Pop-up Christmas card: a snowy village

Age: 8+ · Time: 60 min · For: Ages 10–12

Opening a card and seeing a little snowy village jump out is pure magic. This pop-up card looks complicated, but it is based on one simple trick: two cuts along a fold that you push forward to make a step.

It is a lovely project for children of 8 and up who like a challenge, and the card is bound to end up on the mantelpiece for years.

Tips

Measure and draw before you cut. Neat cuts give neat steps.
Keep the houses small so the card closes flat.
Do a test run on scrap paper first.

Ideas

Add yellow windows so the houses look lit up.
Glue a white strip at the bottom as a snowy hill.
Put a tiny Father Christmas and sleigh in the sky.

You need

2 sheets of thick paper (A4) in different colours, for example dark blue and white
scraps of paper in red, brown, yellow and green
scissors
a ruler and a pencil
a glue stick
felt tips or colouring pencils
a white pencil or white paint for the snow

Steps

Fold the dark blue sheet in half. This is the outside of the card.
Fold the white sheet in half too. Along the fold, draw four pairs of short lines at right angles to the fold, about 2-4 cm long and 3-4 cm apart in each pair. Use different lengths for different heights.
Cut along the lines through both layers, open the sheet and push each cut section inwards so it pops forward as a step. Close the card and press firmly, then open it again.
Cut out three houses and a tree from the coloured paper. Make them a little smaller than the inside of the card so they do not stick out when it is closed.
Glue each house and the tree on the front of a step. Add windows, doors and a star.
Glue the white sheet inside the blue card, but not on the steps.
Draw snow on the roofs and snowflakes in the sky with the white pencil or paint, and write your greeting.