This is an easy Christmas craft that perschoolers could do (probably with a little assistance), but that looks nice enough that it doesn't scream "a little kid made this!"

It can obviously be used as a tree ornament ... but you can also skip the last step of gluing on the twine and instead glue your straw tree to a folded piece of cardstock, making a pretty cool Christmas card.

(Although it probably wouldn't go too well in the mail. It'd have to be one of those Christmas cards that you drop in your co-worker's mail slot or attach to a gift.)

Because this craft is so simple, it's easy to customize, either for the sake of variety or just to make it a better match with the materials you already have on hand:

Change the color and design of the straws, or even make your own. (See the videos below.)
Instead of using a craft stick, glue two straws together.
Use different stickers for the tree's topper. Or, if you're like me and have a bunch of scrapbooking supplies stuffed in a Thirty-One Gifts somewhere in the back of a closet, you can dig out the bag and see if you have a star punch and some silver or gold cardstock. You can also play around with using ribbon to make a topper.

Before we get the directions, let's talk about how you can make your own paper straws.

How do you make homemade paper straws?

Now if you're really feeling creative (or think that pre-made paper straw are too expensive or want to be more environmentally friendly), there are at least two ways to make your own.

This is a particularly smart option if you're "mass producing" these Christmas tree crafts, like in a preschool classroom setting ... or if you like to have plenty of paper straws on hand for future crafts.

Paper Straws Made From Chopsticks and Scrapbooking Paper

How to Make Paper Straws from Newspaper

Materials for Christmas Tree Craft

Christmas Tree Craft Directions

Place the large wooden craft stick on the paper plate.

Use a paint brush to paint the craft stick with red paint. (We painted two coats to make sure I had full coverage) Let dry completely before moving to the next step.

Remove the backing from the snowflake sticker and place it at the top of the red craft stick.

Cut a piece of one paper straw slightly wider than the width of the craft stick. Glue the piece right below the snowflake sticker.

Repeat this process with different color paper straws, cutting each straw slightly wider than the previous one, and then gluing to the craft stick.

Continue until the last straw is approximately 1” above the bottom of the craft stick. Let dry completely.

Cut a piece of red jute twine approximately 10” long.

Fold the twine in half, and then tie a knot at the bottom.

Flip the craft stick over, and glue the knotted end of the jute twine to the top of the stick (on the opposite side of the snowflake sticker).

Once dry, your Christmas Tree is ready to be hung!

📖 Recipe

Paper Straw Christmas Tree Ornament

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Materials

Jumbo craft stick
Red Acrylic Paint
Red craft jute twine
Snowflake sticker
Red, white, & gold paper straws

Tools

Scissors
White School Glue
Paintbrush

Instructions

Place the large wooden craft stick on the paper plate and paint the it with red paint.
Wait for the paint to dry, paint a second coat, then let it dry again.
Remove the backing from the snowflake sticker and place it at the top of the red craft stick.
Cut a piece of one paper straw slightly wider than the width of the craft stick. Glue the piece right below the snowflake sticker
Repeat this process with different color paper straws, cutting each straw slightly wider than the previous one, and then gluing to the craft stick.
Cut a piece of red jute twine approximately 10” long. Fold in half, and then tie a knot at the bottom.
Flip the craft stick over, and glue the knotted end of the jute twine to the top of the stick (on the opposite side of the snowflake sticker).
Let dry and then hang up!

Notes

See video instructions on the post if you'd like to make your own paper straws.

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Paper Straw Christmas Tree Ornament Craft

How do you make homemade paper straws?