First up a quick note about that best origami of 2018 contest I wanted to do. That’s still happening and I should be making a post with all the details for that contest soon so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Next up is a special gift from me! I’m going to be giving away a free copy of one of my all time favourite origami books Origami Omnibus by Kunihiko Kasahara to one lucky member of my email list.
If you’re not on the email list you can sign up at the bottom of any page on this website. I’ll also be sending out an email in a couple of days with some more details on how you can increase you chances of winning the book.
This is a fantastic beginner to intermediate level book that has one of my all time favourite models to fold, a beautiful Chinese dragon. It’s not hard to fold and it looks pretty impressive (although not as impressive as a lot of the other origami on this site…).
There’s a huge number of other really great models in the book as well.
So make sure you get on the email list as soon as possible. I’ll be sending out those instructions to increase your odds in a few days and picking a winner not long after that.
And now onto the main theme of this post, Christmas origami.
Two years ago I put together a post with a really awesome selection. This year it was a bit more difficult since I featured so many awesome models last year and I didn’t want to repeat myself too much but I did manage to put together a pretty fantastic collection of stuff I haven’t featured before.
First up is this excellent little Santa Claus model.
Santa Claus, Designed and Folded by Phạm Hoàng Tuấn
Instructions not available
Next up is a beautiful little nativity angel that would fit right in on any Christmas tree or in any nativity scene.
Nativity Angel, Designed by Max Hulme and Folded by Danielle Verbeeten
Video instructions available from ireneblchua’s YouTube channel
Here’s a beautiful Christmas tree folded out of five sheets of paper that get larger in size as you work your way down the tree.
Christmas Fir, Designed and Folded by Alejandro Pascual Márquez
Video instructions are available here
I really like this next model and I was looking for an excuse to throw it in a post. I initially thought of doing a Thanksgiving Day post but there’s just not enough Thanksgiving themed origami out there to make into a post.
But people do eat turkey at Christmas so here we are.
Turkey, Designed by Ryan MacDonell and Folded by Rui Roda
Diagrams available in the 21st Tanteidan Convention Book
I’ve always thought this Santa Crane model was pretty cool and it’s actually folded from a regular old Bird Base like a regular paper crane.
Santa Crane, Designed by Arisawa Yuga and Folded by Zephyr Liu
Diagrams available in the 21st Tanteidan Convention Book
Joseph Wu designed this fantastic group of the 3 Wisemen. These could also easily fit into any nativity scene.
The Magi, Designed and Folded by Joseph Wu
Instructions not available
Since Reindeer are definitely associated with Christmas this is a fantastic opportunity to include an impressive reindeer model like this one which is folded from a single 35 x 35 cm square of paper!
Reindeer, Designed by Kawahata Fumiaki and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease pattern available in the JOAS Special Edition from 2008
Here’s a fantastic Christmas scene and I love how everything even the snowy ground is made out of paper.
Designed by Dem Giang Sinh and Folded by Pham Hoang Hai (Photo by Nguyenngoc Thanh)
Instructions not available
Here’s a whole forest of beautiful modular Christmas trees. Each one is folded from 3 squares of paper.
O Tannenbaum, Designed and Folded by Kalami
Diagrams are available on Kalami’s blog
This has to be the best origami snowman I’ve seen. The snowman itself is folded from a single square of paper and the hat and scarf are both separate squares of paper.
Snowman with Silk Hat and Muffler, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Crease pattern available from Hiroaki Kobayashi’s Flickr
Here’s an entire Santa gang. I like how each one of these has a slightly different beard and face.
Santa Gang, Designed by Rene Lucio+ Jan Spütz and Folded by Rainer Berg
Diagrams available in Das große Origamibuch
This year I came across this absolutely magnificent sleigh folded from a single square of paper believe it or not.
Santa’s Sleigh, Designed by Taon and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.’s YouTube channel
Jun Mitani is famous for designing beautiful and simple looking spiralling shapes. Here he’s taken some of this designs and converted them into fantastic little Christmas ornaments that would fit in on any Christmas tree.
Christmas Ornaments, Designed and Folded by Jun Mitani
Instructions not available
Here’s another fantastic little Christmas tree and this time it’s all folded from one square of paper.
Christmas Tree, Designed by Yoshihide Momotani, Stars Designed by Janet Yelle and all Folded by Helena Poliarush
Crease pattern for the Christmas tree available here
I included this next photo in that previous Christmas post I mentioned earlier but it’s one of my all time favourites so I had to include it just one more time.
Shepherd Designed by Max Hulme, Sheep Designed by Hideo Komatsu and all Folded by Oreste Salatino
Sheep diagrams available in Works of Hideo Komatsu
Shepherd diagrams available in the 2008 Origami USA Convention Book
Here’s another really awesome design. Technically this is a roast chicken but it’s similar to that turkey from earlier so I’m including it.
Roast Chicken, Designed by Joseph Wu and Folded by Shuki Kato
Crease pattern available from Joseph Wu’s Flickr
Here are some more fantastic reindeer this and this time everything is folded from dollar bills. The red rope technically isn’t origami but it’s a very nice touch.
Reindeer Designed by Neal Elias, Sleigh Designed by Young Wyn and all Folded by Xun
Reindeer diagrams available in the Origami World of Neal Elias
Sleigh diagrams available here: Page 1, Page 2 and Page 3
This beautiful little snowflake is folded from a single piece of paper.
Snowflake with Hole, Designed and Folded by Oriholic Jared
Instructions not available
Daniel Brown folded this fantastic fireplace and then decorated it for Christmas.
Fireplace Designed by Ichiro Kinoshita, the Decorates are Designed by Daniel Brown and Everything is Folded by Daniel Brown
Diagrams are available in the 1st Tanteidan Convention Book
Here are a few more fantastic little tree ornaments.
Ornaments, Designed and Folded by Helena Poliarush
Instructions not available
This model was part of the International Origami Internet Olympiad for 2018 and looks really great with red and white paper.
White Deer with Red Scarf, Designed by Pei Haozheng and Folded by Carla Godoy
Instructions not available
Here we have a fantastic Santa themed kusudama sitting on top of a mirror.
Kusudama Santa, Designed by Irina Kasatonova and Folded by Marjan Smeijsters
Photo diagrams available from Irina Chisa’s Flickr
Our final model for this post is this absolutely fantastic nativity scene by Sipho Mabona. It’s inspired by the artist Giang Dinh and his curved style which is very common among Vietnamese origami artists.
Nativity of Jesus, Designed and Folded by Sipho Mabona
Instructions not available
That’s it for this post. Let us know what you thought about these models in the comments and be sure to get on the mailing list so you can be part of the contest (and future contests too)!
