Easy origami reindeer for kids ages 6+

Age: 6+ · Time: 20 min · For: Ages 6–9 Ages 10–12

This little reindeer is folded from a single square of brown paper, with antlers made from tracing around your own hands. It takes about twenty minutes and is a good first origami project for children of 6 and up.

Every reindeer comes out a little different, with its own expression, which is half the fun.

Tips

Fold slowly and line up the edges before you crease.
Practice on printer paper cut into a square before using your nicest paper.

Ideas

A whole herd: make a reindeer for everyone and stick them on the window.
Gift toppers: glue a reindeer onto a present instead of a bow.
Mini bookmarks: glue the reindeer on a strip of cardstock.

You need

a brown square of paper of 6 x 6 inches
a piece of light brown or beige paper for the antlers
scissors
a glue stick
a black marker and colored pencils
a red, black or brown circle of paper for the nose

Steps

Lay the square with a corner pointing towards you, colored side down. Fold it in half from left to right to make a triangle, crease and unfold.
Fold the left and right edges to the center line, like a kite.
Fold the top point down to meet the bottom of the kite shape, then fold the very tip back up a little. This makes the forehead.
Fold the bottom point up by about 1 inch to make the snout, and fold the sides of the snout slightly behind so it looks rounder.
Turn the reindeer over. Draw around both your hands on the light brown paper, cut them out and glue them behind the head as antlers.
Glue on the nose and draw the eyes. Add rosy cheeks with a coloring pencil.