30+ Easy Paper Bag Crafts and Puppet Ideas for Kids

Discover 30+ paper bag crafts for kids, including puppets, animals, masks, and seasonal ideas using inexpensive craft supplies.

If you’ve got a stash of brown paper bags shoved in a pantry somewhere, congratulations — you’re secretly sitting on one of the best cheap craft supplies ever invented.

Seriously though. Paper bag crafts for kids are one of my favorite kinds of projects because they hit the magical parenting/crafting trifecta:

• inexpensive
• low mess
• surprisingly fun

And somehow children never seem to get tired of them.

Maybe it’s because a simple bag can turn into almost anything with a little creativity. One minute it’s a puppy puppet, and the next it’s a roaring lion, a silly monster, or a whole pretend city ready for storytelling adventures.

I still remember making a paper bag puppet in school when I was little. You know the kind — giant googly eyes, yarn hair that barely stayed glued on, and a crooked smile made from construction paper. And honestly? I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

That’s the fun of paper bag crafts. They don’t have to be perfect.

Littles get to experiment, use their imagination, and turn ordinary brown paper bags into something completely ridiculous and adorable. And once the crafting is done, the fun usually keeps going with puppet shows, pretend play, and dramatic play around the house.

That’s probably why teachers love these projects too.

They’re perfect for the classroom because most use simple supplies like scissors, construction paper, markers, paint, and a glue stick. They also work really well for preschool and kindergarten ages since there’s lots of cutting, gluing, decorating, and hands-on creativity involved.

Another thing I love about paper bag crafts is how flexible they are. You can make:

There’s honestly no end to the ideas.

And if your kids are anything like mine were, the puppet projects are going to be the biggest hit. Something about slipping a hand inside a paper bag puppet immediately turns children into tiny comedians and theatrical masterminds.

You’ll see a lot of puppet inspiration below because they’re perfect for so many things: class activities, rainy afternoons, birthday parties, and creativity-filled weekends.

A few of these projects even include a free printable template to make things easier for busy parents and teachers.

So grab those brown paper bags, pull out the construction paper and glue stick, and let’s make something fun.

Paper Bag Craft Ideas for Kids

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If you enjoyed these paper bag crafts for kids, I’d love to hear which puppet or project was your favorite in the comments. Honestly, once you start crafting with brown paper bags, it becomes weirdly difficult to throw them away ever again.

Ready to check out some other craft ideas with different supplies? Click on some of these:

4th of July • Candy Cane • Christmas Trees • Coffee Filters • Cotton Balls • Fall • Flowers • Frozen • Macaroni • Moon • Mummies • Nature • Paper • Paper Cups • Pine Cones • Pipe Cleaners • Popsicle Sticks • President’s Day • Reindeer • Snowflakes • Stars • Straws • Summer