I will be using the tree template printout, but you can draw your own if you would rather. Mine can be found by clicking on the image. be prepared to put in some time with the craft knife as it can be a slow job to cut out all the trees for a large group.
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You will need scissors, scalpel (optional), thick card, pencil, craft glue or double sided tape, printout, printout or wooden shape of Zacchaeus, and green tissue paper. |
| Prepare the template first first. print onto thick paper, and transfer the pattern onto card either with tracing paper or by cutting it out and tracing round. this template will make all the trees so make sure you are happy with it, be careful with the slots down the tree trunk.Arrange your shape onto your card so as to get the maximum tree shapes per side. you need two tree templates per child, or three if you wish to get fancy! | 
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Each tree only needs to have one slot, not two, so they can slide together, just remember to count so you don’t end up with odd tree shapes that don’t fit. if you want to do three pieces to a tree ( if you are using floppy card) then cut the slots a little longer on the first two pieces and cut both slots a little shorter for the middle piece. I was keen not to use glue so that i would have instantly dry trees, so i covered my outer branches, both sides, with thin strips of double sided tape. this really works well but craft glue is fine too. |
| Now we need to prepare the leaves. Fold the tissue paper into multiple layers, cut off a strip and cut out a leaf shape about 2cm long, you’ll instantly have lots. Cutting the leaf on the fold makes it harder to separate and so I would not recommend doing so this time. I also mixed two shades of green and a sheet of yellow to give my leaves some character. | 
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Now for the fun bit…. peel off the tape back or apply the glue and get sticking. finish one side before the other and let the leaves overlap the edges…liberally. your tree will come to life very quickly. The finished tree just needs a Zacchaeus, i managed to get some wooden cutouts for this activity which we coloured with felt tip pens, but a printout on thin card would suffice |
