Make a Christmas colour collage from wrapping scraps

After opening a parcel, you may have a few pieces of paper too small to wrap another gift. Set aside clean paper scraps for one picture. A simple collage gives those colours a new place without needing to save every ribbon, tag and fragment from the day.

Choose the picture before collecting more scraps

Take a backing sheet and decide on one large shape: a tree, a house or a parcel with a broad ribbon. Lightly draw its outline. Choose three colours or patterns from the paper you already have. Use pieces you can tear or cut into manageable shapes; an adult can help with cutting and remove attached tape or other materials.

For a tree, you might choose green for the main shape, red for a few details and gold for a large top star. The colours are suggestions. A blue tree is still your chosen picture, and no piece needs to match the drawing on the original wrapping paper.

Arrange without glue first

Tear several broad pieces and lay them inside the outline. Overlap them a little, leaving the edge of the shape visible. A child can move pieces until they like the arrangement. If the whole sheet starts filling up, pause and ask which large shape should stand out.

Before gluing, step back together. Can you still recognise the tree, house or parcel? If not, move a few pieces away from its outside edge or make a clearer background gap. This is a composition choice, not a judgement about neatness.

Fix one part at a time

Use a paper adhesive suitable for your materials and follow its instructions. Lift one piece, apply adhesive and return the piece to its place, then move to the next. If shiny paper will not stick with what you have, replace that piece with ordinary paper rather than buying another product to finish the picture.

Here is a proposed example: green pieces form a tree, one broad brown strip becomes its trunk, and a large gold scrap sits above it. A child adds two red patches where they want decoration. The finished tree does not need every scrap you collected.

Decide where the picture goes

Let any adhesive dry as directed before lifting or storing the work. Add a title if the maker wants one, then choose a place to display it or put it in a folder. Remaining scraps can return to your usual household sorting; this activity makes no claim that every kind of gift wrap can be recycled. Your one finished picture is enough.