If you’re planning a puppet show for the 4th of July, you have to try this fun paper bag Uncle Sam craft! All you need is a paper bag and craft paper!

The 4th of July is nearly here, and this year, it’s extra special. For one, it’s the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence, and secondly, it coincides with the FIFA Football World Cup tournament!

It’s only natural then, that this year the celebrations are going to be extra special! Here are some of the most popular ways Americans celebrate their special holiday.

Contents show

Popular Fourth of July Celebrations:

Parades with marching bands and vintage cars
Backyard cookouts and barbecues
Red, white and blue decorations and tablescapes
Grand public fireworks displays
Pyrotechnics in local neighborhoods

While the 4th of July is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States, it is also unfortunately the most dangerous holiday, according to the American Safety Council. That’s why we recommend safer activities for the holiday – like making crafts!

If you’re looking for an interesting craft for this holiday, we’ve got an easy paper bag Uncle Sam craft for you! All you need is a brown paper bag and regular craft supplies, so let’s go!

Patriotic Paper Bag Uncle Sam Craft for Kids

Supplies required:

Brown paper bag
Colored craft papers
Pencil
Template
A pair of scissors
Craft glue
Markers

How to make the Paper Bag Uncle Sam Craft:

1. Download and print the Paper Bag Uncle Sam Craft template. This template has many parts, and they’re all essential for putting together our Uncle Sam craft. These include the head, hair, beard, moustache, arms, hands, jacket, trousers, bowtie, hat, and shoes. Yes, it’s a lot!

2. Trace the parts of the template on craft paper of the appropriate colors and cut them out. Uncle Sam has a specific color theme, so let’s stick to that! Use blue for the jacket, arms and band for the hat. Choose red for the hat stripes and bowtie. Let the hair, beard, moustache and stars be white. The hat and the trousers can be an off-white or beige color. Keep the shoes brown, and finally, go with a flesh-colored shade for the head and hands.

3. Let’s start with Uncle Sam’s head! Stick the hair cutouts on either side of the head, in line with the top edge.

4. Glue the beard and the moustache cutouts on the bottom part of the head. Keep the head aside.

5. Let’s make Uncle Sam’s hat, which is quite an elaborate one! Start by sticking the red stripes vertically on the top portion of the hat. Stick the stars on the blue band as shown below.

6. Attach the blue band with the stars on the hat, along the bottom half of the red stripes.

7. Bring back the head of our paper bag Uncle Sam craft and apply glue along the top edge. Stick the completed paper hat here.

8. Use black markers to add facial features to Uncle Sam’s face – eyes, a nose and a little smile under the moustache.

9. Now that the head is done, let’s move on to Uncle Sam’s trousers! Stick the shoes to the bottom edge of the trouser cutout, so that the curved edges of the shoes face outward. Put the trousers aside.

10. Take the arms and attach the hands to the ends with glue.

11. Gather all the prepared patterns – the head, the trousers and the arms. Take your paper bag and flatten the folded flap. Place the paper bag so that the folded flap is at the top and the open edge is at the bottom.

12. Glue the head pattern on the flattened flap of the paper bag.

13. Stick the jacket on the part of the paper bag right under the folded flap. Next, glue the trousers under it.

14. Attach the arm patterns on either side of the paper bag Uncle Sam craft.

15. Almost done! Glue the bow cutout on the jacket right below the beard.

16. Take a dark blue marker and draw a vertical line on the trousers from the base upward, starting right in between the shoes. Use markers in other colors to add outlines or other details to the craft.

That’s it – your paper bag Uncle Sam craft is complete! We’ve also got an Uncle Sam Papercraft as well as an Uncle Sam Handprint Craft, so you can go down the Uncle Sam rabbit hole! This is also a good opportunity for kids to learn about Uncle Sam – who he is, how the character came to be, and what his significance is in American culture. We love it when crafts encourage us to learn and explore!

If you want to make more paper bag characters, check out these crafts: