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Home » Holidays » Christmas » Classic Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Kids Craft

Classic Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Kids Craft

November 24, 2019 By Katie Hale Leave a Comment

Santa, elf, snowman paper roll craft.

This classic idea for a toilet paper roll Santa, snowman, or elf is a go-to holiday idea for kids to make. I love how easy these are to customize. Kids will love making their own favorite Christmas icons, and you’ll love how easy and inexpensive they are to create!

While the kids make these fun crafts, you can make this cute pom pom gnome ornament idea for the tree or this simple snowman candle craft!

Table of Contents

  • Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Craft
  • Fun Ways to Use These Christmas Character Crafts
  • Tips for Personalizing Your Paper Craft Characters
  • Supplies
  • How to Make a Paper Snowman
  • How to Make a Santa Toilet Paper Roll Craft
  • How to Make a Paper Elf
  • Video Tutorial:
  • Printable Step by Step Photo Tutorial:

Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Craft

Toilet paper roll crafts are some of the best ones to make with kids. Inexpensive craft paper and glue can easily turn a basic empty roll of toilet paper into a favorite holiday decoration.

I remember making these when I was a kid. They are truly one of those classic holiday decorations that every child will make at some point in their life.

If you have kids like mine that love making a large variety of crafts, then make sure to check out my other projects to repurpose paper rolls for Christmas decorations.

There are so many fun ways to take an empty roll and add a bit of paper and glue to embellish it and turn it into a beautiful and favorite addition to your holiday decorations.

You don’t want to miss this list of other easy DIY Christmas ornaments you can make in just a few ideas. There are some great ways to use these to keep your kids busy during the holidays creating new decorations!

Up close picture of a trio of toilet paper roll crafts for Christmas

Fun Ways to Use These Christmas Character Crafts

If your kids want to make one of these for all of their favorite Christmas characters, you may be wondering what to do with the abundance of them. Not only can you display them on the mantle as I have done, but you can add them to other fun holiday decorations. Below are some of my favorite ways to use these simple toilet paper roll ideas for Christmas.

  • Attach a magnet to the back and use it as a holiday magnet on your refrigerator.
  • Fold the bottoms in and use them to fill with candy and gift to others as a special treat box.
  • Attach them to a simple greenery wreath to add color and whimsy alongside some of these paper straw mini Christmas trees.
  • Add one to each place setting at your holiday table with a simple card showing your guests’ names propped in front of the character.
  • Glue a loop of ribbon or thread to the back and hang them on the tree next to these pasta Christmas tree decorations.

Three toilet paper rolls crafts for Christmas displayed on a table in front of a lit Christmas tree

Tips for Personalizing Your Paper Craft Characters

These are pretty basic design, so you may be wondering how you can make them more unique. Especially if you have several kids making them, this will be a must. I love making things like this but sometimes the kids complain if their projects are too much alike. So, I have solutions to help make that easier.

The first option is to paint the cardboard or paper toilet paper rolls a different color. This adds something unique and is easy to do with the kids. Just have them paint the rolls and set them aside to dry while the cut out the rest of their decorations. While they are waiting, you can set them to work making these pasta snowflake ornaments or to make some color your own ornaments.

My other suggestion is to get different types of eyes and mouths for them. Googly eyes are great, but you can now find them and eye stickers in tons of colors and sizes. This can turn that smiling snowman into a goofy looking Olaf from Frozen in seconds!

My last tip is to use non-traditional colors. We always think of red, white, and green for Christmas, but that doesn’t have to be all you use. Purple, blue, silver, gold, yellow, pink, and orange can all be added for a bit more fun. Kids love personalizing them, and you’ll love keeping the peace during crafting time.

Three toilet paper roll crafts for Christmas displayed in front of a holiday chalkboard

Supplies

  • Empty toilet paper rolls
  • Orange felt
  • Gold, red, and green glitter foam paper
  • Buttons in various colors and sizes
  • Small jingle bells
  • Googly eyes
  • Decorative stars or stickers
  • Cotton balls
  • Pom poms in various colors
  • Satin ribbon in red and green
  • Green and gold glittery pipe cleaners
  • Green, red, white, and black paint
  • Black marker
  • Paintbrushes
  • Scissors
  • Black marker

Supplies for making toilet paper crafts for Christmas laying on a white table

How to Make a Paper Snowman

For the snowman, you will start by adding the face to the front of the roll. I cut a small piece of orange paper and glued it to the middle.

Adding an orange paper scrap as a nose on the snowman paper roll craft

Next, I drew on a mouth and eyes.

Drawing a face onto the front of the snowman toilet paper crafts

Add a cotton ball on both sides of the top of the snowman with hot glue.

Gluing on cotton balls for ears on the snowman paper roll

For the scarf, I cut a thin strip of the red foam paper and glued it onto the paper roll making sure the front wrapped crisscrossed for a scarf look. The buttons are added onto the front with hot glue.

Gluing on a strip of red foam board to create a scarf on the snowman

The final step for the snowman is to take a green pipe cleaner and fold over so it creates a loop over the top of the snowman. Attach this where the cotton balls are on the sides.

A completed snowman toilet paper rolls craft

A snowman toilet paper roll craft displayed

How to Make a Santa Toilet Paper Roll Craft

For the Santa Claus paper roll craft, you will begin by cutting out strips of red glitter foam paper to attach to the roll. First, measure about halfway up the toilet paper, and cut a length of the foam paper in that height.

Cutting red foam paper for the santa suit on a paper roll

Glue the paper onto the bottom of half of the toilet paper roll.

Gluing the red foam paper to the bottom of the toilet paper roll for a santa suit

The next step is to cut a small arc out of the red foam paper and roll it into a cone shape. Attach this to the top of the toilet paper roll to be the hat.

Adding the red glitter hat to the toilet paper roll santa suit

Next, you will glue a cotton ball onto the top of the cone hat.

Gluing the cotton ball to the santa hat

Pull a cotton ball apart to create a strip of cotton to glue around the base of the hat for hair. Then, you will glue more cotton in place as a beard.

Adding the cotton to create santa hair

In the open space on the paper roll, you will add googly eyes and a nose.

Adding the face to Santa toiler paper roll craft

Finish the Santa with a few buttons glued in place on the suit.

Adding buttons to the toilet paper roll Santa

Up close picture of a santa toilet paper roll on display

How to Make a Paper Elf

For the toilet paper elf, you will begin by cutting strips of green glitter paper to build the body and hat of the elf.

Cutting green strips of paper to create an elf suit

Place one strip on the bottom half of the toilet paper roll.

Gluing the green paper in place for the elf decoration

Attach the red buttons to the front of the green paper to make the “suit”.

Adding buttons to the front of the elf suit

Cut the other strip of green paper into an arc and shape into a cone to then glue in place on the top of the toilet paper roll.

Cutting the hat out of green paper for the elf toilet paper rolls craft

Once the hat is in place, you will add a small white pom pom to the top of the cone, and then extra white cotton around the rim of the elf hat.

Adding cotton to the top of the elf hat

Lastly, you will glue on googly eyes, a red pom pom nose, and draw on a smile.

An elf toilet paper roll craft on display

Three toilet paper crafts for Christmas displayed on a mantle

Video Tutorial:

 

Printable Step by Step Photo Tutorial:

Yield: 3

Classic Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Kids Craft

Classic Toilet Paper Roll Santa, Snowman, and Elf Kids Craft

Make this classic set of kids crafts including a toilet paper roll Santa, snowman, and elf! A perfect way to get kids helping you create this holiday season.

Prep Time 2 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $1

Materials

  • Empty toilet paper rolls
  • Orange felt
  • Gold, red, and green glitter foam paper
  • Buttons in various colors and sizes
  • Small jingle bells
  • Googly eyes
  • Decorative stars or stickers
  • Cotton balls
  • Pom poms in various colors
  • Satin ribbon in red and green
  • Green and gold glittery pipe cleaners
  • Green, red, white, and black paint
  • Black marker

Tools

  • Paintbrushes
  • Scissors
  • Black marker

Instructions

For the Snowman:

  1. For the snowman, you will start by adding the face to the front of the roll. I cut a small piece of orange paper and glued it to the middle;
  2. Next, I drew on a mouth and eyes;
  3. Add a cotton ball on both sides of the top of the snowman with hot glue; Gluing on cotton balls for ears on the snowman paper roll
  4. For the scarf, I cut a thin strip of the red foam paper and glued it onto the paper roll making sure the front wrapped crisscrossed for a scarf look;
  5. The buttons are added onto the front with hot glue; Gluing on a strip of red foam board to create a scarf on the snowman
  6. The final step for the snowman is to take a green pipe cleaner and fold over so it creates a loop over the top of the snowman and attach it where the cotton balls are on the sides.  A snowman toilet paper roll craft displayed

For the Santa:

  1. Begin by cutting out a strip of red glitter foam paper to attach to the paper roll. Measure it to a halfway point on the roll, and cut accordingly;
  2. Glue the paper onto the bottom half of the roll;
  3. Next, you will cut a small piece of the same paper into an arc and roll it into a cone shape to attach to the top of the roll as a hat;Gluing the cotton ball to the santa hat
  4. Glue a cotton ball to the top of the hat, and use more cotton around the base of the hat for hair, and along the sides to create a beard; Adding the face to Santa toiler paper roll craft
  5. Add in googly eyes and a red pom pom nose;
  6. Glue the buttons onto the front of the "suit" to finish the Santa. Up close picture of a santa toilet paper roll on display

For the Elf:

  1. To make the elf, you will begin by cutting the strips of green paper to glue in place as you did for the Santa before;
  2. Glue one strip on the bottom of the roll to create the elf suit, and cut and roll the other piece into a cone shape to attach to the top as a hat; Adding cotton to the top of the elf hat
  3. Add a small white pom pom to the top of the hat, and extra cotton around the base of the hat;
  4. Attach the red buttons to the front of the suit;
  5. The last step is to glue on your googly eyes, pom pom nose, and draw on a smile. An elf toilet paper roll craft on display
© Marci
Project Type: Crafts / Category: Christmas
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