Decorating some sort of evergreen tree has long been a tradition around the end of the year. We will honor that tradition but in a slightly modified way. Presenting Toilet paper rolls. Hey, they have been trees once! Or better to say Toilet roll evergreen tree. And what’s more evergreen than recycling? We promise you’ll be impressed with the result

Article Contents

1. History of the Christmas Tree
2. Materials needed for Toilet Roll Christmas Tree
3. Instructions on how to make the Christmas tree from the toilet rolls
4. What will you develop and learn by making Toilet Roll Christmas tree?

History of the Christmas Tree

Evergreen trees have a long history as a symbol of endurance and everlasting life. Winter solstice is a day when the day is the shortest and the night is the longest. Around that time we all need that extra reassurance that spring will come again.

From ancient times there have been different rituals with precisely this purpose. Waiting for a new birth of nature. Egyptians, Norse, and Romans all had their version of the festivities. Celebrating the enduring of the winter and pleading for the spring to come back. Fir Trees were decorated in the North for centuries.

But the tradition of decorating a tree inside originates in Germany. Martin Luther, a Protestant reformer, is credited with the idea of bringing the tree inside the home during Christmas in 16. century.

The legend goes that on Christmas Eve he was walking through the forest. And he was amazed by the sight of the stars twinkling through the trees. He decided to recreate this image at his home by decorating a tree in honor of Christ’s birth.

The custom spread through Europe and later America when the newspapers published the image of the British Queen Victoria with her husband Prince Albert standing next to the decorated Christmas tree.

In the past, trees were mostly decorated with edible things, like apples and gingerbread cookies. With time, glassmakers started to make shiny decorations from glass that people used to decorate the tree.

Nowadays, decorating a tree is one of the hallmarks of Christmas, and people all around the world are doing it. Most trees are decorated with flashing lights, baubles, and tinsel. Also, homemade decorations are still very popular for unique tree decorations. We will join them by making our own Christmas tree from the toilet rolls.

Materials needed for Toilet Roll Christmas Tree

• Toilet paper rolls. Depending on the size of the tree you want to build, you will need a different number of toilet paper rolls. We needed 21 rolls to create a small tree perfect for the table. We made the first row out of 6 paper rolls and every level above is made with one less paper roll. You can calculate the total amount of the rolls needed with this formula: n * (n + 1) / 2, where n is the number of rolls used for the first row. So in our case, we needed 21 rolls (6 * 7 / 2). Take 2 more rolls for the trunk of the tree.
• Hot glue. We will need some glue to connect our toilet rolls into an evergreen tree shape. Hot glue is excellent for that but you can use any other stronger glue that can hold the cardboard.
• Christmas Tree Decorations. Here you can be creative and use any decorations you want. Small Christmas balls, bead chain, lamps, custom made decorations, anything you want to decorate your tree.
• Green paint. We want our Tree to be green and since the toilet rolls are gray, we will need to color them. Acrylic paint or Tempera paint is best for this but even colored pencils can do the job.
• Brush, Cup, and Water. If you’re using Tempera or Acrylic paint, you will also need some brush to color your toilet rolls. But that will be the fastest way to transform your soon-to-be tree to green color.
• Paper Clips. Maybe you won’t need them but we found them invaluable to put Christmas balls on our tree. This way we didn’t need any thread but we managed to attach balls on the cardboard with paper clips.

Instructions on how to make the Christmas tree from the toilet rolls

For step by step instructions on how to make it, watch the video at the beginning of the article!

1. Color the toilet paper rolls you’ll use for the tree with the green paint. Leave the 2 rolls you’ll use for the trunk uncolored (or use brown color if you wish).
2. Make the first row of the tree by gluing several paper rolls together. We used 6 toilet paper rolls for the first row.
3. For every row above, you’ll need one less roll. Put toilet paper rolls in the middle of the rolls below. Glue the roll to the bottom two toilet paper rolls and to the roll next to it in the same row.
4. Repeat step 3 until you glue the last 1 roll on the top.
5. Glue the 2 leftover rolls together. This is a trunk! Attach it to the bottom of the tree, in the middle, so the tree can stand on it.
6. Decorate the tree as you wish! We used paper clips to attach Christmas balls on each roll. And gold bead chain as the final touch.

What will you develop and learn by making Toilet Roll Christmas tree?

• Creativity
• Oculomotor coordination and fine motor skills
• Talk about the importance of recycling and ecology
• Paper comes from the trees!
• Math skills – learning and using the formula for summing numbers from 1 to n

For more festive activities, we recommend you take a shot at making Christmas Reindeer. And for an alternative holiday tree, you can make a Pinecone Christmas Tree. Or check some other creative pursuits like making a cardboard castle. In any case, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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