How to Make a Tin Can Santa Claus

If you're thinking of making a Santa Claus craft this holiday season, an ordinary tin can is one of the best materials you could use. This Christmas craft project is very inexpensive to make, yet still looks very pretty resting on a mantlepiece.

Things You'll Need

• Tin can
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Red felt
• Cotton balls
• Wiggle eyes
• Small pom poms
• Hot glue
• Craft glue

Instructions

1. 

   Remove the paper from a 15-oz. can. Wash the can and dry it completely. Wrap a piece of pink construction paper around the can and mark off the place where it begins to overlap. Mark where the top of the can meets the construction paper. Trim off the excess paper, leaving a bit of slack.

2. 

   Glue the construction paper onto the can using a hot glue gun. Wrap the paper around the craft and straighten it before the glue has a chance to cool. Glue the other end of the paper in back of the craft.

3. 

   Print out the pattern for the tin can Santa's hat. Use the pattern as a guide to cut a red piece of felt. Hot glue the curved edge of the felt to the top of the tin can so that the open end is at the back of the craft. Use hot glue to seal the seam of the Santa hat.

4. 

   Use hot glue to attach cotton balls all around the brim of the Santa hat. Then glue more cotton at the bottom of the craft to form a beard. Glue additional balls around the sides and back of the Santa craft. Glue the tip of the Santa hat to the right side over the top of one of the cotton balls. Add another cotton ball on top of the tip of the hat.

5. 

   Cut out two medium circles from red construction paper. Secure them to the front of the Santa with craft glue.

6. 

   Attach two wiggle eyes with hot glue. Wait for the glue to cool for a two seconds before putting the eyes on. Then glue a small red pom pom to serve as a nose for Santa.

Tips & Warnings

• Add additional hot glue as necessary to hold Santa's hair and beard in place.

• Hot glue tends to make long strings as it cools. Trim them with a sharp pair of scissors for best results.

• Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot glue gun.