How to Make Paper Christmas Angels

Learn how to make pretty folded paper Christmas angels. All you need for this Christmas craft is paper, scissors and glue.

If you love making paper snowflakes at Christmas time, you will love making these paper angels. They are such a fun Christmas craft! Each one turns out slightly different and they are just so cute. They make a great garland or wreath center. They can be used as tree ornaments, gift toppers or at your holiday table as place cards. You can even make extra large ones out of wrapping paper! I can’t wait to show you how to make these cute paper angels so you can become as obsessed with making them as I am.

To make paper Christmas angels, you will need:

If you do this craft with kids, use school glue sticks instead of hot glue to avoid any little fingers getting burned. School glue sticks worked great, they just take a little longer and I am always too impatient to wait for glue to dry…. hence the reason I have no fingerprints left from burning myself with hot glue. LOL.

Instructions

If you’d rather watch a video tutorial, scroll down!

Step 1: Fold the paper in half, then in half again, then in half again. When you unfold it, you should have 8 equal sections. These lines are folding guide lines for the next step.

Step 2: Use the folded guidelines to accordion fold the paper evenly. You’ll be folding each of the 8 sections in half, like this:

Step 3: Cut little designs into the folded paper. This is a lot like making paper snowflakes. Just cut into the sides of the paper, not all the way through. And definitely cut the two flat ends into a pretty shape too. I like to make more cuts on one end and fewer on the other. The larger side will be the dress and the smaller side will be the wings.

Step 4: Unfold the paper and find the center fold line. Cut a slit that’s around 2-3 inches long.

Now one side of the paper is divided into two sections. Fold these down away from each other, keeping the two sides even. These are the angel’s wings!

Step 5: Cut two 1/2 inch x 11 inch strips from a second sheet of paper. If you are making multiple angels, you can cut all of your strips out of the same paper sheet.

Step 6: Roll the first strip of paper into a double loop, glue it into place, then pinch the glued ends to form a teardop shape.

Step 7: Open the center section of the angel near the slit and add glue there. Sandwich the tip of the teardrop shape into the fold, then press it closed.

Step 8: Glue the bottom of each wing onto the body of the angel.

Step 9: Attach the last thin paper strip to the tips of each wing to form a hanger. Then your paper Christmas angel is officially done! Fluff her out and enjoy the cuteness.

I did a bunch of experimenting with different versions of this paper angel and here are some things I learned.

It’s super hard to use cardstock or heavyweight paper for this project, but it’s not impossible. I had the best luck using my scoring tool to make the accordion fold lines in the thicker paper instead of trying to fold it by hand. Then I cut through only a few folds at a time and just lined up the next cuts so it looked like it had all been cut at the same time. It is really hard to cut through so many layers of thick paper, so I definitely kept these designs more simple.

I also made a giant paper angel out of wrapping paper just to see if I could. And it’s really cool! It’s hard to tell from a photo, but this thing is about 20 inches tall! I used the grid lines on the back of the wrapping paper to guide my accordion folds and it worked really well.

This Christmas craft would be great to make at a class party or with neighborhood kids or grandkids. It’s also a great way to make inexpensive decorations for your home or office or classroom or party.

But don’t let the kids have all the fun… these are super fun for grown ups to create too! I love the thrill of making all the little cuts, then opening the paper to see the finished design. I could easily sit down with a stack of paper and make a dozen of these while watching Christmas movies. That’s my kind of heaven, right there!

Paper Christmas Angels Video Tutorial