How do I make paper-bag stars at a party?

What a paper-bag star party involves

Each guest turns a stack of flat lunch bags into a hanging star to take home. The work happens in three stages: stack and cut, paint and dry, then punch and string. Most of the planning comes down to two things: whether your guests can cut through a stack of bags, and how long your paint takes to dry before the stars can be handled and packed.

The original design describes an eight-bag star with 16 points and a six-bag star with 12 points. Treat those point counts as a guide. The way the bags are folded and the outline you cut both change the finished shape, so check them on your sample.

The craft suits a host who can make a sample ahead of time and has some adult help at the cutting table. If the cutting or the drying time won't work with your guests, your help or your pickup time, choose a different main craft rather than squeezing this one in.

Supplies and bag counts

The list below is for eight children each making an eight-bag star. Count everyone who will make a star, including the birthday child and any siblings who are joining in. Add a stack only for people who are not already in your count.

Four cutting seats mean the children work in two groups of four instead of all eight cutting at once. Keep the practice bags separate from the counted stacks so a demonstration or a mistake doesn't use up a guest's bags.

Tell children before you start who cuts first and what the waiting group will do, and keep each child's counted bags with their name so nothing gets borrowed. Planning shared materials without constant arguments includes a worksheet for how many children use supplies at once.

How to make a paper-bag star, step by step

Use your finished sample and the five photos to show each stage. Keep a practice bag nearby so you can show where the glue goes without using a child's counted stack.

• Lay the first bag flat with the folded end toward you. Keep every bag facing the same way as you add it.
• Add three glue-stick dots along the center line: one at the folded end, one in the middle and one near the open edge. Keep them within a strip about two fingers wide. Press the next bag on top and repeat until the stack is complete. Check this on your sample: the stack needs to hold together while its sides stay free to open.
• Draw the cut shape on the top bag, such as a triangle point, a scalloped edge or a rounded petal. Use the shape that worked on your sample rather than making one up at the party.
• Cut through the whole stack along the line. Help any guest who struggles to get through the layers.
• Open the stack into a star by pulling the top bag to the right and the bottom bag to the left, bringing the two outside faces together.
• Run a line of glue stick over the two center faces where they meet and press them together for 30 seconds.

Adapting the star for different ages and groups

Choose one main version before you count bags. The variations below are ideas to try on a sample, not extra stations to set up.

• Six-bag chunky star: fewer layers to cut. Draw the triangle cut line before guests arrive, and have an adult help open the star and make the final join. Eight stars plus practice bags take 48 + 8 = 56 bags.
• Scalloped petal star: draw six large rounded bumps along the cutting edge of the top bag, then cut through the stack. Try it on a sample to see the flower-like shape it makes.
• Gold-edge star: one thin coat of gold paint along the cut edges. Move the star straight onto its named drying flat. A thick coat can stick neighbouring points together.
• Watercolor bags painted the day before: brush pale watercolor on the bags and dry them flat in single layers overnight. Only stack bags that are completely dry. This removes the paint step from the party.
• Mini-star garland: four small gift bags per mini star. Four stars use 16 bags, and two four-star garlands use 32. The original idea uses 4-inch gift bags, twine and two hooks for one garland.
• A wish inside: before the final join, guests can write a short wish on the inside faces, such as "More snow days". Keep the writing away from the glued join and let it dry first.
• Battery tea light: an optional display idea for the center of a finished star. No holder or fixing method is provided, so test it on your sample. Never use a candle or any open flame with a paper star.

Setting up the tables and planning the drying time

Set up the three stages in separate places. Put four pairs of scissors and the glue at the four cutting seats, and tape the five step photos where guests can see them. Leave a two-seat space next to the cutting table for opening the stacks and making the final join. Only call the next child to a cutting seat when there is space to put the finished work down.

Label every drying flat before the stars arrive, and write down the time each child finishes painting. Put the hole punch and string on a separate clear bench away from scraps. Allow a two-minute sweep after each cutting group.

During the drying break, guests can eat at another table, draw or decorate their sleeve labels. Avoid adding another project that needs the same scissors or the same adult at the busiest moment.

If the break includes food, set it at a separate clean table, ask children to put down scissors and paint and wash their hands, and keep craft supplies away from the plates. Craft party food kids actually eat includes a sample craft party schedule.

For children who aren't eating, a quiet table with paper, crayons or stickers keeps them busy without wet paint or shared scissors. Our art party ideas include setting up that kind of quiet table; use it as a drawing break, not a second main project.

Hanging the stars and sending them home

Slide each dry star into a named cardboard sleeve between two flat sheets. Try this with the sample first so you know the star fits without squashing its points. Pack the stars before coats go on, and sweep the offcuts into the scrap bin. The finished star can be the party favor.

Set aside a flat spot near the door, away from the craft tables, for the named sleeves so finished stars aren't moved around or crushed. Favor table setup explains how to leave room for finished crafts and check drying before packing.

Checklist before guests arrive

• Sample star made, painted and tested for drying time
• Version chosen (six or eight bags) and bags counted, including practice bags
• Every star-maker counted once, including the birthday child and any siblings joining in
• Scissors tested on a full stack, and cuts prepared for anyone who needs them
• Step photos taped up at the cutting seats
• Drying flats and sleeves labelled with names
• Cutting, painting and packing helpers agreed
• A drying-break activity planned and pickup time checked against the last painting time plus its full drying allowance

Sources and further reading

• Paper bag star craft party

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