth will be right underneath the folded portion, so the tongue can go inside of the mouth!
Attach two craft eyes to bottom folded portion of the paper bag. Add a red pompon to serve as the nose (or you could use a brown or black pompon if you do not want to go for the Rudolph look!) with Elmer’s glue. Cut a tongue out of red or pink construction paper and glue it right under the crease in the bottom of the bag. Add any other features that you would like by using markers. Don’t forget to add details to the eyes and mouth! You can even be as detailed as adding a tail on the back with another craft pompon. If you would like to add even more detail, use scissors to shape the bottom of the paper bag into four reindeer legs.
Next, fold a piece of construction paper in half. Try to use white, brown, or black construction paper. Trace your hand on one half of the piece of construction paper. Next, cut out the shape of your hand that you just traced. Because the paper is folded in half, you will now have two cutouts of your hand. These will serve as your reindeer’s antlers! If you want to make a double set of antlers, try folding another piece of construction paper in half. This time, trace your other hand so that each set of antlers looks a bit different from the other.
Take your pair (or pairs) of antlers and glue them to the backside of your reindeer’s head. You can decorate these antlers with markers, but wait until the glue has completely dried. You now have your very own reindeer puppet to use for the holiday season!
Tips:
-If you have access to red ribbon and bells, try punching a hole in each of the antlers with a hole punch and adding a bell to each!
-You can also make antlers out of pipe cleaners. Bend the pipe cleaners and attach them together to make antlers as big or as small as you would like.
-This craft is great to make in school. Children can use their paper bags to collect small presents and treats from friends.
