Cardboard Christmas Tree Cutout

Thanksgiving is over, which means it is unofficially Christmas time!

People in China don't really celebrate Christmas like Americans do, so finding Christmas decorations is not exactly as simple as going to the nearest party store. In fact, I don't even know if party stores exist here.

That being said, without a bunch of department stores and malls showcasing holiday-themed gifts and radio stations playing Christmas music 24/7, feeling the "Christmas spirit" is a little difficult. All that really means is that I need to put a little more effort into creating a Christmas atmosphere in my home, so this weekend I made my own Christmas tree!

Technically, I COULD have just gone down to Walmart and bought a plastic Christmas tree, but I didn't want to spend the money on something I will only use for one month of one year.

So instead, I went to the little market next to my dorm and bought two big styrofoam boards (cardboard will work too). By some Christmas miracle, the boards were already painted green!

Next, because I am not really a good artist, I went on Google and found an outline of a Christmas tree that I liked. Even with the Google image as a reference, just drawing the tree outline freehand on the giant green board was too difficult for me, so I superimposed the tree picture onto a grid. I then drew a corresponding grid onto one of the green boards and drew the tree outline grid by grid.

Actually, the tree outline I chose was symmetrical, so I only did this for the left side of the tree. Then after I cut it out using a razor blade, I took the leftover section that I had just cut off, flipped it over onto the other side, and traced the right side of the tree onto the board.

After you cut out one tree, trace the outline onto the other board and cut that one out too, so  you end up with two identical Christmas tree cut outs.

Next, draw a straight line exactly down the middle of both trees. One one tree, cut a slit from the top to halfway down the tree. On the other tree, cut a slit from the bottom up to halfway up the tree.

Now comes the tricky part. Turn the two cutouts perpendicular to each other and using the slits you just cut, slide one tree on top of the other.


If all goes well, your tree should be able to stand up on its own like this!

And then as a party activity or kids craft you can have people make their own paper ornaments and tape them onto the tree branches!

I had some little helpers make ornaments for the tree!

Happy crafting!