Paper Bag Puppets: 100 Easy Ideas With Free Printable Templates

Paper bag puppets are an easy, low-prep kids’ craft that works well for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary ages. Using simple materials like brown paper bags, glue, and paper, kids can make animal and character puppets for imaginative play, storytelling, and classroom or home learning activities.

Below you’ll find tons of brown bag puppet ideas for kids, each linking to an individual craft that includes free printable templates and step-by-step instructions. Start with any puppet you like, or scroll to browse paper bag puppets by theme, animal, or holiday for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary-aged children.

Collage of paper bag puppet crafts for kids, including animals, characters, and vehicles made from brown paper bags. Large text reads “100 Paper Bag Puppet Crafts,” with a banner stating “All have free printable templates!” and the website simpleeverydaymom.com at the bottom.

How To Make Paper Bag Puppets

These brown bag crafts work well for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary students and can be adapted to different skill levels.

Supplies You’ll Need

Brown paper lunch bags
Free printable paper bag puppet template
Scissors
Glue
Crayons or markers

Simple Steps

Print and cut out the paper bag puppet template
Glue the pieces onto the paper bag
Decorate your child’s puppet with any other accents
Let your child play with the puppet!

Tip!

Use standard brown lunch bags (approximately 5” x 10.5”) and print the templates at 100% scale so the pieces fit the bag correctly without resizing.

Paper Bag Animal Puppets

This collection brings together a wide mix of animal characters kids love to make and play with. Using brown lunch bags as the base, children can create birds, insects, jungle animals, and everyday favorites, each one turning into a character with its own personality.

These projects invite kids to choose what they’re interested in, build it step by step, and then use it for pretend play or storytelling. With basic supplies like paper, markers, and glue, a plain bag becomes something kids want to talk through, carry around, and play with long after crafting time ends.

Collage showing a wide variety of paper bag puppet crafts for kids, made with simple shapes and layered paper details.

Farm Animal Paper Bag Puppets

This farm-themed collection uses brown lunch bags to create familiar barnyard animals like cows, pigs, and chickens.

These projects fit naturally into farm units, small-group work, or a quiet table activity after a story. Once finished, kids can use their barn animals for pretend play, simple conversations, or retelling what they know about life on the farm.

Collage of farm animal paper bag puppets, including cows, chickens, ducks, and horses.

Zoo Animal Paper Bag Puppets

This collection focuses on wild animals kids usually spot at the zoo; think lions, monkeys, and other big favorites.

These brown bag projects are a fun way to explore animals from around the world while giving kids something they can move, talk through, and play with. They work well in classrooms, library programs, or at home when kids want an activity that turns into imaginative play.

Collage of zoo and safari animal paper bag puppets, including lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and monkeys.

Ocean Animal Paper Bag Puppet Ideas

These under-the-sea ideas turn plain paper bags into marine creatures like sharks, octopuses, and whales.

They’re a strong fit for ocean units, summer themes, or anytime kids are curious about life below the surface. After crafting, the sea animals are ready for storytelling, pretend adventures, or group play.

Collage of ocean and sea animal paper bag puppets, including crabs, octopus, whales, sharks, and fish.

Other Animal Paper Puppets

This section includes creatures that don’t fall neatly into farm, zoo, or ocean categories. You’ll find woodland animals, insects, and a few unexpected choices.

These projects are especially helpful when kids want options or when you’re working with mixed interests. Each one starts with a simple bag and ends with a character kids can actually play with.

Collage of insect and small animal paper bag puppets, including bees, ladybugs, frogs, and turtles.

Summer Paper Bag Crafts

These warm weather ideas turn brown bags into playful summer characters like ice cream treats, mermaids, and more.

They’re great for camps, long afternoons, or indoor days when kids still want something fun to do. The finished pieces lend themselves to pretend play and light storytelling once the crafting wraps up.

Collage of paper bag puppets including pirates, astronauts, unicorns, ninjas, and dragons displayed on a white surface.

Christmas Paper Bag Crafts

This holiday collection features festive characters kids recognize right away, including reindeer and Santa.

These projects fit easily into December schedules, whether you’re planning a classroom activity or something to do at home. Afterward, kids can use their holiday characters for playtime or a short puppet show.

Collage of holiday-themed paper bag puppets, including reindeer, gingerbread people, Christmas trees, elves, and the Grinch.

Fall Crafts With Paper Bags

This collection mixes classic autumn favorites with playful spooky-season characters. Kids can make brown bag creations shaped like pumpkins, scarecrows, and turkeys, along with bats, friendly monsters, and Frankenstein-style figures.

These projects work well throughout the fall months, whether you’re planning seasonal lessons, Halloween activities, or an indoor craft day when the weather cools down. Each one starts as a simple bag and turns into a character kids can use for pretend play and storytelling.

Collage of cartoon-style paper bag puppets with exaggerated eyes and bright colors, arranged in a grid layout.

Character Paper Bag Puppets

This section is all about familiar characters kids already love. Using printable templates, they can turn a plain bag into a recognizable figure from stories, games, or shows.

These are popular for dramatic play, centers, or letting kids put on a quick performance once everyone’s finished.

More Paper Puppet Making Ideas

Looking for even more variety? This section brings together additional ways to make puppets using paper and simple supplies.

It’s a good place to browse when you want flexibility or need something that works for different ages and interests. Print a few templates, set out the bags, and let kids decide what to create.

Collage of paper bag puppet crafts for kids, featuring animals, people, and fantasy characters made from colorful paper.

Ways To Use Paper Bag Puppets

These projects go beyond craft time. Once a brown lunch bag turns into a character, kids usually find plenty of ways to keep playing with it.

One of the biggest wins is how these handmade characters help quieter kids speak up. Talking through a puppet often feels safer than talking as themselves. The focus shifts to the character, and suddenly kids who don’t always raise their hand are willing to share ideas, make comments, or join in.

These activities also support language growth in a very natural way. As kids bring their characters to life, they practice putting thoughts into words, making up dialogue, and telling short stories. Sometimes it’s a quick moment from their day. Other times it turns into a full adventure.

They’re also great for shared play. Putting on a small puppet show, at home or in a classroom, gives kids a reason to work together, take turns, and build something as a group. Even simple setups lead to big ideas.

And when kids want to play on their own, these bag-made characters fit right in. They get mixed with other toys, carried from room to room, and used again long after the craft table is cleared.

However kids use them, these brown bag creations tend to stick around and that’s what makes them so worthwhile.

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

More Ideas For Kids

More Fun Ideas For Kids

photograph of found of Simple Everyday Mom, Sam

Meet Sam

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump, and more.

About Sam

31 Comments

Claudette Fizer says:

at

I need paper bag puppet templates for the animals used in Edward the Emu –
Snake, Lion, Seal, and an Emu, if you have it. It would also be good to have a template for a giraffe. I could not figure out how to download the template. Everything I clicked took me to supplies on Amazon.

Thank you,
Claudette Fizer

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Hi! If you go to those individual blog posts and scroll to the bottom of them, you can sign up to get the templates there ◡̈

Paper Bag Puppets: 100 Easy Ideas With Free Printable Templates