How to Make a Paper Palm Tree
Paper palm trees are perfect for decorating a tropical themed party or classroom event. They’re fun to make, and a good project for kids to help with too. (You could even make them with a Sunday school class for Palm Sunday.) To make a paper palm tree, you’ll need cardboard tubes. The extra long kind that come with wrapping paper work the best, but you can also tape together shorter tubes, such as paper towel tubes or even toilet paper tubes. Depending on how tall you want the tree, you may need just one wrapping paper tube, several long tubes or many smaller tubes.
Things You'll Need
- Green construction paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Cardboard tubes
- Brown paper
- Brown marker
Instructions
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1
Put enough cardboard tubes together, end to end, to make the trunk of the palm tree. Tape the ends of the cardboard tubes together.
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2
Cut pieces of brown paper wide enough to wrap around the tubes with the edges overlapping slightly. (You may want to cut apart paper grocery bags to help make your paper palm tree a “green” project by reusing materials.)
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3
Wrap pieces of brown paper around the tubes, overlapping them slightly so that the cardboard tubes are completely covered. Tape the edges of the paper together.
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4
Use a brown marker to draw rings around the paper-covered tube to make it look more like a palm tree trunk.
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5
Cut at least four large leaf shapes from green construction paper. Fold the leaves in half lengthwise. Crease the leaves, then unfold them.
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6
Cut deep slits in the sides of the leaves to make them look like palm fronds, without cutting all the way through the leaves.
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7
Tape the ends of the leaves to the top of the cardboard trunk, so that one leaf sticks out to the front, one to the back and one to each side. Add additional leaves as desired to fill out the paper palm tree.
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Tips & Warnings
To make the paper palm tree stand up, fill a bucket or large plant container with sand or pebbles. Insert the bottom of the cardboard trunk into the container.
The brown paper helps cover the seams between the cardboard tubes and makes it look more even, which is especially important if you’re taping together many small tubes. If you’re only using one or two long cardboard tubes, you may want to leave off the brown paper and just draw the rings directly on the cardboard.
Supervise children when working with scissors.
