DIY Paper Stars – How to make your own Christmas Decoration
DIY paper stars are absolutely everywhere in our home this Christmas – and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. As someone who usually loves clean counters and clear surfaces, the holiday season is when I let go a bit. I go full sparkle mode! Think paper bag stars, tiny Christmas trees, vintage ornaments, and shiny bits in gold, red, and green peeking out from every corner. It’s a beautiful chaos that just feels right.
What I love most about the festive lead-up is how it becomes this beautiful excuse to slow down and get creative with the kids. Last year, we really leaned into the easy DIY paper stars trend, and it turned into a whole tradition. We’d light a few candles, put on our favourite holiday playlist (or a Christmas-themed YouTube video), and gather around the table with some paper bags, glue sticks, and hot cocoa. Pure magic.
Our girls are obsessed with crafts, and this is one of those easy crafts that doesn’t need much. It’s also a great way to repurpose old magazines, leftover construction paper, or those last bags from the grocery run that are just sitting in the cupboard. Whether you’re using origami paper, decorative paper, or a humble, plain piece of paper, the result is always uniquely charming.
So in this post, I’m sharing a little video tutorial-style guide (minus the actual video, because, you know, I’m more of a written-word kinda girl) to walk you through how to make beautiful paper star decorations in different ways. From simple strip of paper folding to full-blown 3D paper stars, there’s something for every skill level.
What You’ll Need for These DIY Paper Stars
Paper bags (or sheets of construction paper, origami paper, or decorative paper)
Scissors
Glue stick or hot glue
Black thread or twine for hanging
Christmas music or a cozy YouTube/TikTok make vibe
Optional: sparkly spray paint, inch squares of leftover paper for accent stars
How do you make little paper stars
To make a variation of sizes, simply cut your paper in half or quarters. An A5 or A6 sheet of paper allows your stars to become smaller and be cute decoration to add to your tree.
How to make a paper star for a Christmas tree
When adding your stars to your Christmas tree, try to stick to your tree’s colour scheme. Craft shops often sell beautiful gold or silver paper you could use. Otherwise white stars go with almost everything.
How to make a paper star without glue
Instead of glue you can use a little sticky tape to hold the edges together. If you are completely out of anything sticky, a thread and needle may be used to sew your edges together. Just be gentle when attempting this, as thin paper tends to tear easily that way.
DIY paper stars step by step
Prepare
Remove 4 sheets of paper from your magazine, newspaper or book. These should be the same size, so if you tear them out, try to be careful with the edges. You could always use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to create a straight edge.
Stacking the paper to an even pile, start to cut into the shorter edges of the paper to create your star’s spikes. These don’t need to be even, adding different angles and heights will add depth to your star. Complete this for the first side, then repeat on the other.
Separate your papers and fold each in a harmonica fold. Try to make the harmonica fold as even across your four papers as possible. For example, if your first paper is folded 1cm wide, fold your other three papers into 1cm folds also.
Fold your four harmonica folded papers in half. This fold should also be done as evenly as possible, to create an even star.
Assemble
Connect the four parts using your black thread. First, take two of your four papers and place them opposite each other with the tips touching. Cut a 15cm piece of thread. Run the piece of thread through both tips of your star. Tie a knot to connect them. Do not cut the thread yet. Add your third paper with its tip touching the two now connected tips of your first two papers. Run the thread through the fold as you did for the first two and tie it. Continue to repeat the process with your last paper. You should now have a cross-like shape. Cut the thread close to the centre of your star.
Connect your edges. Add glue to one outer edge of your folded papers. Take the edge closest to it and connect the two. Looking at the four parts as a cross, you want to connect the right edge of the top part to the upper edge of the right part. Work your way around the paper star until all eight edges are connected. You should now have a beautiful paper star.
Hang and enjoy
Hang up your star. To hang your paper star, cut a long piece of thread of at least 30cm. The exact length will depend on the size of your star, but should be at least 1.5x its diameter. Run your thread through the centre of the star and tie the ends tightly together. Your star should now sit comfortably in the middle of your thread.
Decorate your home and enjoy the beautiful paper stars you just created.
As you can see, these beautiful paper stars require very little time to make. They’re ideal to recycle some old paper and create a beautiful range of patterns across your stars. If you have some sparkly spray paint left, add a little to make your paper stars stand out even more.
