DIY Gingerbread Garland with Kraft Paper Cookies
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Make this easy gingerbread garland using cookie cutters and kraft paper for a deliciously cute Christmas decoration.
Gingerbread garland is the perfect easy DIY craft project to match your home decor, whether it’s a farmhouse style, kitchy retro, or modern. I’m Keri from One Mama’s Daily Drama and between the holiday baking and decorating, you might think I mixed up the two! These cookies are made from paper – no baking required – and a fun holiday craft for kids and adults.
I love a cute garland for party decorating. I attached this gingerbread cookie garland to the end of my kitchen island using Scotch tape. It’s really lightweight, so tape was plenty to keep it in place.
It makes an easy decoration for a coffee or hot cocoa bar. You could also hang this garland from a mantle, the window sill, or even make an extra long one to wrap around your Christmas tree.
I made this garland myself, but this would be a good activity to do with kids too. Set up the kitchen table as a paper cookie decoration station. Set out all your favorite cookie cutters, paper, and crayons or markers. You could even add sequins, stickers, and colored paper.
This would be a fun activity for a Christmas party, and could even become an annual family tradition.
How to Make Gingerbread Garland
While many craft tutorials say you can’t use a kitchen tool on food again after crafting with it, you just need to thoroughly wash these cookie cutters with hot soapy water and they can be used for cookies again (as long as you’re using a non-toxic pencil for tracing).
What you need:
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Craft/DIY Tools Needed:
Supplies Needed:
These are the ingredients you’ll need. All the exact amounts are in the printable card at the bottom of this post.
Gingerbread Garland Craft Tips and Variations:
Choose simple shapes.
There are tons of really cute and detailed cookie cutters available, but the simple ones will make the best cutouts. Simple shapes are easier to cut out and won’t tear or hang oddly.
My shapes include a teddy bear, snowman, tree, gingerbread man, and wreath.
Try different colors for paper and embellishments.
I wanted my cookies to be classic gingerbread brown with white frosting decorations, but you can make these in any color! Try manilla paper and colored pens to make your garland look like sugar cookies.
To get this exact white that shows up so well, I used a Gelly Roll classic pen in white, size 10. I was really pleased with how this turned out and plan to use this pen any time I need white on a dark background!
Swap the paper for felt.
You can make these with other craft papers in addition to brown Kraft paper. This gingerbread garland can also be made with felt.
If your felt is thin, you may need to use starch to stiffen it so that it holds its shape and doesn’t sag. You may also need to swap the gel pen for a paint pen to mark on the felt.
String the garland on ribbon.
Twine has a cute and rustic feel to it, but this would be pretty if you used some festive Christmas ribbon instead. I always try to craft with supplies I have on hand before running to the craft store to keep my DIY ideas budget-friendly.
Add beads to the gingerbread garland.
If you want to add a bit more embellishment to your garland, string a few beads onto the twine or ribbon between each paper cookie. Just be mindful of the weight while making your garland. Beads will probably make it too heavy to hang with just tape, but I love Command light clips for anywhere.
DIY Gingerbread Cookie Garland
Equipment
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Pencil
- scissors
- Single hole-punch
Supplies
- 1-2 pieces Kraft paper
- 1 Gel pen white
- 36 inches Twine or to fit space
Instructions
- Trace the cookie cutter shapes.Choose the cookie cutter shapes and lay them out on the Kraft paper. Use the pencil to trace around the shapes – either the inside or outside.
- Cut out the paper cookies.Use scissors to cut out each cookie shape. For shapes like the wreath, gently bend the center to cut a slit, then unfold to cutout.
- Decorate each cookie.Use the white gel pen to outline each cookie and add details like a face on the gingerbread man and ornaments on the tree.
- Punch holes for hanging.Punch a hole in each ornament to thread it onto the twine. You can punch a single hole at the top or two on opposite sides like I did.
- Hang the garland.Cut a length of twine long enough to fit the space where you’re hanging the garland. Leave a bit extra on either end. Thread the paper cookies onto the twine and space them evenly.
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What’s Next?
If you enjoyed this gingerbread garland craft then you’ll enjoy these Christmas paper crafts too.
Paper Tube Dala Horse Ornament
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