Around 2-3 years ago, I visited a craft fair and discovered a few basic Chinese New Year colouring craft kits – one of them featured a paper dragon puppet.
I remember thinking, “I could make something like that” and design a Chinese New Year Printable for you. It has taken me just 3 years to finally create my own free DIY Dragon Puppet printable for you.
Paper Dragon Puppets are enjoyable to create! First published in 2012 and republished for your convenience
We are now celebrating the Year of the Dragon! Chinese New Year will take place on 10th February 2024, and it is FINALLY the Year of the Dragon – bringing plenty of wonderful Dragon Crafts our way! Woohoo!
Naturally, you can make your own paper dragon design, but if you are short on time or need to create with a big group of children (I am hoping to make these with Red Ted’s class again), these are an ideal choice! We created them during a play date – 5 children – and every one of them enjoyed making these fantastic Dragon Paper Puppets!!
The two youngest children ran out of colouring enthusiasm fairly quickly, although they still adore their dragons. Honestly, I think they look lovely when left “uncoloured too” – or you could print the free template onto coloured paper (such as red paper) and decorate it with glued-on pieces?
paper for printing (although I used very thin card) – or print onto coloured paper so you can avoid colouring your paper dragons yourself
a printer,
red paper for the body, although green paper or yellow paper works beautifully too, allowing you to print the dragon’s head on coloured paper and reduce the amount of colouring!
pens or crayons,
tissue paper (optional – I enjoy using reused tissue paper from gift packaging or shopping),
lollipop sticks (we used ones saved from summer ice lollies),
You can find the FREE Printable Paper Dragon Craft in my Gumroad store. It is FREE for you today. Simply enter the 100% Discount code LuckyDragon at checkout! Free exclusively for Red Ted Art readers!
You may also download STEP BY STEP Photo instructions worksheets through my Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s Account. They are ideal for classrooms or playgroups! By buying this $2 printable (Lesson plan, worksheet and dragon outline), you contribute to maintaining this website! Many thanks!
How to make a Paper Dragon Craft for Kids
We have a video showing How to make a Paper Dragon Step By Step, or you can follow the directions below!
To get your children enthusiastic about the activity, make one in advance or show them pictures of the completed project (such as this post) – once they understand what they will create, the colouring sheet makes “much more sense”.
UPDATE: We tried these in Red Ted’s class room and slightly rearranged the “Order” of the craft: First we cut, then folded, next assembled and coloured at the end. This meant every child could “finish their dragon”, even if they became tired of colouring. We also attached thePopsiclesticks with tape, meaning we didn’t need to wait for the glue to dry. The children were fantastic and produced an amazing result!
If you need step by step PHOTO instructions in worksheet form, you can find them here.
1) Print your dragon template for Chinse New Year – it includes a double sided head that will be folded later, along with a double side tail section. There are also 4 feet – stick them together so your dragon looks wonderful from either side.
2) The children coloured with pens, but we quickly realised this would take a very long time (Red Ted spent ages on his and even worked for a full 30 minutes at bedtime to complete it; he did an AMAZING job with the detail and patience). Therefore… I suggest these alternatives:
* pens for children who enjoy colouring and can be patient,
* crayons for little ones who want to fill large areas fast,
* try using paints (although the paper might become slightly soggy), or
* print onto coloured paper and decorate with glitter glue or stickers.
3) After the colouring is complete, cut out all the pieces. The mums handled this part on this occassion, but I believe children could manage it themselves in a class room. It may not be perfectly tidy, but it should still look charming. Once the head has been cut out, fold it along the mouth and then remove the “mouth space”, allowing you to add some tissue paper fire.
4) We took one A4 sheet, divided it into three matching strips, and used each strip for one body. Then we folded each one “concertinastyle”. I was amazed by how well the children followed the instructions (fold, turn over, fold, turn over, fold…). Red Ted wanted a particularly long dragon, so we joined two strips together with glue before folding them.
5) Attach the head, tail, feet and lollipop sticks to the body with glue.
6) Trim some tissue paper and attach it as fire (optional, naturally).
Have fun! We hope you enjoyed our Chinese New Year Printable and will try creating these simple and entertaining DIY Dragon Puppets!!
We discovered that when you hold the two lollipopsticks held at right angles in one hand, the dragon becomes a lovely fan as well!
Enjoyed this printable? Try these activities to explore the Free Printable Dragon in creative ways:
We also have a wonderful Paper Plate Dragon Whirligig, including a printable:
Explore our Paper Plate Dancing Dragon printable
You can also try this printable Dragon Finger Puppet and Coloring Page:
Create Your Own Chinese Dragon Printable:
This fantastic free Chinese Dragon Printable lets children design their own dragon. Make it short, long, curly, or straight. Use it for counting, number bonds, or colour mixing. For a quicker project, print it on coloured paper and assemble it for a brilliant Chinese New Year classroom display!
Find more Chinese New Year Crafts here:
In 2023, the Chinese Zodiac animal is the Rabbit – you might enjoy these rabbit crafts
