This puppet uses the folded bottom of a lunch bag as the moving face. Your preschooler decorates it while it is flat; once dry, their fingers lift the flap from inside. Big paper antlers, drawn eyes and a red paper nose keep the supplies simple.

Expect the decorating to be fairly civilised and the first puppet conversation to be extremely loud. You can make the cuts ahead, but save the final reveal for your child. A moving paper mouth is considerably more interesting than listening to an adult explain where the glue goes.

Find the mouth before adding anything

Lay an empty kraft lunch bag flat with its folded rectangular bottom facing upward at the top. That rectangle is the puppet’s face. The lower edge lifts away from the bag body; this is where the mouth opens.

Slide your hand into the open end at the bottom and wiggle your fingers beneath the face flap. Watch which edge moves. Now remove your hand and flatten the bag again. You only need to do this once, but it saves attaching a magnificent nose to the wrong side.

Draw a light pencil line on the body directly beneath the flap to mark the mouth opening. Keep all decorations from crossing that line. A big muzzle glued across the hinge looks adorable right up until the reindeer tries to speak.

A rectangular lunch bag about 13 cm wide is usually roomy enough to work with, although sizes differ. If the bag is too long for your child’s arm, you can shorten the open end after testing the fit. Keep the folded face and the side seams intact.

Make your reindeer paper bag puppet

1. Cut two sturdy antlers. Draw broad branching shapes on brown cardstock, each about 10 cm tall. Give each antler a 2 cm-wide stem and two or three chunky branches. An adult cuts these out; thin twig shapes bend quickly and are frustrating to glue.
2. Attach antlers to the face flap only. Lift the rectangular flap and tape the antler stems to the back of its upper edge, with branches extending above the bag. Keep the tape on the flap itself, away from its moving lower edge. Lower the flap and test that it still opens freely.
3. Add two paper ears. Cut brown oval ears around 5 cm long and smaller tan centres. Glue a centre onto each ear. Attach their inner ends to the sides of the face flap, below the antlers. They can point sideways rather than trying to occupy the same space as the branches.
4. Build the face on top. Glue a tan oval muzzle, about 7 × 4 cm, entirely within the face rectangle. Add a 3 cm red paper nose at its centre. Draw two eyes above the muzzle using a black marker; paper circles with drawn pupils are another option.
5. Add the lower mouth separately. Lift the flap and glue a small dark oval to the bag body in the area it covers. A little red paper tongue can go inside this oval. Keep it below the flap, rather than gluing it to both moving surfaces.
6. Dress the bag body. Glue a narrow red paper scarf several centimetres below the mouth. Keep the sides open enough for the bag to expand when a hand enters. Draw a few spots or buttons with crayon if your child wants more decoration.
7. Dry, test and talk. Leave the puppet flat until the pieces no longer slide. Open the bag gently at its lower end and guide your child’s hand inside. Their fingers lift the flap while their thumb supports the body. Give the reindeer one sentence to say, then let the increasingly strange conversation begin.

Give small hands an easy first go

Your preschooler might open the mouth once and immediately grab the puppet by its antlers. Show them where to put their hand, then hold the bag lightly at the wrist while they try. If finger movement is fiddly, they can hold it as a character without operating the mouth every time.

Choose one short scene: the reindeer asks where the carrots are, knocks on a house door, or tells a joke nobody quite understands. A whole scripted Christmas show creates a lot of instructions for a child who is mostly enjoying making paper shout.

The felt story board offers another way to move characters through a scene without managing a puppet flap. Use either format according to what your child wants to do; they do not need to perform for an audience.

A standing gingerbread house made from a paper bag can be the reindeer’s destination. Use a second bag for the house: its filled, taped shape cannot double as a working puppet. The shared material is convenient; the construction is deliberately different.

Fix the puppet before blaming the reindeer

Make it yours

Keeping the puppet for another afternoon

Store it flat in a shallow box once dry, with the antlers inside the box rather than poking out beneath a lid. Leave the hand opening empty. Stuffing the bag for storage stretches the seams and puts unnecessary pressure on the face.

When an ear comes loose, tape or reglue its hidden attachment point. There is no need to remake the entire animal. If your child is now interested in another paper face, the paper plate lion makes a stationary character with a different base.

For a group, write names on the back of the bag before decorating and put each child’s shapes in their own tray. Our low-mess toddler craft ideas are useful companions when some children finish early.

Reindeer puppet questions