How To Make Paper Snowflake Decorations

Paper snowflakes are the ultimate credit crunch Christmas decoration - they cost next to nothing to make but are great fun to have a go at with the kids and look gorgeous, especially if hung in a window or against the dark green of a tree.

Plain white paper
Small scissors
Spray glue
Ribbon
Tape or drawing pins

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Skill

Well, like most people, I made these when I was at school. So, assuming you can handle scissors safely, you can do this!

Budget

Got paper and scissors in the house? All you need to buy is ribbon and perhaps spray glue. You're not looking at spending £2 to £3 for dozens of snowflakes.

Time

One snowflake will take around five minutes at the most to make. It will take longer if you're supervising kids.

Step One: How To Create the Shape

You can fold and cut more than one piece of paper at a time, but first go, fold just one piece of square paper in half diagonally, then in half diagonally again. Then fold the paper in half diagonally again, and, if you can, once more. At the top (wider) end of the paper, cut off the hard corners to make the overall shape of the snowflake round. Then, down the sides of the folded paper, nip out triangles, squares and semi-circles. You could even nip off the tip of the folded paper.

Step Two: Unfold and Flatten

Unfold the paper snowflake and flatten it out (you might need to sit it under a heavy book for a couple of hours). Repeat the process until you have enough snowflakes.

Step Three: Tie Them With Ribbons

Tie lengths of thin ribbon to the top of the snowflakes, then pin or tape the other end of the ribbon to a window frame, to the Christmas tree, above a doorway... wherever will show off your snowflakes best.