Let's make...
Paper Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour is born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8 – 13.

How many of us remember this passage of the Bible from school nativity plays? Were you dressed up as a shepherd or an angel?

Both are important to the Christmas story. The shepherds remind Christians of Jesus’ mission to save souls as the sacrificial ‘Lamb of God’, and as God’s messengers the angels bring the good news.

Hardly surprising then, we have long used angels in Wales to decorate our Christmas trees. In this activity, we make our own paper angels.

You will need

• Coloured paper
• White paper
• Card, old packaging will be fine
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• 10p coin
• Ruler
• Pencil

Method

• Take two pieces of coloured paper, 20cm x 20cm.
• Make a 1cm fold on one, make a second 1cm fold, and so on to create a concertina effect.
• Repeat the process on the second piece of coloured paper.
• Fold one of the concertinas about a third way along its length and glue the wing to the body.
• Repeat the process on the second concertina.
• Cut two narrow lengths of white paper.
• Using the 10p coin draw two circles on the card, and cut out.
• Repeat process using the coloured paper.
• Stick one coloured circle onto one piece of circular card and repeat. You want two circular pieces of card with one side showing the coloured paper.
• Take one length of white paper and glue the end on the inside of one of the concertinas.
• Glue the other end to the inside of the remaining concertina and, using extra glue if necessary, bring the two together to create your angel’s body. You should have a loop at the top for hanging onto the tree.
• Take one of the circles and glue the inside of the card. Stick to the base of the paper loop.
• Repeat process with remaining circle and bring the two pieces together to create your angel’s head. You want the nicely coloured side to be facing out.
• Taking the remaining length of white paper, twist to create a bow and glue together before attaching to the angel.
• Well done! You have made a beautiful angel to hang on your tree.

Enjoy

Why not sit back and admire your paper angel, listening to the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge, sing ‘While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks’?