Looking for fun reindeer crafts for kids?  This printable reindeer paper bag puppet is super easy with the free template.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, I decided to add a fun reindeer craft to our Christmas themed crafts.

This reindeer puppet craft is a great way for younger children (preschool and kindergarteners) to practice their fine motor skills and scissor skills, but kids of all ages will enjoy it too!

Free printable Reindeer puppet

If your kids are into Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, this is sure to be a hit!

Let’s dive into this simple paper bag reindeer puppet craft.

Supplies for a Reindeer Paper Bag Puppet

supplies for reindeer paper bag puppet including free printable reindeer template, crayons, glue stick, brown paper lunch bag, scissors

This craft is so simple – you don’t need googly eyes or card stock – all you need is the free printable reindeer and a few simple craft supplies.

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To make this easy peasy reindeer craft you will need:

– Brown paper bag – lunch bag size paper bags

– The Free Reindeer Template Printable (Found in this article after the tutorial)

– Crayons (or markers)

 Scissors

– Glue Stick or School Glue

Once you have your supplies ready – it’s time to make this easy reindeer craft!

How to make a Reindeer Puppet

First, download the free printable reindeer puppet template and print it out onto white copy paper.  

Next, it’s time to color!  Have your child color the reindeer template printable.

the reindeer puppet template colored with crayons

We colored ours to look like a traditional Rudolph, but kids could definitely color their reindeer any color they like.   

For ours, we colored the big puppet face circle brown, the ears brown, and the nose red.  Then we drew on a black mouth with a crayon. We colored the antlers a beige/apricot color (but you could do brown if you like).

Once your child has completely colored the reindeer template, it’s time to cut!  

reindeer puppet cut out with scissors

Provide your child with some kid safe scissors.  We love Fiskar’s blunt tip child safe scissors because they are easy for little hands to use!

Next, explain which pieces of the reindeer need to be cut out.  I created this reindeer template printable with little ones in mind, so the pieces to cut are large and spaced far apart for cutting ease.  

Preschool age kids will likely have no trouble with the big circle for the face and ears – but they might find the reindeer’s antlers a little tricky.

How to assemble the Printable Reindeer Puppet

Once your paper pieces are cut out, it’s time to assemble the paper bag reindeer craft!

The large face circle will go on the bottom of the brown paper lunch bag as shown.  

adding glue to the paper bag puppet template
reindeer face is added to the puppet

Next, have the kids lay out the pieces of the reindeer puppet template before they start to glue.  Doing a bit of planning will help kids figure out where things go.

We added the antlers to the very top of the head and then placed the reindeer’s ears to the side.

Once everything has been placed where it looks good, it’s time to glue it down.

We used a glue stick for this craft because it is low-mess and dries quickly (so that kids can play with their puppets right away!)  Of course, school glue will work too, but it will take longer to dry.

reindeer paper bag puppet with glue stick

After all of the pieces have been glued on, the puppet reindeer is finished!  Kids can place their hand inside the bag to make the puppet move!   

Kids might enjoy pretending that their reindeer can fly, like Santa’s reindeer.  Or, of course, they may enjoy singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with their reindeer paper bag puppets!

Get the Free Reindeer Template Printable

Ready to start this reindeer paper bag craft? Grab the free printable reindeer puppet digital download directly below and make it today!

There’s one page with the reindeer’s face and ears and then there’s a separate page for the antler template.

You can get this free reindeer paper bag puppet printable template PDF file here:

More Paper Bag Puppets for Kids

Puppets are a classic craft that inspire creativity, imaginative play and of course, they are so much fun! Want more Paper Bag Crafts for kids?

There’s a cute Unicorn Puppet with free template here. Perfect for your unicorn loving kids or teaching the letter U.

This Pig Paper Bag Puppet is great for a Farm Unit or of course, the Letter P.

You can also find a Cat Paper Bag Puppet here. This one is perfect for those Pet themes, making a black cat for Halloween, or studying the Letter C.

Want more paper craft ideas? Check out these Paper Art Projects for kids!

Super easy reindeer puppet with crayons and scissors

More Christmas Crafts and Activities 

Looking for more Christmas themed kid crafts for your lesson plans?  You can find lots of easy craft ideas and activities for the Christmas season here on my blog.  

This Symmetry Christmas tree is a fun way to teach kids about symmetry.  Kids paint half of the Christmas tree printable and then fold the page to create a symmetrical print.  The best part is when they open the page and are excited about how the paint transferred to the other side!  What fun!

Love handprint crafts?  This Elf Handprint Craft is a fun Christmas craft for kids of all ages.  It makes a wonderful keepsake for parents. 

Looking for printable activities for Christmas time?  These Color by Number Christmas printables are perfect!  Kids follow the simple code to color in the picture.  What an easy way to have fun!

This DIY Candy Cane Ornament is a fun craft for kids of all ages.  Kids simply string beads onto a chenille stem to create an easy ornament.  This is a great project for a classroom party or just a fun activity for home!

These Gingerbread Coloring pages are perfect for a quiet time activity during the holiday season.  

You can find a fun Santa Sand Art project here. Kids use colored sand to decorate Santa’s outline.

There’s a big list of Homemade Christmas Ornaments here. So many fun ideas for DIY ornaments for kids.

Need a party game? Be sure to grab your free printable copy of How Many Words Can you Make from Merry Christmas? This is perfect for older kids at your holiday gatherings.

Want to save this cute reindeer paper bag puppet for later? Pin the image below to your Christmas preschool activities board on Pinterest.

super easy reindeer paper bag puppet