How to craft a papercraft Santa's sleigh

Delight your friends and family with a sleigh filled with presents and gifts they are sure to love come Christmas morning. The sleigh appeared in issue 187 of Cardmaking & Papercraft.

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Thomas Poad

Published: September 3, 2019 at 3:45 pm

This spectacular sleigh – from Cardmaking & Papercraft – is so easy to make, and is perfect fo filling with a gift or sweet treats! To create this festive sleigh decoration, simply download the PDF template below, print it out and cut your shapes from your chosen coloured card.

For this make, our designer chose red and gold card to construct the sleigh for a traditional look, but you could easily swap the colours for different patterns for a more modern look.

Don't forget to share your projects on Facebook or post them on Instagram!

Download your free papercraft Santa's sleigh template:

To download the template, click on the link below the image and it will open in a new window. You can then save/download the template. There is one PDF to download, which contains all the elements you'll need for the sleigh.

Template for papercraft Santa's Sleigh

Template for papercraft Santa's Sleigh

Shopping List:

Template (see above)
Coloured card
Holly punch
Festive patterned papers
Gold twine
Red organza ribbon
Red and gold gems
Gold ricrac

Step 1

Trace the sleigh side template onto gold card and cut out. Flip the template, trace onto gold card and cut out. Place on a craft mat and use a craft knife to carefully cut around the detailing of the sleigh, as shown.

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Step 2

Using the template, trace the seat, back and front panels of the sleigh onto a piece of red card and cut out each element. Carefully score the tabs and score down the centre of each piece, then fold them all in half.

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Step 3

To start assembling your sleigh, glue the left tab of the seat panel to the reverse of the left side of the sleigh as shown. Attach the left tab of the back panel, making sure it is at an angle and has one end touching the seat panel.

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Step 4

Glue the right tabs of the seat and back panels to the right side of the sleigh. Carefully attach the front panel tabs under the seat. Fold a 100x50mm piece of red card in half and attach securely under the sleigh.

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Step 5

Trace the inside panel of the sleigh side template twice onto red card and cut out. Attach a length of gold ricrac along the lower edges and decorate with red gems. Add gold gems to the sleigh as shown.

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Step 6

Attach the red panels to the sides of the sleigh. Punch eight holly leaves from green patterned paper and attach in pairs to each end of the red panels as shown. Add red gems to the stems of the holly leaves as berries.

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Step 7

Score a 70x90mm piece of patterned paper at 20mm from each side and at 20mm intervals along the length. Neatly trim the two corners at one end to create a tab as shown. Fold and secure to create a mini box shape.

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Step 8

Repeat with different-sized papers to make six gift-wrapped boxes. Wrap short lengths of red organza ribbon and gold twine around each of the boxes and tie in a tiny bow. Place the little boxes in the sleigh with bows side up to finish.

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Section Editor

Thomas Poad is the Section Editor of Your Home magazine, covering the Kitchen, Bathroom, Decorating and Home Improvement sections. He has his finger on the pulse with the latest homeware trends, and is a big fan of maximalist schemes, mid-century decor and repurposed vintage items. He also writes the buyer's guides for Your Homes, so is often found testing out the latest appliances and home gadgets.