DIY Paper Mache Santa

Top your paper mache Santa Clause with a fun hat.

Christmas is a wonderful time to gather all the kids in the family together for a festive craft. Paper mache requires few ingredients and encourages reusing scrap paper and newspaper. A paper mache Santa Claus is fun to make and can be decorated in many different ways. Gather the kids around to create good old Saint Nick out of paper mache.

Things You'll Need

• 1/4 cup flour
• 6 cups water
• Large pot
• 2 balloons
• Duct tape
• Newspaper
• Pin
• Skin tone, red, and black acrylic craft paint
• Paint brushes
• Googly eyes
• Red pom pom ball
• Elmer's glue
• Large cotton balls
• Santa hat

Instructions

Prepare the Paper Mache Paste

1. Stir together 1/4 cup flour and 1 cup water to form a runny mixture.

2. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.

3. Pour the flour and water mixture into the boiling water and stir well.

4. Boil the mixture for three minutes and allow it to cool completely before using.

Apply Paper Mache

1. Blow up and tie two balloons, one large and one small. The smaller balloon will be for Santa's head, and the big one will be his body.

2. Tape the balloons together at the tops. Roll a piece of duct tape, sticky side out, and stick it between the balloons to hold them together. You may need more than one piece of tape to secure the balloons. The balloon's tied ends should now be at the top of Santa's head and bottom of his body.

3. Tear strips of newspaper and dip them into the paper mache paste. Lay the strips onto the balloons and smooth them down. Cover the balloons completely and then do a second layer.

4. Allow the paper mache to dry overnight.

5. Pop the balloons inside the paper mache by inserting a pin through the paper mache.

Decorate Santa

1. Paint the head with skin tone acrylic craft paint. Allow the paint to dry for an hour.

2. Stick googly eyes onto the head and glue a red pom pom ball underneath them for Santa's nose.

3. Paint a red mouth underneath the pom pom nose and allow the paint to dry.

4. Paint the entire body with red acrylic craft paint and allow it to dry for an hour. Then paint a horizontal black stripe all the way around the bottom for Santa's belt and two circles above the belt for jacket buttons.

5. Pull apart cotton balls and glue them on Santa's chin and under his nose to make a bushy beard. Make sure to connect the cotton mustache to the beard. Top your Santa off with a red Santa hat.

References

• Kid's Turn Central: Paper Mache Paste
• Planetpals: Planetpals Santa Ornament