How to Make Brown Paper Bag Snowflakes (Cheap and Easy)

Inside: Fun and Easy DIY Paper Bag Snowflakes (sometimes called paper bag stars) to decorate for Christmas and winter.

These big 3-D paper bag snowflakes can be made with brown or white paper bags and are a fun and easy winter craft to make with kids, or as a decoration.

Plus you probably already had everything you need to make the snowflakes. If you don’t you can easily add the supplies to a grocery pick-up order.

What are Paper Bag Snowflakes?

Paper bag snowflakes are similar to paper snowflakes but made with paper lunch bags to give them a three dimensional shape.

They are the perfect DIY Christmas decoration for a big impact. Plus a perfect kids Christmas craft since they are cheap and easy to make.

How Many Brown Paper Bags Does It Take To Make a Snowflake?

Plan on using between 7-9 brown paper bags per snowflake.

The first time I made the paper bag snowflakes I used 7 bags for each one. The next time I used a different brand of lunch bags and it took 8-9 bags.

The more bags you use the fuller the snowflakes look. So you might want to do some testing and see what look you like the best.

Supplies to Make Paper Bag Snowflakes

To make these fun paper bag snowflakes you only need a few basic supplies.

• Paper Lunch Bags (7-8 bags per snowflakes)
• Glue (we like using glue sticks for kids and hot glue for adults)
• Scissors
• String (to hang them)

How to Make a Brown Paper Bag Snowflake

To start making this snowflake craft I gave each kid a glue stick and a stack of brown bags.

Glue the Bags Together

Use the glue stick to make a line across the bottom of the bag (the folded end of the bag not the end that opens) and down the middle of the bag.

I like to put the bottom of the bag at the top so it looks like I’m making a “T” with glue.

Then take a second bag and placed it on top of the glue, positioned the same way as the previous bag.

Repeats this over and over until you have 7-8 bags stuck together.

Tip: To see if you have enough bags together pull the two ends accordion style and makes sure the bags make a full circle. If it’s to tight or doesn’t make it all the way around add another bag or two.

Make sure that the bags are stuck together really well, then get some scissors.

Cut The Snowflake Design in Your Paper Bag Snowflakes

Using your scissors cut the bags like you would a paper snowflake.

Start with trimming the end of the bag. You can make it into a point, or rounded.

Then cut small shapes, triangles are most common along both of the long sides of the bags.

Cutting through that many layers of paper bags can be hard and might be too much for kids. I ended up doing the cutting for both of my kids.

How to Have Kids Cut the Snowflakes

If you want the kids to do the cutting once you have 3-4 pages glued together have them do the cutting.

Then add 3-4 more bags and finish cutting the rest of the bags to the same shape, using what you already cut as a template.

You can also have your kids cut a template out of a single bag and then glue all the bags together with the snowflake template on top. Then you can cut the rest of the bags following their template.

I don’t recommend cutting into the flap part of the bags, just cut between the open end of the bags and that line where the flap is.

Open Your 3-D Paper Bag Snowflake

Once you have cut as many shapes as you would like into the bags, grab the top and bottom layer of your stack of brown bags and pull it open.

The bags should all stay glued together and open accordion-like into a circle.

Opening the brown paper bag snowflakes the first time is so cool. It’s really amazing to see how it works.

Connecting the Bags to Stay Open

Now that you have seen what your design looks like add a line of glue to the bag on top or bottom then open the snowflake and glue those sides together so the snowflake stays open.

I put my hands inside the bags and pressed the bags tightly together to make sure they were glued securely.

Tip: If you want to be able to save the snowflakes to use for multiple years you can tape instead of glue the bags open. This allows you to easily pull them apart and store them flat.

Hanging A Paper Bag Snowflake

Now it’s time to add a ribbon, string or twine so you can hang the paper bag snowflakes.

I found the easiest way to attach the string was to fold down one of the points of the snowflake and make a little cut with some scissors then fold the point back up.

Now you have a hole in the top point of the snowflake to easily feed the string through.

Tie the two ends of the string together to make a big loop and you’re ready to hang your snowflakes.

I hope you had fun making these kid-friendly brown paper bag snowflakes and that you love your fun winter decorations.

What to Do with Paper Bag Snowflakes

There are so many fun things you can do with these paper bag snowflakes.

The best part is that they are not only a fun decoration for Christmas they are perfect for the whole winter season.

Party Backdrop

These snowflakes make an awesome photo backdrop or decorations for a party.

Cheap Classroom Decoration

Grab a couple packs of paper bags and have each student in your class make a snowflake or two and turn your classroom into a winter wonderland.

Decorate Around the Home

I love using these 3-d paper bag snowflakes to decorate for Christmas and the winter months. In past years I have hung snowflakes above the kitchen sink and above the piano.

Front Door Wreath

If you have a storm door that will protect your wreath from the elements one of these snowflakes can make fun and unique winter wreath for the front door.

Christmas Tree Star

Make one of these snowflakes in a star shape and use it as a star for the top of your Christmas tree.

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