Toilet Paper Tube Christmas Tree

Mia made a similar project at church using rolled pieces of green paper, but it didn't hold up very well. This seems to be a sturdier alternative. If you don't have pom poms, try sequins, glitter glue, or beads for the ornaments.

{By Logan, Age 2}

{By Mia, Age 4}

Materials:

• 3 toilet paper tubes
• glue
• scissors
• stapler (optional)
• green paint
• tray to hold paint
• paintbrush (optional)
• newspaper
• pom poms

Directions:

1. Cut 3 toilet paper tubes in half so that you have 6 tubes. (If you prefer, you can start with 6 whole tubes, but we found this harder to work with.)
2. Protect your work surface with newspaper. Pour green paint onto a Styrofoam tray (or bowl or plate), and coat the tubes with paint. We used 3 different shades of green. Paintbrushes are optional; Mia figured out that you can just roll the tubes on the tray and that is faster than using a paintbrush. If you wish, you can paint the insides of the tubes, but my kids chose not to. Leave tubes on newspaper to dry completely.
3. Glue or staple your painted tubes to form a pyramid shape: 3 on the bottom, 2 in the middle, 1 on top. (If you are using whole tubes, staples are highly recommended. Otherwise, glue works fine.) Allow glue to dry before decorating your tree.
4. Trim your TP tube Christmas tree by gluing on pom poms for ornaments. Allow glue to dry completely before moving your project.