DIY Paper Christmas Village (Free Printable Templates + SVG)
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I had wanted to make a little paper Christmas village for years, so I finally sat down and designed my own houses. I made four different house templates, two simpler ones and two with more detail, and I just love how the whole village turned out on my mantel!
I’m sharing the free Christmas village templates in PDF, SVG, and DXF formats, so you can make your own using a cutting machine or simply print the templates and cut everything by hand.
Table of Contents
How to Make a Paper Christmas Village
I made this village using white cardstock for the houses and black cardstock for the roofs. I love the contrast, especially when the little houses are lit up from the inside.
You don’t need to use the same colors, though. Glitter cardstock would look so cute for the roofs, or you could make the whole village white for a different look.
The houses are much easier to make with a cutting machine, especially those little windows and detailed pieces. But don’t worry if you don’t have one. You can absolutely make this project by hand using the printable templates, a craft knife, and a little patience.
Once all the pieces are cut, it’s mostly folding and gluing. Then comes my favorite part, arranging the houses and trees to create your little Christmas village.
Free Printable Christmas Village Templates and Cut Files
I designed four different paper houses for this project, including two simpler designs and two with a little more detail. I also included the trees to complete the village.
The free download comes in three formats:
- PDF templates: For printing and cutting the paper houses by hand.
- SVG files: For compatible electronic cutting machines, including Cricut and Silhouette.
- DXF files: Another option for compatible cutting software.
Download the files below, choose the format that works for you, and you’re ready to start.
A little note for Cricut users:
Depending on how the SVG files import into Design Space, you may need to adjust the fold lines before cutting. Check that the house pieces are the correct size and that any lines intended for folding aren’t being treated as cut lines.
Supplies:
You don’t need many supplies for this project. Most of the work is in cutting the little house pieces and putting them together.
- Cardstock. I used white for the houses and black for the roofs. I recommend medium-weight cardstock, around 160–180 gsm or heavier if your machine can handle it.
- Glue. I Love UHU all-purpose glue, but a low-temperature hot glue gun works too.
- Battery-operated LED string lights. To light up the houses from the inside.
- Fleece. To create the snowy ground.
- Optional decorations. Anything you want to add around your village.
Tools
- Cutting Machine (Silhouette Cameo, Cricut, or another compatible cutting machine)
- Scissors.
- Printer and craft knife if cutting by hand
- Cutting mat
- Pen or hook tool to help press down small glued tabs
Instructions:
Let’s make those little houses! I’ll show you how I cut mine with my Silhouette Cameo, then we’ll assemble the houses, make the trees, and set up the village.
Step 1: Cut Your Paper Christmas Village Houses
First, download the Christmas village templates and save them to your computer.
I used Silhouette Studio with my Cameo, so that’s what you’ll see in my photos. If you’re using another cutting machine, the process will be similar, although the software settings may be different.
Open your cutting software, import the appropriate file, and arrange your house pieces to fit your cardstock. Leave a little space around the edges so nothing gets cut off.
I wanted my houses white and the roofs black, so I arranged the pieces according to the cardstock colors I was using.
Before cutting, double-check your blade settings, material selection, and the size of your designs.
Place your cardstock on the sticky side of your cutting mat, smooth it down, and load the mat into your machine.
Once everything looks right, send the design to cut.
Cutting by hand? Print the PDF templates, cut around the shapes with scissors, and use a craft knife for the smaller windows and detailed areas. It takes longer, but you can still make the same little village.
Step 2: Assemble the Paper Houses
Once your machine finishes cutting, carefully remove the excess cardstock from around your designs.
I love this part because you finally get to see all those tiny windows and house details!
Gently lift your pieces from the cutting mat. Take your time with the smaller parts so they don’t bend or tear.
Check the windows and other small cutouts. Sometimes little bits of paper stay attached, especially when the designs have tiny details. Just remove those carefully.
Now start folding along the dashed lines. As you fold each part, you’ll begin to see how the house comes together.
Add glue to the tabs and start joining the sides of your house.
I like using UHU glue for this because it holds the cardstock without making it too wet. I also find it easier to work with on those small tabs.
Next, attach the roof. Some of the tabs can be a little tricky to reach once the house starts taking shape, so don’t rush this part.
Here’s a little trick I use: turn the house upside down and use the end of a pen or the back of a hook tool to press the glued tabs firmly from the inside.
It really helps with those awkward spots around the roof and chimney.
Continue folding and gluing the remaining pieces, including the little garage sections, front entrances, and other details.
Repeat the process with the rest of your houses, and allow the glue to dry before arranging them.
Optional window detail: You can glue little pieces of vellum or tissue paper behind the windows to soften the light from inside the houses. I thought about doing this, but of course, the idea came to me after my houses were already assembled! LOL.
Step 3: Make the Paper Christmas Trees
The trees are much simpler than the houses, and they look so cute scattered around the village.
Take your tree cutouts and fold each one in half.
Apply glue along one folded side and attach another tree piece to it. Keep adding folded pieces, gluing them side by side, until the tree comes together.
I used three or four pieces per tree, depending on how full I wanted them to look.
Make sure the folded edges line up nicely, then let the glue dry.
Once they’re ready, gently spread the sections so the trees stand on their own.
Step 4: Put Your Christmas Village Together
Now for my favorite part, decorating!
I knew exactly where I wanted my Christmas village to go. My mantel!
I started by arranging a few small cardboard boxes along the mantel to create different heights. Then I covered everything with white fleece to make it look like snowy hills.
Nothing fancy here, just a few boxes and a little imagination.
Once I was happy with the snowy background, I started placing the houses and trees.
I moved everything around a few times until I liked how the village looked. I wanted the houses to sit at different heights, with the little trees filling some of the empty spaces.
Then came the lights! I really wanted my paper houses to glow, but I didn’t want to deal with turning several little battery-operated candles on and off every night.
So I decided to use one string of battery-operated LED lights instead.
I ran the lights along the mantel and carefully tucked some of the LED bulbs through the back windows of the houses.
This way, I could light up the whole village without having to turn on each house individually.
If you’ve added vellum or tissue paper behind the windows, you can make a small opening wherever you need to insert a light.
Important: Use battery-operated LED lights only. Never place real candles or any open flame inside the cardstock houses.
And when I finally turned the lights on… WOW!
I loved it even more than I expected.
Some of the light came through the windows, while the rest softly lit up the trees and snowy background. The white houses, black roofs, and warm lights looked so pretty together.
I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.
I’m so happy I finally made this little village. It was one of those Christmas projects I’d had in mind for ages, and seeing all the houses glowing on my mantel made all that cutting and gluing worth it.
And now you have the templates to make your own!
Crafting Tips
After putting all these little houses together, there are a few things I would recommend to make the process easier.
- Use sturdy cardstock. Thin paper won’t hold the house shapes very well, especially around the roof and chimney. I suggest starting with at least 160–180 gsm cardstock.
- Take your time removing the cut pieces. The windows and small details can tear if you pull too quickly.
- Fold before gluing. It makes the houses much easier to assemble and helps you see where all the tabs belong.
- Don’t use too much glue. Small amounts are enough for the tabs. Too much liquid glue can wrinkle the cardstock.
- Keep a pen or hook tool nearby. It helps press those little tabs from inside the house.
- Test your lights before arranging everything. That way, you can see where the LED bulbs will fit before your village is all set up.
Ideas to Make Your Christmas Village Your Own
I love the black-and-white look of mine, but there are plenty of ways to change it depending on your Christmas decorations.
You could make an all-white village with warm lights, use glitter cardstock for the roofs, or try different cardstock colors for the houses.
You could also add vellum behind the windows, sprinkle a little artificial snow around the trees, or arrange the village on a shelf or sideboard instead of a mantel.
I think even just a few of the smaller houses grouped together would make a really cute Christmas centerpiece.
Storing Your Christmas Village
Because the houses are made from cardstock, I recommend storing them somewhere dry where they won’t get crushed.
If you want to reuse your village next Christmas, place the houses in a sturdy box with a little tissue paper around them. Keep the trees separate so they don’t get flattened.
You can also store the fleece and string lights with the village, making it easier to put everything together again next year.
Frequently asked questions
I recommend medium-weight cardstock, at least around 160–180 gsm (approximately 59–65 lb cover). Anything much thinner may not hold its shape very well, depending on the size of the house. You can use heavier cardstock if your printer or cutting machine supports it.
I prefer UHU all-purpose glue because it gives me a good hold without making the cardstock too wet. Low-temperature hot glue, cold silicone adhesive, and strong double-sided tape are other options. Regular white glue can work, but I’ve found that it sometimes wrinkles the cardstock if you use too much.
Absolutely! The free download includes printable PDF templates, so you can cut the houses by hand. You’ll need scissors, a craft knife for the small details, and a little extra patience. The more detailed houses will take longer, but it’s definitely doable.
Yes! I used battery-operated LED string lights and inserted some of the bulbs through the back windows of the houses. Just make sure you’re using LEDs that stay cool and avoid real candles or other heat sources. Don’t leave the lights running unattended.
More Christmas Projects to Try
If you love this Paper Christmas Village tutorial, I’m sure you will love these other Christmas Project ideas too:
I hope this inspires you to make your own little Christmas village. If you give it a try, I’d love to know what colors you choose and where you decide to display it!
And if you enjoyed this project, don’t forget to save it to Pinterest or share it with someone who loves making Christmas decorations, and give it a star review.
✂️ Tutorial
Diy Paper Christmas Village Tutorial
Tools
- Cutting Machine (Cricut or Silhouette) Printer and an X-acto
- scissors
Supplies
- Cardstock White for the house and black for the roofs or your favorites, glitter paper looks so cute!
- Contact glue I Love UHU or light temperature glue tool and glue stick.
- Light string.
- Fleece to simulate the snow
- Any other decoration you might have and want to add.
Instructions
- Download the free Christmas village templates. Open the SVG or DXF files in your cutting software, or print the PDF templates to cut by hand. Cut all the house, roof, chimney, and tree pieces from cardstock.
- Carefully remove the excess cardstock and fold the pieces along the dashed lines. Apply glue to the tabs and assemble the walls, roofs, chimneys, and smaller details. Use a pen or hook tool to press hard-to-reach tabs from the inside. Let the glue dry.
- Fold each tree piece in half. Glue three or four folded pieces together, side by side, to create a dimensional tree. Let dry and gently spread the sections.
- Cover small cardboard boxes with white fleece to create snowy hills. Arrange the houses and trees, then add battery-operated LED string lights, inserting some bulbs through the back windows of the houses.
Notes
Here I have some Christmas Inspiration for Paper Crafts from my favorite bloggers:
- DIY Paper Christmas Trees by Carrie over at Dream Green DIY
- DIY Paper House Christmas Ornaments by Lia over at Lia Griffith
- DIY Paper Christmas Ornaments by Dinah over at DIY Inspired
If you love this project as much as I do, don’t forget to PIN and share it with friends!
Til’ next time…
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Your paper Christmas village is so magical! I was thrilled to feature your fantastic tutorial on Crafts on Display today. I love that you included 4 house styles & templates for hand-cutting – such a brilliant, beginner-friendly craft! https://craftsondisplay.com/paper-crafts/paper-christmas-village-217678/
Thank you so so so much! So glad you liked it!
Hugs
Merci très joli village de Noël
You are most welcome! Hope you enjoy it!!!
Happy Holidays!
Hello, Camila. I’ve sent my e-mail address 3 or 4 times and I didn’t receive the patterns of Christmas Village yet. Could you check, please?
Thanks!!!
Hi Valeria,
I just check and according to the records you signed up to different forms as well as the same paper village and the system might have chanllenged your email preventing spam. However it shows that you finally got the email and clicked on the download, so I guess everything is good. If you receive 2 more emials from me, it was me testing the deliverability, not me spamming you. Sorry about that!
Hope you enjoy making your paper Christmas village!
Hugs and happy Holidays!
How long does it take for your email to arrive, I think I’ve sent it a few times,sorry.
Hi Tracy,
Usually the email is sent within a few minutes. I checked and your subscription was successful and that you received it a few hours later. I’m sorry about that. Hope you enjoy the cut file!
Hugs,
I can’t find the files anywhere. I did sign up a while ago and downloaded them but I’ve misplaced them and now I can’t find them anywhere on your website. I’ve spent days looking, please can you help
Hi there!
I’m sorry, but I checked your email and it doesn’t exist in my email list, which means that you didn’t use this email to signup for this freebie. Try again signing up and you’ll get the email with the link for download.
With this message, I also remind you that the files are completely for personal use, no reproduction or commercial use of any kind is allowed. These files are copyrighted.
Kind Regards,
Cami
I tried clicking the download button and signing up for the file, but it said I couldn’t subscribe with my email address.
Hi Marie,
I’m not sure what could be causing the problem I hadan’t heard of anyone with the same issue. Have you tried with another email address or also maybe have you signed up for this same freebie before?
Let me know!
Maravilloso, solo puedo decir eso, me ha encantado.
Muchisimas gracias Roxana! Lo aprecio mucho y que lo disfrutes! Que tengas un lindo dia!
Hi, your Christmas Village is amazing. Thank you!
I’ve been wanting to make one of these beautiful paper villages forever, so thank you for the free files! Can’t wait to try it out. I’m thinking I’ll make the houses out of either white paper with silver corrugated roofs or maybe find some galvanized-look paper and make the houses out of that, as I’ve seen so many in the stores (for way too much). I already uploaded the files to Cricut Design Space, and the only thing I had to do was, as another person commented, mark the score lines as Score, then Attach, for anyone else using a Cricut. It’s tedious, but worth it! Happy holidays!
Deb, love all your ideas to make the houses. I would love to see how your final Christmas village turned out! Yes, I’ve heard about the issue for the score lines with Cricut machines but I couldn’t find a solution from my end since I don’t have a Cricut thank you for your tip. I’ll make sure I’ll add that to the blog post! Have a wonderful Holidays!
Sorry, I can´t find the Download Link in the Text or at this special Button.
Did you remove it?
Best regards Anika
Hi Anika, when you click on the button, it should prompt you with a window to signup for the printable. Once youdo, you will receive an email with the link to download.
Hope this helps!
love, cami.
Please let me know how I can download the svg files for the houses – I have a silhouette
Hi Nancy, The link to download is in the post, you have one as a text link and another as a big teal button that says “Get your Paper Christmas Village Cut Files”. In that download, you will find SVG, PDF, and dxf files.
Hope this helps!
Hi Camila, I love your Christmas Village and would like to try one for the family this Christmas. However, I do not have a cutting machine so will rely on an X-Acto knife and patience. One big puzzle for me is to map your design to a cardstock. I think, in your words, “Drop your designs and arrange them to fill your paper”. I could picture myself printing it on letter-sized papers using an ink-jet printer, yet still don’t have a way to transfer(map) it to a cardstock. Please advise…! Thanks in advance for your help. Best Regards, Howard
Hi Howard,
Glad you like these Christmas Village houses. Most Printers nowadays can print on cardstock so I don’t think you need to map out or transfer. You could cut your cardstock to letter-size or get letter-size cardstock from a craft store. They come in different wights so choose one between 65lb and 80lb so your printer is not overworking. I recommend making sure with your printer’s manual or ask around in forums for your specific printer. Another idea is to have it printed on stores like staples.
Hope this helps!
Happy Crafting.
Hi, Camila, Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly and answered my question so thoroughly. I have ordered a pack of 65lb letter-sized paper stocks – with statement that it will work on ink-jet printers. Should be in business once they arrive. Best Regards, Howard.
Hi I to do not have a cut machine and would like to see a pdf version if possible. Love the cloche would like to make one for our Church. Thank You Bonne :)
Hi Bonnie, thank you so so much for visiting. I just updated the link for download and it will download a pdf too. There are 4 houses to choose from.
Let me know if it downloads properly.
hugs
I love your Christmas village however I am having trouble opening it up in Cricut design space any suggestions?
Hi Jamie, THANK YOU so much! I’ve been reading to make sure I don’t say something wrong and you should be good with both DXF and SVG files on Cricut design space. The recommended file is SVG. I would be more than happy to help more but I don’t have Cricut I have Silhouette. However, I’ll reach out to a friend who I think has Cricut and ask her to test files to make sure it’s fine. In the meantime, I suggest reading a few troubleshooting articles to discard other factors. I’ll get back to you if I find out anything.
Thank you for reaching out! So appreciate it!
Hugs
The problem is likely that the file is so large. Every letter in the copyright at the bottom is it’s own cut file. When I upload this in design space, I get a message that I cannot ungroup (to delete the copyright text) because there are too many layers. I’m on day two of deleting the text one letter at a time, once i get through that (I obviously only work on it in spurts) I think I will be able to ungroup and work with the files.. but if your computer is low on memory at all, this will likely not load for you. It’s such a great project- I think it’s worth my time to figure it out, but it’s definitely a time commitment to get it into design space, and may actually be much faster to cut by hand.
Hi Heather,
Thanks for reaching out, Not sure what app or how you are working with the files but in my experience, you can just select all the copyright from the design space of your cutting app and delete before sending to cut. If you are printing, then the copyright does not bother as you don’t need to cut it later. However, if you let me know what cutting machine you are working with and what file you are using I can remove the copyright from there and add it as a separate file. Sorry if that’s messing up things. I add that to protect my work but I don’t want it to get in the way of people using the files either.
Let me know and I’ll fix it tomorrow and let you know so you can download it again.
Hugs,
I appreciate all your time to help me since I am a poor little orphan and don’t have a cutting machine. (yet!) ;-) All the best to you and yours. Back to ya with a Blessed Thanksgiving!
I’m working in Design Space – the windows version of the software used with Cricut. Unfortunately, it’s the only option to operate the Cricut Machine, we can’t cut from any other program. But I didn’t even think about opening the svg in something like inkscape and deleting the copyright there first… that would be a lot faster! With Design Space, when you upload these svgs, you cannot ungroup to delete the text. Normally you can, but for these, there’s a yellow warning that there are too many layers to ungroup. So in the layers panel, you have to select each letter of the copyright notice one at a time and delete them. Once all of those letters are deleted, then the number of layers is reduced enough that you can ungroup, and then it is possible to attach the score lines. In Design Space, the score lines appear as cut lines, so first they all have to be changed to score, then you select all of the score lines and the object you want them on, and attach. Repeat for each item. If you aren’t familiar with the limitations of Design Space, this must seem bizarre… but it’s fairly normal to any of us who are used to using paper cutting svgs in Design Space. The brand new file from Special Hearts Studio – the lighted Nativity – is the first file I have ever seen upload with the score lines as score lines, already attached to the items. I’m guessing she found something new, as I was told before that this wasn’t possible.
Oh my goodness! I had no idea how the Cricut app works, that’s a massive amount of work. That’s really good to know because I will do my best to improve those files. I might not be able to fix the score lines thing but at least I will not add any additional text so it’s easier to use. Thank you for taking the time to explain. I will remove the copyright from the SVG and just leave it as a separate file.
Thanks again!
hugs
Hey Heather, not sure if it’s still in time to help but I already updated the files, PDF and SVGs don’t have copyright anymore. All the copyright and legal info are in a separate file.
Again thank you for letting me know this so I could fix it and also thank you for trying to make my Christmas Village. It means more than I can say!
Sending hugs and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hugs
Cami,
Is there a way to make this beautiful village without the cutting machine? I would love to do this for my mantle too.
Thank you,
Sharon
Hi Sharon! It’s always making them by hand an option. As far as I know, both SVG and DXF files can be printed BUT if you can’t please let me know and I’ll send you the PDFs and also will update the download files to add the PDFs.
Once Printed, the only option is cutting with an X-Acto knife (or cutter) and cut each piece with a lot of patience. I’ve done things like that in the past when I didn’t have a cutting machine and even though it takes some time it’s also relaxing. It will depend on your patience more than anything else because these are straight lines mostly so it’s not hard. Once cut the process is the same as explained here.
Hope this helps!
Hugs and let me know how it goes!
Cami
OK, downloaded the SGV files but I am afraid I will not be able to find the files later. I am more familiar with the PDF files. I am not very techy. At 74 I do pretty good looking things up and trying new things. I can’t thank you enough for helping me.
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,
Sharon
Sent an email, hope it helps!
have yourself a very blessed Thanksgiving!
Hugs