Window stars

Folding square or rectangular pieces of transparent paper into geometric shapes and then assembling them into a star is an almost magical process.

The light shines through these stars and you will discover stars and diamonds that look almost 3D within the stars where the paper is folded double, triple or quadruple - the more it's folded, the less light comes through.

This is a really fun activity with children of all ages, and I enjoy it too (and I'm pushing 50 now!).

The best paper to use for these is called kite paper, and it's a thin but sturdy transparent paper that is very easy to fold. If you can't find any, then the closest thing is baking parchment - you will find that white stars make beautiful snowflake-like window displays. You can also use tissue paper, but with caution - you have to handle it with much more delicacy, as it can rip easily, so it's probably not ideal for young children.

A window star in its simplest form is folded and assembled like this:

If you would like to make a variety of stars for your windows, I have created a bundle of seven folding instructions which you can buy from my Etsy shop.