How to Christmas wrap a bike to look like a reindeer: step by step picture and video guide
Follow our brilliant step by step instructions to make a child's bike look like a red-nosed reindeer. All you need is cardboard, brown paper, tape and a scarf...
You've bought your child a bike for Christmas and now you're wondering if there's a clever way to wrap it to disguise its obvious bike shape and keep it as a surprise package under the Christmas tree.
Well, yes there is: you can gift-wrap the bike to look like a reindeer!
Follow our how-to video (above) and a step-by-step picture guide (below) to find out how you use paper and cardboard to make a bike to look like a reindeer.
It does take a bit of time – so definitely not something to leave until midnight on Christmas Eve – and you might need extra helping hands, but the results are worth it!
Here’s your step-by-step guide to Christmas-wrapping a bike to look like a reindeer
What you'll need:
- Bike
- Box for the bike
- Brown parcel tape
- Sharpie pen
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Brown paper
- Downloadable templates for the reindeer head
- Red tape (or red paint)
- Red gift bow
- Scarf
Step 1
Put the bike in a box, if it isn't in one already. Secure the box with parcel tape.
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Step 2
With your pen, draw 2 identical 'sloping hump' shapes on your cardboard that will make the reindeer's back (see above). Don't worry too much about precise measurements but they should be roughly as long as half the length of the top of your bike box, and about 12cm high at the highest point. Cut them out and fix them with parcel tape onto opposite outside edges of one end of the box, so that the humps run down from the edges to the middle.
Step 3
Now wrap the entire box with the brown paper and secure it with parcel tape. You may want to cut slits in the paper where it covers the top of the box to allow you to stick the paper down more easily.
Step 4
On another piece of cardboard, draw a semicircle, with a base as long as the side of your box. This will be the reindeer's back/bottom. Stick the semicircle to the centre of the side of the box at the 'hump end'. After this, use more brown paper to cover the semicircle and give the reindeer's body some more shape.
Step 5
Now make the reindeer head. You'll need to draw out on cardboard 2 triangles (28cm sides x 20cm base), 2 long rectangles (28cm x 10cm) and 1 short rectangle (20cm x 10cm). Use our downloadable templates to get exactly the right shapes more quickly. Cut all the shapes out and then assemble them as above (there is also an assembly diagram that comes with the downloadable templates).
Step 6
Tape the assembled pieces together to create a 3D triangular shape for the head. Cover it with brown paper, secured with parcel tape.
Step 7
Position the head on the body and secure it in place with sections of parcel tape folded back on itself to make double-sided tape.
Step 8
Draw antlers on your cardboard and cut them out with scissors.
Step 9
Cover the antlers with sections of red tape – or paint them red.
Step 10
Stick the antlers onto the back of the reindeer's head. Use your pen to draw 2 eyes on the head.
Step 11
Now stick the gift bow on for the nose, and wrap the scarf around the reindeer's neck.
And then you're done!
Pics: Janet Mtima & Emily Longman-Wall. Video filming and editing: Janet Mtima
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