Easy Christmas Elf Paper Puppet with Templates

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with Fellowes on some laminating projects.. now before you panic, today’s Elf Paper Puppet can be made with both laminators or light card stock. Both a great for different reasons and it is really a question of personal preference as to how you complete this project! Fellowes challenged me to come up with some Paper Christmas Crafts (btw this is NOT a sponsored post.. I am sharing this set of multicultural Elf Puppet with you because I **love it** and will have more gorgeous Paper Puppets for Christmas and Winter to share with you soon). I took up the challenge and designed this cute diverse Elf Puppet Paper with moving parts. The great thing? You can either use our Elf Coloring Pages (adding an extra personal touch to these) or use our fully coloured Elf Papper Puppet Templates (they come in 16 different colour and gender designs). Pick which ever diversity suits YOU and your time requirements best! I hoping to have more Christmas Paper Puppets for you soon… we are definitely working on some multicultural Santa Paper Puppets.. and what do think we should do next? Angel Puppets or Reindeer Paper Puppets?? Would love to hear what you think!

BEFORE YOU MOVE ON: We now have an adorable REINDEER Paper Puppet too and of course our Multicultural Santa Puppets!

Finally – please note – we now have a set of 8 Boys and Girls for you to download.. in a range of Diverse Skin Tones. Click on the relevant links below. I will add “photos” of the new images later in the week. But you can download your boy and girl puppets now already!! Enjoy.

Celebrate the Christmas season with this fun paper pupper arts and crafts activity! This is a perfect activity for 3rd grade or 4th grade (KS2) and I hope you have lots of fun with it!

Elf Paper Puppet – Materials

• Make sure you download your FREE Boy Elf Paper Puppet Template and FREE Girl Elf Paper Puppet Template – as mentioned you can get one to colour or the ready to assemble ones
• Either paper & a laminator and laminting sheets OR light card stock that will fit in the printer
• Hole punch (single hole hole punches are super handy US / UK)
• Brads/ split pins (US / UK)
• Bakers Twine (oh how I LOVE bakers twine) (US/ UK)
• A large pointy needle

Affiliate links added for convenience

—-> click here for your set of 8 BOY Elves <—-

—-> click here for your set of 8 Girl Elves <—-

Elf Paper Puppet – How To

I love that “colour your own” version really allows you to personalise your printable. Have fun with colours, patterns and shadings!

Yes, yes yes YES! Anothere quick and handy how to make a paper puppet video for you.. but again, I have included instructions down below, including a schematic for how to assemble the back of your Christmas Puppet – that is in fact the key bit to your craft. Get that bit wrong and your lovely little elf won’t be able to flap his arms and legs in quite the best way!

How to make a paper puppet move – step by step instructions

1. Begin by choosing either your colour your own paper puppet or ready to assemble puppet. If you are using a laminator, print on ordinary paper, if you are using just card, print directly onto the card. Be sure you use card that is suitable for your printer.
2. If colouring, colour your elf now…. once fully coloured, run it through the laminator. If you are using a Fellowes laminator, you do NOT have to cut your elf out first, the Fellowes’ laminating sheets will “seal” your paper for you.
3. It is now time to cut out all your Elf “bits”. Cut them as neatly as you can.

1. Using your hole punch, make holes for the moving parts – 4 in the body, one each in the arms and legs.
2. Thread your needle. It does help to have a large eyed, pointy needle – especially if using a laminator. If you do laminate your paper puppets you MAY need to make the holes for the bakers twine with scissors.
3. Loosely connect your arms and legs with your brads / split pins.
4. Now guide the thread throw the marked hole of one arm and then through the other.

1. Make sure the arms are in the “down position” and that the thread runs across in a straight manner – not too tight, not too loose. Knot the other end.
2. Repeat for the legs.
3. Now you have one last thing to do – add a connecting piece of string between the arms and the legs – it is important that this isn’t too tight (the arms won’t move) or too loose (the legs own’t move).. again.. it needs to be “just right”…
4. And your Elf Paper Puppet is FINISHED!! ENJOY!

Remember we have more Christmas Paper Puppets coming soon!! As well as the CUTEST Bat Paper Puppet. Do watch out for those too.

You may also like these Christmas Clothespin Puppets:

Also take a look at our Bat Paper Puppet:

As well as our customisable Day Of the Dead Puppets:

We love LOTS more Christmas Printables here:

As well as a fabulous collection of Paper Christmas Crafts for kids:

ENJOY!! And I hope you have lots of fun with your Easy Paper Puppets for Christmas! As mentioned.. more Christmas Paper Puppet Templates coming soon.. including some wonderful Multicultural Santa Paper Puppets.. and I was also thinking maybe some Angel Paper puppets and some Rudolph/ Reindeer Paper Puppets.. what do you think? What should I work on next and add to the Elf Puppets that we have today already?