DIY Ornament: Philippine Christmas Star Craft

Looking for a fun, easy decoration you can make with your child this holiday season? Here is a festive DIY ornament inspired by the Philippines that is fun to do and also reinforces those fine motor skills!

When it comes to “around the world” celebrations, I normally have a very hard choosing which country to research and present. This year, however, when it came time for our World Explorers Club holiday party, I knew exactly which country I wanted to showcase: the Philippines are known for their incredible holiday spirit and amazing Christmas celebrations, which start as early as September! That’s right, while the rest of us are thinking about back to school shopping, Filipinos are already busy decorating for Christmas!

One of the most iconic Philippine decorations is the parol, the gorgeous star lanterns originally used to light the way to early morning mass in the 9 days leading up to Christmas. (For those that speak Spanish, notice the similarity to the word farol, or lantern! This dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Philippines).

Today parols come in many forms and can be large and quite elaborate. I wanted to simplify it for younger children to use at our holiday party, so I can up with this version using straws. You can also try this beautiful paper version or this gorgeous version using cardboard and coffee filters.

DIY Ornament: Philippine Christmas Star Craft

What You Will Need

5 bendy straws

tissue paper, cut in strips

ribbon

To make this DIY ornament, start with the star itself. Simply pinch one long end of a bendy straw and connect it to the short end of the next straw.

You’ll continue doing this with all the straws – making a star shape as you go – until you finally connect the last one back to the first.

Try to weave at least one straw through the spokes of the star so that the shape holds together better.

To make the tassels, take a couple of tissue paper strips and tie them very carefully to the bottom points of the star.

Make a loop with ribbon through the top point of the star and hang on your Christmas tree! These would also look lovely hanging in a window.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Learn more about Christmas in the Philippines!

Welcome to our fifth annual Christmas in Different Lands series! This year each participating blogger will focus on a different country, sharing a traditional dish and more about Christmas in that country. For even more glimpses of global Christmas celebrations, see our series from previous years (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016) plus follow our Christmas board on Pinterest!

Follow Multicultural Kid Blogs’s board Christmas Around the World on Pinterest.

December 1
Lisa Lewis, MD on Multicultural Kid Blogs: A Lebanese Christmas Celebration

December 6
Let the Journey Begin: Celebrating Nikolaus in Germany

December 7
Lou Messugo: Christmas Traditions in Provence, France

December 8
All Done Monkey: Philippines

December 11
Crafty Moms Share: Bangladesh

December 12
Raising a Trilingual Child: Italy

December 15
The Good Long Road on Multicultural Kid Blogs: Israel

December 21
Gianna the Great: Choctaw Nation

December 22
American Mom in Bourdeaux: France