Pop-Up Christmas Tree Card with Two Step Tabs
Cut two simple reverse-fold tabs, attach paper trees and check that your Christmas card closes before adding its outer cover.
Two reverse-fold tabs can lift paper trees from the inside of a Christmas card. Cut and fold the inner sheet first, attach each tree to a tab’s front face, and test closure before gluing on the outer cover. This version opens like a laptop with a horizontal hinge.
A source-based guide with original diagrams. We have not physically made or tested this version.
What you’ll need
- Two sheets of construction paper or lightweight card for the inside and outside
- Green paper for two tree shapes; pencil, ruler, scissors and glue stick
- Optional markers or flat paper decorations
- Worksheet below, or paper trimmed to the original dimensions described here
Mark the card and two tabs
Our starting layout is 180 mm wide × 140 mm tall, about 7 × 5½ inches. The horizontal halfway fold makes a closed card 180 × 70 mm. Mark the inner sheet while it is flat, using the upper-left corner as the measuring origin.
The small tab has two parallel cuts at 40 and 60 mm from the left edge, each running from 50 to 90 mm down the sheet. The larger tab has cuts at 115 and 140 mm from the left, running from 45 to 95 mm down. Each cut crosses the central 70 mm fold equally on both sides.
The dimensions are our draft layout for the standard step-tab mechanism described by Enchanted Learning. Check it in spare paper before cutting a special sheet.
Cut, crease and reverse the tabs
Fold the inner card in half. Cut in from the folded edge along each paired line, through both layers. Keep each pair the same depth. Do not cut across the far end of either tab.
Crease the tab ends
Fold each tab over at the line joining the ends of its two cuts. Press the crease, then unfold it. Open the card.
Reverse inward
Push the two tab rectangles toward the inside. Their middle folds must bend opposite to the main card fold. Close the card gently so the tabs settle inside, then reopen it to roughly a right angle.
Check the blank mechanism
Both steps should move with the card. If a tab stays behind the back panel, reverse its middle fold. If it buckles sideways, compare its two cut depths and endpoint creases before adding decoration.
References: Enchanted Learning: Pop-up Tree Card
Fit the trees before gluing
Cut two flat evergreen silhouettes with narrow trunks. Match the worksheet’s starting sizes: 30 mm wide × 35 mm tall for the small tree, and 40 mm wide × 45 mm tall for the large tree, including the trunks. The template trunks are 6 mm wide. Use the smaller tree on the smaller tab and check both shapes against the blank card before gluing.
Open the card to a right angle with the lower panel flat on the table and the back panel upright. Each reversed tab should have a horizontal top and a vertical face toward you. Rest a tree’s trunk against that vertical face, with its foliage above the step. Close the card while holding the pieces lightly in place. Check that neither tree crosses the outside edge or collides with the other. Trim or reposition a tree now if needed.
Glue only the trunk area touching that front face. Do not glue foliage to the back panel or bridge across a moving crease. Let the attachment dry, then repeat the opening and closing check.
Add the cover after the movement works
Fold the second 180 × 140 mm sheet in half to make the cover. Align its fold with the inner card and glue the stationary areas together. Leave the backs of the moving tabs unglued so they can rise into the card.
Use a few slow opening cycles to check for glue at a hinge, loose tree corners or pieces extending beyond the closed edge. Keep decorations flat until you know there is room for anything thicker. A card that only opens when forced needs a corrected fold or glue join before it is given away.
Write the message where it will remain visible when the card is open. An envelope should fit the actual closed piece, including any added border, rather than an assumed standard card size.
Use the remaining green paper
Long straight scraps can become colored cross strips for the woven bookmark. That project lies flat and does not need a pop-up mechanism.
Downloads
- Four-project worksheet pack — A4
Use page 4 for this project. Four pages total; print only the page you need at Actual size / 100%. Check its 50 mm line before cutting. These original worksheets have been checked digitally, but not physically printed and assembled.
- Four-project worksheet pack — Letter
Use page 4 for this project. Four pages total; print only the page you need at Actual size / 100%. Check its 50 mm line before cutting. These original worksheets have been checked digitally, but not physically printed and assembled.
