15 Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Crafts That Turn Cardboard Tubes Into Elves and Reindeer

Somewhere in the recycling pile is a small forest of cardboard tubes, and every single one of them wants to be a reindeer. Toilet paper roll crafts earn their keep at Christmas because the raw material costs nothing, the mess stays small, and a kitchen table covered in brown cardboard looks like chaos for about twenty minutes and then suddenly looks like a mantelpiece.

None of these need a trip to the craft shop beyond felt, pompoms and paint you probably already have a tin of.

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Toilet Paper Roll Reindeer

This is the one she has seen on Pinterest a hundred times, and it earns the repetition: two pipe cleaner antlers and a red pompom nose, and suddenly a cardboard tube has a personality. Stand a small herd of them along a windowsill or use one as a place card holder with a name tag tucked under the nose.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 45 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 4 and up, with an adult cutting the antler slits.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll, clean and dry
• Brown acrylic paint and a small brush
• 2 brown pipe cleaners, 30cm each
• 2 googly eyes, 10mm
• 1 red pompom, 15mm
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. Paint the tube brown, inside the rim too, and leave it a full 30 minutes to dry flat.
2. An adult cuts two small slits near the top edge on opposite sides, just wide enough to fit a pipe cleaner.
3. Fold each pipe cleaner in half and push the fold through a slit from the inside, then bend the two ends outward and twist in small branches for antlers.
4. Glue the googly eyes just below the antlers, close together so the reindeer looks a little startled, which is correct.
5. Glue the red pompom to the front rim as the nose and let it set for five minutes before anyone picks it up.

Toilet Paper Roll Elf

Green felt and a pointed hat do more work than any painted face. Line four or five of these up and she has a shelf elf squad that looks considerably more put-together than the single felt elf she bought last year for three times the price.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 40 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 5 and up, with an adult cutting the felt hat and ears.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Flesh-tone acrylic paint, small pot
• Green felt rectangle, 10cm x 14cm
• Red felt semicircle, 12cm diameter, for the hat
• 1 white pompom, 10mm
• Black fine liner or marker
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. Paint the top third of the tube flesh-tone for the face area and let it dry 20 minutes.
2. Wrap the green felt rectangle around the lower two thirds as a tunic and glue the overlap at the back.
3. An adult curls the red felt semicircle into a cone, overlapping the straight edge, and glues it closed to make the elf hat.
4. Glue the cone hat to the top of the tube, tilted slightly to one side, and glue the white pompom to its point.
5. Draw two small eyes and a smiling mouth on the painted face with the marker.

Toilet Paper Roll Santa

Santa is forgiving: a wonky beard still reads as a beard, and a crooked belt buckle looks handmade rather than wrong. This one sits well on a mantel next to real candles, as long as it stays a sensible distance from the flame.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 40 minutes with drying. Best for: age 4 and up, fully doable with a child once the cotton wool goes on.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Red felt or red paper, enough to wrap the tube
• A large handful of cotton wool
• 1 white pompom, 15mm
• 2 small black buttons, 8mm
• 1 pink pompom or circle, 10mm, for the nose
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. Wrap the red felt or paper around the tube and glue the seam at the back so the whole body is red.
2. Pull the cotton wool into small tufts and glue them in a band around the bottom third for Santa’s beard.
3. Glue two more tufts higher up, either side of where the nose will go, for a moustache.
4. Glue the pink nose above the moustache and the two black buttons above that for eyes.
5. Glue the white pompom to the very top edge of the tube as the tip of Santa’s hat and leave it flat for ten minutes to set.

Toilet Paper Roll Snowman

White paint over brown cardboard needs two coats, not one, or he comes out the colour of weak tea instead of snow. Once he is properly white he holds up next to real glass baubles without looking like the cheap option on the shelf.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 55 minutes with two coats of paint drying. Best for: age 4 and up, with an adult cutting the black card hat.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• White acrylic paint
• Black card scrap, 6cm x 8cm, for the hat
• 3 small black buttons, 8mm
• Orange card triangle, 1.5cm, for the nose
• Thin pipe cleaner, any colour, for the scarf

How to Make It

1. Paint the tube white, let it dry fully, then paint a second coat and dry again, about 20 minutes each time.
2. An adult cuts a small circle and a slightly larger circle from the black card and glues the small one on top of the large one to make a top hat, then glues that to the top of the tube.
3. Glue the three black buttons down the front in a vertical line.
4. Glue the orange triangle nose just above the top button.
5. Wrap the pipe cleaner around the tube just under the hat and twist the ends into a loose knot for a scarf.

Toilet Paper Roll Penguin

Black and white and finished in under twenty minutes of actual effort, this one suits a child who wants to see a result fast more than one who wants to fuss over detail. A row of them along a bookshelf reads as a penguin colony without anyone mentioning Antarctica.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 45 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 4 and up, with an adult cutting the felt beak and feet.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Black acrylic paint
• White felt or paper, oval shape about 5cm x 8cm, for the belly
• Orange felt scrap, for the beak and feet
• 2 googly eyes, 10mm

How to Make It

1. Paint the whole tube black and leave it 20 minutes to dry completely.
2. Cut the white oval and glue it down the front for the belly, leaving a black border all round.
3. An adult cuts a small orange diamond, folds it in half and glues it just above the belly, pointing outward, as the beak.
4. Cut two orange webbed feet shapes and glue them to the inside bottom rim so they peek out at the front.
5. Glue the two googly eyes just above the beak, close together, which is what makes it read as a penguin rather than a crow.

Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Tree

No glue, almost no mess, and the whole shape comes from one spiral cut, which feels like a trick the first time it works. Group three at different heights on a side table and they do the job of a miniature forest for the cost of some green paint.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 6 and up, since the spiral cutting needs a steady hand or an adult’s.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Green acrylic paint
• Small sequins or star stickers
• Scissors

How to Make It

1. Paint the tube green all over and let it dry completely, at least 30 minutes, before anyone touches it with scissors.
2. Cut a continuous spiral strip from the top of the tube down to the bottom, about 1cm wide, working slowly so the strip does not tear.
3. Gently uncoil the spiral so it opens into a loose, tiered cone shape, wider at the base and narrow at the top, and flatten the very bottom edge so it can stand.
4. Stick on a few sequins or a tiny star sticker here and there for baubles.

Toilet Paper Roll Angel

A paper doily and a loop of gold pipe cleaner turn the humblest tube into something she could genuinely put on top of a small tree without apologising for it. If she would rather not touch a star this year, this is the gentler alternative.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 25 minutes, no real drying wait. Best for: age 5 and up, with an adult twisting the pipe cleaner halo.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• White paper, enough to wrap the tube
• 1 paper doily, 15cm, for wings
• 1 gold pipe cleaner, 20cm, for the halo
• Short lengths of yellow wool, for hair
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. Wrap the white paper around the tube and glue the seam at the back.
2. Fold the paper doily in half and pinch the centre to form two wing shapes, then glue that pinched centre to the back of the tube.
3. An adult twists the gold pipe cleaner into a small circle and glues it to the back top edge so it stands up behind the head as a halo.
4. Glue short loops of yellow wool across the top front for hair and draw a simple face underneath.

Toilet Paper Roll Owl

Wrapped rather than painted, so this one comes together fast on a day when patience is already running low. Perched along a windowsill with a few pinecones, it looks seasonal without being specifically Christmas, useful if she wants the display to last past New Year.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 20 minutes, no drying wait. Best for: age 4 and up, with an adult cutting the felt wings.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Brown paper or brown felt, enough to wrap the tube
• Brown felt scraps, for two wing ovals
• Orange felt scrap, for the beak
• 2 large googly eyes, 15mm

How to Make It

1. Wrap the brown paper or felt around the tube and glue the seam at the back.
2. An adult cuts two oval wing shapes from brown felt and glues one to each side of the tube.
3. Cut a small orange triangle, fold it slightly, and glue it to the centre front as a beak.
4. Glue the two large googly eyes just above the beak, as wide apart as the tube allows.

Toilet Paper Roll Nutcracker

This is the one that looks like it came from a shop window, all black hat and gold buttons, and it genuinely does take a little longer than the others. Worth it for a mantelpiece centrepiece rather than something a toddler gets to keep in a toy box.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 6 and up, with an adult handling the small felt cutting.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Black acrylic paint, for the top third
• Red acrylic paint, for the body
• Black felt strip, 1cm x 6cm, for the hat brim
• 5 small gold buttons, 6mm
• Black felt scrap, for the moustache

How to Make It

1. Paint the top third of the tube black and the rest red, keeping the line between them as straight as possible, then dry 20 minutes.
2. Glue the black felt strip around the tube at the join between the two colours, for a hat brim.
3. Glue the five gold buttons in a straight vertical row down the centre of the red section.
4. An adult cuts a small curved moustache shape from black felt and glues it below the midpoint of the face area.
5. Draw on eyes and eyebrows with a marker, as stern as the moustache allows.

Toilet Paper Roll Gingerbread Man

This one skips the standing tube entirely: the cardboard gets flattened and cut into a shape first, which makes it flat enough to hang flush against a door or a window, somewhere a 3D character would just fall over.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 40 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 7 and up, the shape cutting is strictly an adult job with a craft knife.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Brown acrylic paint
• White paint pen or white acrylic paint, fine brush
• 2 small red buttons, 8mm
• Craft knife and cutting mat

How to Make It

1. Flatten the tube by pressing it down along its length, then flatten it again the other way so you have a rough rectangle shape.
2. An adult draws a simple gingerbread man outline on the flattened cardboard and cuts it out with the craft knife, including the arm and leg shapes.
3. Paint the whole shape brown on both sides and let it dry 20 minutes.
4. Use the white paint pen to draw icing lines along the arms, legs and round the edges, like piped icing.
5. Glue two small red buttons down the centre as the last of the icing details.

Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Cracker

No snap, no small plastic prize, but all the shape and twist of a real cracker, and it can hold whatever actually fits a cardboard tube: a note, a few chocolates, a small toy. Set one at each place setting and nobody minds that it does not bang.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 15 minutes, nothing to dry. Best for: age 5 and up, with an adult twisting the ends tight.

What You Need

• 1 toilet paper roll
• Christmas crepe paper, 25cm x 20cm
• 2 lengths of curling ribbon, 20cm each
• Small sweets or a folded paper joke, to fill

How to Make It

1. Lay the crepe paper flat and place the tube in the centre, leaving an equal overhang of paper at each end.
2. Roll the crepe paper around the tube and glue the long edge down so it stays wrapped.
3. Tuck the sweets or the folded joke inside the tube before closing either end.
4. An adult gathers and twists one end of the crepe paper tightly, then ties it off with curling ribbon.
5. Repeat on the second end, then curl the ribbon tails with scissors for the finished cracker look.

Toilet Paper Roll Napkin Rings

If the table needs one small finished detail and nothing else, this is it: four or six matching rings around plain napkins, and the whole table looks considered. They store flat in a drawer for the rest of the year, which is more than can be said for most table decor.

Active time: 15 minutes for a set of four. Total time: 15 minutes, nothing to dry if you skip paint. Best for: age 6 and up, the ring cutting is an adult job.

What You Need

• 2 toilet paper rolls, enough for 4 rings
• Craft knife and cutting mat
• Christmas ribbon, 1.5cm wide, enough to wrap each ring
• 4 small sprigs of faux holly or berries
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. An adult slices each tube into 2 rings, about 4cm wide, using the craft knife on the cutting mat.
2. Wrap ribbon around the outside of each ring, overlapping slightly, and glue the end down.
3. Glue a small sprig of holly or berries to the front of each ring, over the ribbon seam.
4. Leave flat for five minutes until the glue holds, then slide a rolled napkin through the centre.

Toilet Paper Roll Advent Calendar

This is the slow burn of the list, more assembly than craft, but it turns twenty-four tubes she was going to recycle anyway into a month of small daily surprises. String them along a mantel garland style, or stand them upright in a shallow box if hanging is not an option.

Active time: 60 minutes for the full set. Total time: 60 minutes, nothing to dry. Best for: age 5 and up for folding and filling, an adult threads the string.

What You Need

• 24 toilet paper rolls
• Wrapping paper or kraft paper, enough to cover all 24
• Number stickers or a marker, numbered 1 to 24
• Small treats to fill each tube
• Long twine, 2m, for hanging

How to Make It

1. Fold one end of each tube closed by pressing the sides in and folding the top and bottom flaps down, like closing a small box.
2. Drop a small treat into each open tube, then fold the second end closed the same way.
3. Wrap each closed tube in wrapping paper, twisting or folding the paper neatly over each flat end.
4. Stick a number from 1 to 24 on the front of each wrapped tube.
5. An adult threads the twine along the mantel or a wall and the tubes get tied or pegged on in order.

Toilet Paper Roll Wreath

Cut into rings and glued in an overlapping circle, cardboard tubes start to look like something from a florist rather than a bathroom cupboard. Hang it on a door that gets some weather and it will cope fine, cardboard does not mind a dry porch.

Active time: 25 minutes. Total time: 55 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 7 and up, the ring cutting is strictly an adult job. For more ideas built around the same shape, these Christmas wreath crafts for kids use similarly simple materials.

What You Need

• 6 toilet paper rolls
• Craft knife and cutting mat
• Green acrylic paint
• Small faux red berries, a dozen
• Ribbon bow, pre-tied
• Craft glue

How to Make It

1. An adult slices each tube into rings about 2cm wide, giving roughly 24 rings in total, then flattens each ring slightly so it holds an oval shape.
2. Paint all the rings green on both sides and leave them to dry fully, about 30 minutes.
3. Arrange the rings in a circle on a flat surface, overlapping each one by about a third, until the circle closes.
4. Glue each overlap as you go, working around the circle, and leave it flat for ten minutes to hold its shape.
5. Glue the faux berries into a few of the gaps and glue the ribbon bow at the bottom or top of the finished wreath.

Toilet Paper Roll Reindeer Binoculars

Not decor exactly, but a prop, and the kind of thing that buys twenty quiet minutes while everyone else gets the table ready. Two tubes taped together and painted brown become a pair of reindeer-spotting binoculars for the walk to look at the tree lights. For other ways to keep the littlest guests moving, these reindeer games for a Christmas party fill the same slot.

Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 35 minutes with paint drying. Best for: age 4 and up, with an adult punching the string holes.

What You Need

• 2 toilet paper rolls
• Strong tape
• Brown acrylic paint
• Hole punch
• Cord or ribbon, 60cm, for the neck strap

How to Make It

1. Tape the two tubes together side by side along their full length, so they look like one solid pair of binoculars.
2. Paint the whole thing brown and leave it to dry for 20 minutes.
3. An adult punches one hole near the top outer edge of each tube.
4. Thread the cord through both holes and knot each end so it forms a neck strap.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age are toilet paper roll Christmas crafts actually right for?

Most of the characters in this list suit age 4 and up once an adult handles any felt or antler cutting, while the wreath, napkin rings and gingerbread man need a craft knife and work better from age 6 or 7 upward. The advent calendar is mostly assembly, so even younger hands can fold and fill tubes with supervision.

Do you paint the tube before or after you cut it?

Always before. Paint and decorate the cardboard tube and let it dry before you cut it, because cutting first and painting after makes the cardboard lose its shape. This matters most on the spiral-cut tree, where a damp, freshly painted tube tears instead of curling cleanly.

How do you stop the cardboard tube from drying into an oval shape?

Thin, even coats dry flatter than one thick one, and wrapping the tube in paper instead of painting it skips the problem entirely. Wrapping tubes in construction paper instead of painting them cuts out the drying time and stops the cardboard from drying into an oval, which is why several crafts in this list use felt or paper wraps rather than paint.

What’s the best glue for toilet paper roll crafts?

Ordinary craft glue (PVA) holds paper, card and light felt without any trouble, but anything with real weight, like a pompom hat tip or a doubled felt cone, holds faster and stronger with a hot glue gun, which should stay in an adult’s hands.

Are toilet paper rolls clean enough to use for crafts?

An empty, dry cardboard tube that has sat in a bathroom cupboard poses no real hygiene issue once it is unrolled and handled like any other piece of card, though it is sensible to let a child wash their hands afterward as standard practice with any craft session.

How do you store these crafts after the holiday is over?

Flat items like the wreath rings, napkin rings and gingerbread man pack into a shallow box without much risk of crushing, while the standing characters do best wrapped loosely in tissue paper inside a lidded box, kept somewhere dry so the cardboard does not soften over the year.