3D Paper Christmas Tree

How to make a 3D Christmas tree out of paper

1. Print at 100%. Choose “Actual size” (not “Fit to page”) in the print dialog and lay a ruler on the 50 mm bar at the foot of each sheet. If it is 48 mm, the printer shrank the page and the slots will be too narrow.
2. Use card, not copy paper. 200 to 300 g/m² card (about 75 to 110 lb cover) holds a slot tree upright; 160 g/m² is enough for cone layers and stars. Thick card or cardboard works too: type its thickness and the slots widen to match.
3. Cut the inside first. Slots, stencil letters and the star holes are easiest while the sheet is still whole: a craft knife and a metal ruler on a cutting mat. Then cut round the outlines with scissors.
4. Build it. Each sheet repeats the steps for its tree at the top. In short: slide the slot pieces together until their bases are level; roll the cone onto its grey glue tab and wrap the layers from the bottom up; thread the stars smallest-last with a rolled spacer between each pair.

Bigger than the paper? A part that does not fit one sheet prints in tiles with a 12 mm overlap. Trim each later tile along its dotted edge, lay it on the blue line of the tile before, and glue. For a 40 cm centrepiece, glue the joined slot pieces onto thin cardboard before cutting so the fins stay flat.

Questions

Which of the three trees should I make?

The slot tree is the quickest: two cuts per piece plus the slot, no glue, and it packs flat again in January. With three pieces you get six fins and a fuller look, but the slots sit at thirds, so cut them exactly where they are printed. The cone tree has the most cutting (at 20 cm on A4: the cone in two parts, four scalloped layers in five pieces and two topper stars) and gives the fullest shape; fringed layers curl outward if you run the strips over a pencil. The star stack suits younger children best: there are no slots or glue tabs, only star outlines with a hole in the middle, and they can twist each star as they thread it.

How wide should the slots be?

As wide as the card, plus a little play. This template draws every slot at your card thickness plus 0.3 mm: 0.6 mm for ordinary 0.3 mm card, 1.8 mm for 1.5 mm cardboard. Each slot ends exactly at half the height (on the two-piece tree), so the bases stand level. If a slot binds, widen it with one more knife stroke rather than forcing it, which crumples the tip.

Is there a paper cone Christmas tree template I can size?

Yes: choose Cone tree and type the height. The base is always half the height, so a 20 cm cone stands on a 10 cm circle. Its net is a fan with a 206 mm radius and an 87° angle, which is too wide for one A4 sheet, so it prints as two equal parts that each glue onto the next one’s tab; the base arcs add up to exactly the base’s circumference. The layers are cut from the same cone, so each one wraps snugly at its own height.

How do I make the star tree stand up?

Push the skewer into a cork, a lump of air-dry clay or a small wooden block, and start with the trunk spacer, the first strip on the sheet. At 20 cm the stars run from 14 cm across down to 3.6 cm, 16 mm apart. Trees of 12 cm or taller have 3.5 mm holes for a 3 mm bamboo skewer; smaller ones have 2.2 mm holes for a cocktail stick.

Can I cut it with a Cricut or Silhouette?

Yes. “SVG cut file” saves every part at true size in millimetres, the cut lines (outlines, slots, letters, holes and fringe slits) in one group and the glue-tab folds in another, so you can set those to score. Silhouette Studio’s free Basic Edition does not open SVG, so “DXF (Silhouette)” saves the same lines in millimetres, cut on layer CUT and folds on layer SCORE. The message after saving tells you whether it fits a 12 × 12 in or 12 × 24 in mat.

Is it really free?

Yes. No sign-up, no watermark, and the PDF is made on your own device. Print as many as you like for home, school or a craft table.