Folding paper - so very festive: Christmas papercrafts

Origami is apparently the new craft trend. I first tried it when I was about eight, with an American book with a woman wearing a sombrero-type hat festooned with beautiful paper flowers. This taught me how to fold a waterlily, which I've never forgotten. It comes in very handy with napkins.

Given that Hobbycraft says sales of origami paper are up by 20% on 2015, I didn't expect to have to ask a sales assistant to find some paper for me! First on my (never-ending, ever-growing) list of things to make was this origami Santa.

And as you can see from the picture, running a fingernail along the folds you make, so that they're sharp, is very important. And as you can also see, I didn't do that, as I was making it on my knee while watching the video on my laptop.

I also wanted to make lots of paper stars, having seen them as a cut-out internally illuminated version in Sweden (in real life and on TV) in everyone's windows at Christmas. Here's the first attempt, made watching this video. This isn't origami because it uses scissors, but it's a lot simpler than the Santa! I'll be making more of these, sticking them together in pairs, and stringing them on garlands.

Making your own Christmas decorations with paper is appealing because it's cheap and easy to get hold of (plain white A4 can be spectacular), so it doesn't really matter if you go wrong. I wrote about Christmas papercrafts to make with kids for Saga: all the classics, including paper chains and snowflakes.

Make, do and send

It can be hard to find Christmas cards that you actually like, for a price you're prepared to pay - that is, if you send any at all.

I'm a fan; they jolly up the room and it's pleasant to receive evidence that someone's thinking of you, but I do wonder what the point is of sending a card if that's your only contact in the course of a year. Or several years...

But enough of the analysis; I've just made my first batch of cards, to hand out in person to quite a few of my extended family.

I went for a super-simple option: printed photos stuck on blank cards. 

To make your own, pull together appropriate images; mine included a snowcat, charity runners dressed as Santa, snowy scenes from Lapland (and the local park) and a Kellogg's cornflakes packet. You could also use family shots, or stage a seasonal tableau.

Use your computer's photo software to print a page full, sized appropriately, or insert into a Word doc or similar, then print out.

Trim around the edges with a craft knife or scalpel and a metal rule, leaving a white border for a retro look. Stick on to the blank card (mine are very similar to these from Hobbycraft) with glue stick, sticky dots or doubled-over sticky tape. Stamp or write a seasonal slogan, write your message, then post.

Last posting dates for Christmas

If you're sending any cards, handmade or not, you need these.
Tuesday December 20: second class, 55p
Wednesday December 21: first class, 64p
Find the full list of dates, including international and parcels, here
This year's Christmas stamps celebrate 50 years of their production by Royal Mail. They feature paper cut-outs by Helen Musselwhite.