Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Paper Cup Decoration

This past weekend, my little cousins wanted to have a sleepover at my house. We watched movies, pigged out on popcorn, and decided that we wanted to make some Christmas decorations for our family. One of my favorite activities from when I was little, was to make a paper cup reindeer. It is really simple, but fun, and is a great activity for a rainy afternoon.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 plastic, paper, or foam drinking cup
• Brown and pink acrylic paint
• 2 3”-square pieces of tan felt
• 2 medium wiggle eyes
• 1 medium red pom pom
• 2 black chenille stems
• Strip of felt to fit the inside rim of your cup
• White craft glue
• Black marker
• Scissors

To make your reindeer:

1. First paint your cup with the brown paint and set aside to dry. Get creative by using different shades of brown.
2. Once the paint is dry, glue two wiggle eyes on the front of the cup, about halfway down from the rim, and then glue red pom pom on for the nose just above the bottom of the cup, centered under the eyes. (TIP – you can also use red glitter for the nose.)
3. Use scissors to carefully cut a small slit in both sides of the cup where you want the ears to go. (If the kids are young, let an adult do this part.)
4. To make the ears, roll one of the felt squares up like a cone; insert the pointed end into one of the slits on the cup, and secure felt to the cup with white craft glue. Repeat on other side.
5. Bend each chenille stem in half. Form chenille ends into antlers by creating a couple of bends on each one.
6. Next, make the antlers by gluing a strip of tan felt inside the rim of the cup, then immediately insert the antlers under the strip on each side. You may need to hold these in place for a few minutes until the glue dries. (TIP – You can also secure the antlers with clothespins.)
7. To paint on some rosy cheeks, dip your fingertip in pink paint and dab the excess off onto a paper towel, and then dot the pink paint on the sides of the cup slightly above the nose.
8. Lastly, use a black marker to draw on eyebrows.

Let me know how your crafty fun goes!!