A bright and colourful bunch of red flowers, the result of making paper poinsettia for the first time

Making Paper Poinsettia Flowers for the First Time

28th December 2025 - New Experience Number 41.

Jump to 'Try it yourself'

I thought making paper poinsettia flowers would be a relaxing festive craft. I didn’t expect to spend quite so much time squinting at small petals and wrestling with a tiny roll of sticky tape.

I’d spotted the kit when I’d been doing some Christmas shopping, and decided I’d treat myself to a craft that I hadn’t done before, and claim another experience towards my challenge of trying 52 new things in the year.

In this post you can find out how I got on, and whether it’s a craft I’ll be doing more of in the future.

A Warming Festive Feeling

When it’s grey outside, the sun feels like a distant memory, and the cold wind seems to cut through every layer right to your bones. I love getting home, closing the door on the weather, and getting cosy.

With the soft warm glow of the fairy lights on the tree, and the fuzzy nostalgic feeling of a familiar festive film on the TV, I made myself a nice cup of tea. Sliding my feet into fluffy slippers, and settling onto the sofa, I laid out the paper poinsettia kit on a small table.

And when the Christmas season is so hectic, there’s nothing quite like switching off from the busyness and giving the thinking mind a break.

A kit for making paper poinsettia flowers. The instructions look like diagrams rather than words.
The paper poinsettia kit that I used

Getting Started - Making Paper Poinsettia Flowers for the First Time

The slim cardboard box contained everything I needed to make five poinsettia flowers, all I needed in addition was a pair of scissors.

After laying out the colourful paper, wooden sticks, and roll of ribbon, I looked over the instructions.

A flat lay of the contents of a kit for making paper poinsettia flowers. There are several sheets of coloured paper, some wooden sticks and a roll of ribbon
The contents of the paper poinsettia kit

There was nothing to read, only diagrams to follow and they looked straightforward – at first.

I began by pushing the individual perforated pieces out of the paper. It had a nice texture to it, and the individual shapes easily came away from their surrounds without tearing or ripping.

There were a lot of pieces, but I found myself in a nice easy rhythm which didn’t take up too much brain space. That would happen in the next step.

Looking down at a piece of paper with printed diagrams for making paper poinsettia flowers. There are also some red paper petals laid out on the table.
Some of the petals and the instructional diagram

The Petal Confusion Begins - Making Paper Poinsettia Flowers

I was ready to get assembling, or so I thought. As I picked up the petals and looked at the diagrams for guidance, I realised that there were actually different sizes.

The petals were all the same red, and I hadn’t noticed any difference when I had been pushing them out of the paper. I also now noticed that there were two slightly different shapes of green petal. I’d just put all of the same coloured shapes together.

Oops.

Looking down at a wooden surface on top of which are lots of red paper petals of slightly different sizes.
I hadn't noticed the subtle difference in the size of the petals

Starting To Look Like Flowers

I made the flower heads first, which involved creasing the petals to give them a 3D effect, assembling them in overlapping layers, and sticking the leaves on to the bottom. This took a bit of trial and error as I tried to interpret the arrows in the diagram instructions.

The centre of the flower was made by folding one of the rectangular shapes in half, cutting lines part way through the paper, and then rolling it up.

I was well in the swing of the process by the fifth flower!

The next step was wrapping the green ribbon around the wooden sticks to make the stem, and finally adding the green plastic topper for the finished flower to stick on to.

Parts of a paper poinsettia kit. There are green stems and red flowers in the background
Making the different parts of the flowers...
Looking down at a partly made paper poinsettia kit.
...as they start to look more like poinsettia

Battling The Sticky Tape

The fiddliest part of the whole process undoubtedly involved the double-sided sticky tape.

It was narrow and thin, which was good as it wouldn’t be obvious on the finished flowers, but made it difficult to work with.

Peeling off the back once the first side was stuck took a lot of perseverance as my fingers worked overtime trying to get purchase on the tiny bits of covering.

Finished Flowers - Making Paper Poinsettia Flowers for the First Time

A bunch of red poinsettia made from paper. They look like a bright and colourful decoration sitting in a glass vase.
I really liked the bright and colourful bunch

I really liked how the flowers turned out.

Individually they were a little unremarkable, but as a bunch they brought a beautiful bloom of festive red colour as another new decoration to add to our collection.

They turned out better than I anticipated, and will hopefully add a splash of winter colour for several years, that is if I can pack them away without them getting crushed!

Good Things About The Kit

  • It contained everything needed to make a pretty bunch of paper poinsettia.
  • There was a picture on the packet indicating how the flowers were supposed to look.
  • The shapes were perforated and really easy to press out; no cutting was required.

Not So Good Things About The Kit

  • Instructions were diagrams and it wasn’t always obvious which petals went where.
  • The petals were different sizes but it wasn’t explicitly obvious.
  • It was brilliant that double-sided sticky tape was included in the kit, but it was incredibly faffy and not overly adhesive.
Looking down at piles of red paper petals, green paper leaves, and wooden sticks.
The kit had everything needed, even if the instructions weren't always clear

What I’d Do Differently

If I was to make these again I’d try using glue rather than sticky tape, especially on the stems, as I think it would be easier to apply and it can get into some of the trickier spots.

I’d also check for subtle differences in the shapes before I pushed them out of the paper, as that would have saved me the faff and time it took to separate them.

Trying Something New Can Be Unexpectedly Nostalgic

Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair. She is standing infront of a plain background as she wears a christmas jumper and holds a bunch of paper poinsettia towards the camera.
An enjoyable craft to try with hints of nostalgia

New experiences don’t have to be big steps out of comfort zones to have an impact.

I loved immersing myself in a festive craft like I used to when I was a child and full of excitement and anticipation for a visit from Father Christmas.

For an hour or so I was transported back in time without having to leave the living room.

Would I Try Making Paper Poinsettia Flowers Again?

Yes — although the sticky tape certainly tested my patience.

I enjoyed the process of making the flowers and switching off from the to-do list, and I really like the end result. They definitely lend themselves to a bit more creativity too, such as adding some glitter.

They’re bold and bright, and as someone not in possession of green fingers, they should also last longer than plants in my care usually do!

It was calming, creative, and surprisingly nostalgic. The finished flowers genuinely brighten up the room and I think they’d make lovely homemade gifts too.

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • My paper poinsettia kit was from high street store, Flying Tiger.
  • It was a seasonal item so isn’t in the shops all year around, but you can find other paper flower kits from the Flying Tiger website.
  • Check your high street craft stores to see if they stock any paper flower making kits.
  • Have a look on Etsy, where you can find lots of different paper flower making kits you can try.

Cost Of Experience

  • I paid £2 for the kit to make five paper poinsettia.
  • The cost will depend on where you buy a kit from if you decide to use a kit, or where you buy the materials from if you decide to follow other instructions.

Recommendations

  • Pay attention. When you’re checking all of the pieces of the kit, it’s worth noticing if there are subtle differences in shapes or sizes.
  • Let there be light. When you’re working on a fiddly craft like this, it helps if you’ve got plenty of light to see what you’re doing.

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