How to make paper chains with children
Updated 30 October 2026 · By Rob and Chris, two Sheffield dads, and our families
Cut paper into wide strips, colour them, and tape the first strip into a ring. Thread each new strip through the last ring and close it, and the chain grows one link at a time.
- Time: about 15 minutes
- Ages: 3 and up, with a part for each age
- In the Famoo calendar as: Paper-loop tree decorations
What do you need?
- Scrap paper
- Crayons
- Scissors, with a grown-up helping
- Sticky tape or a glue stick
How do you do it?
- Cut strips. A grown-up helps cut the paper into wide strips, all about the same size.
- Decorate. Colour patterns on the strips before you join them.
- Make the first loop. Bend one strip into a ring and tape or glue the ends where they overlap.
- Add more loops. Thread the next strip through the ring, then close it. Keep going to make a chain.
- Hang it up. A grown-up hangs the chain on a tree branch or a shelf.
How can each age join in?
- Ages 3 to 5. Colour strips a grown-up has cut.
- Ages 6 to 9. Make a repeating colour pattern, or join loops into a shape.
- Ages 10 and up. Plan a pattern and work out how many strips you need for a chain the length you want.
Tip
A glue stick takes a few seconds to hold, so pinch each join while you count to ten. Sticky tape is quicker for small hands.
Keeping it safe
A grown-up helps with the scissors and hangs the chain.
Plan 24 of these into your family’s Advent calendar with Famoo
Famoo has 46 activities like this one, each with picture steps, an elf helper who reads every step aloud, and a part for each age so brothers and sisters can do it together. Join the beta, choose your 24, and a new door opens each day in December.
Famoo is a family app for UK homes, in beta, so things may change. Find out more about Famoo.
