This fire breathing cardboard tube dragon craft is an easy kids craft to celebrate the Chinese New Year! Simply blow into the end of the tube to make the paper flames move. Your little dragon fan will love this interactive dragon craft!
My son is currently obsessed with the Dragon Masters series, and for a good reason! It’s such a fun set of chapter books to read with lots of action. Perfect for elementary school kids!
If you have a kid who loves dragon, then he or she will love this fire breathing cardboard tube dragon craft. Using simple materials like a toilet paper roll, you can make a dragon that looks like its blowing colorful flames.
This dragon craft is also a must-do for Chinese New Year. Dragon is a symbol of wisdom, power, and wealth in the Chinese culture, and it’s also supposed to be good luck. That’s why you will see lots of dragon decoration as well as dragon dance performances during the lunar new year.
How to Make a Fire Breathing Dragon Craft
List of Supplies:
- Empty cardboard tube
- Free fire breathing dragon template
- Colored craft papers
- Pom poms
- Sharpie (optional)
- Googly eyes (optional)
- Craft glue
- Pencil
- Scissors
Instructions:
1. Take the empty cardboard tube and wrap it with colored craft paper. We’re using green colored craft paper to cover the outside of the tube. If you don’t have a toilet paper roll handy to make your dragon, you can always use a thick, colored cardstock for the head. You can find the template for the colored craft paper in the free template.
2. Print and cut out the patterns from the provided template. Trace the template patterns on colorful craft papers. Cut out the traced patterns. The strips are the fire, the B shape is the base for the eyes, the spiked patterns are for the backside of the head, and there is a mustache pattern.
3. Apply glue around the inner edge of the tube (either side). Stick the strips (fire) on the glued edge one by one.
4. Cover the circumference of the tube’s inner edge with the strips.
5. Stick the small spiked pattern to the front side of the big spiked pattern. Stick the spiked patterns on the backside of the tube (opposite to the fire side).
6. Stick the mustache pattern to the top-front part of the tube (opposite to the spiked patterns). Stick 2 pom poms right behind the mustache. The color of the pom poms should match the paper on your cardboard tube.
7. Stick the eye cut-outs on the eye base pattern. Alternatively, you can use large googly eyes. Stick the straight side of the eye base on the top side of the tube, in front of the spiked patterns.
We made our dragon craft green with orange and purple spikes, but you certainly don’t have to. Use whatever color your kid likes! Since red is considered a lucky color, you often see the Chinese dragon depicted as a red dragon.
You can use tissue paper as well for the flames, but tissue paper is harder to handle and cut. It does move more when you blow into the tube though!
Final Thoughts on Fire Breathing Cardboard Tube Dragon Craft
You can make this fire breathing dragon craft for dragon-themed birthday parties, or a simple craft to do on a playdate. Your kids will love pretending to be a knight fighting a dragon, or even better, a dragon master that controls your dragon.
If your kids like this interactive dragon craft, they will love the Chinese New Year dragon puppet craft. Imitating the dragon seen during the dragon dance, the dragon puppet has multiple sections and can move!
Have fun blowing into the cardboard tube and make the dragon blow fire!
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