Simple DIY Wrapping Paper Puzzle

E came up with the idea for the Wrapping Paper Puzzle while we were making Wrapping Paper Christmas Ornaments: She was gluing bits of wrapping paper to the ornament, and tried to put them back together puzzle style.

Due to the way she had cut them, that turned out to be incredibly difficult but it made me want to see if she was able to do a puzzle from square pieces of wrapping paper. She’s currently really into puzzles, so I was pretty sure she would be interested {although it can be pretty hard to tell these days, it’s not easy to find activities she feels like doing.}

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

(E was 4 years and 1 month old.)

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To make a Wrapping Paper Puzzle, you’ll need:

  • Wrapping paper.
  • Scissors. {Or you could use a craft knife and ruler.}
  • Glue. {We used our trusty Elmers Washable Gel School Glue but any glue would be fine; a glue stick would be a great no-mess option.}
  • Bowl for the glue (optional).
  • Paintbrush (optional).
  • Paper.

 

We had some pretty foil Christmas wrapping paper with fairly large repeating designs, so I cut out one Santa

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

then cut along the convenient lines on the back

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

to make the puzzle pieces.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

They seemed pretty small to me when I looked at them but E was happy with the activity and quite confident about it.

She didn’t even try to get a good look at the pieces first but started applying glue to her sheet of paper right away.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

Like I tend to suggest when we do puzzles together, she decided to start with the face.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

I noticed that the rest wasn’t going to be so easy, so I gave her another piece of the wrapping paper to compare her puzzle pieces to.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

We still had to talk quite a bit about how it all fit together but of course activities requiring communication are always good!

Suddenly we noticed that there were pieces that didn’t go with “our” Santa… This particular piece was actually from a Santa who was facing right…

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

I’m still not exactly sure how that happened, especially since there were also pieces from the actual puzzle missing but we rolled with it, and E finished her puzzle the best she could.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

Despite the problems, she’d enjoyed the activity and asked to do another puzzle. This time, I used a snowman design that worked a little better.

 

Make a simple DIY wrapping paper puzzle for a quick, easy and fun way to practice fine motor and problem solving skills, and to recycle old wrapping paper!

 

E would have happily kept going if it hadn’t been {way past} her bedtime already.

 

Do your kids like puzzles? Have you made your own? How do you recycle old wrapping paper? Leave a comment and let me know!

 

Are you looking for other ways to recycle old wrapping paper?

Check out our Candy Cane Wrapping Paper Collage or our Wrapping Paper Christmas Ornaments!

 

Are your kids into Christmas printables? Are you looking for a simple, frugal Christmas countdown?

Get my full 24 Days of Christmas Printables Christmas Countdown now!

 

Follow this fun, simple, and frugal 24 Days of Christmas Printables Christmas Countdown with your older toddler, preschooler or kindergartener! Something no-prep or low-prep to spend quality time every day of December all the way up until Christmas, easy peasy!

 

 

 

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