Deck the Halls with Boughs of Origami

Every Christmas you pull out the Christmas decorations you have purchased over the years and deck the halls to mark the season. Christmas is a time of family and traditions. A wonderful way to create traditions with your young family is introduce them to the art of origami. Origami is a lovely paper craft that has been used in Japan for thousands of years. Master Oh explains how we can use origami to create your own lovely Christmas décor and add to your collection year after year.

Starting Small

Origami is a skill that can be acquired with practice. It is a calming and enjoyable craft that can be shared by all ages. Even younger children can join in the craft with the help of an adult. You can look to start small on your origami creations to get the hang of it. There are many origami instructions available online as well as many books you can purchase to get started. Items such as simple Christmas trees and stars are perfect and can be used as tree decorations with a simple needle and thread. You can also hang these lovely creations throughout your home.

Graduate to Larger Art

Once you get the hang of origami you can challenge yourself and make larger pieces. Christmas wreaths, larger more complicated trees with more detail and even fun Santas can be added to your repertoire. Angels, doves and snowflakes are also popular Christmas symbols perfect for origami. A great idea for Christmas wreaths is to have the children create smaller parts that can be glued together in a circle to create the wreath. You can use simple stars or snowflakes and using Christmas themed paper will make them even prettier. You can also get creative and make different sized stars that you stack in descending sizes to create Christmas trees. The more you learn, the more interesting the sculptures will become.

Endless Possibilities

One of the wonderful things about origami is that you can use the basics of folding schematics but then add to the designs. For example, you can create lovely white doves but use doilies as the paper to add a more delicate, elegant look to them. Foil paper in golds and silver make lovely stars and snowflakes. You can use simpler tree designs, but than decorate them as you would a real tree using beads, sparkles and fake snow. This is where children can really shine. You can create items such as wreaths and trees and then have your children decorate them with a wide variety of arts and crafts supplies from sparkly glues to sequins and beads. You can use cotton balls for snow and even use paint to add more detail to the faces of Santa or lovely Christmas angels.

Your family will love creating new origami pieces year after year. When stored properly these items can be used for years to come and will bring back memories each Christmas you unwrap them. Origami provides endless possibilities to create truly unique and inspired Christmas décorto become a part of your family’s Christmas tradition.