Making a paper hot-air balloon

For kids Creative activities

Rate this tutorial

Make a hot-air balloon out of paper with the children!

Download the hot-air balloon template free of charge and follow the instructions.

A design that you can personalise, as well as being a great opportunity to talk about the development of air transport with the children.

Materials:

Hot-air balloon template pieces
Canson® Vivaldi® 185gr/m² paper: white, cream, gold yellow, clementine, tomato, fuchsia, royal blue, primary blue, hazelnut (colours can be customised)
Black cotton thread
Scissors
Glue
Brushes

Did you know that the Canson logo depicts a hot-air balloon, and what the story behind it is?

-Canson (formerly known as 'Montgolfier et Canson' and later 'Canson-Montgolfier') was set up in 1557 by the Montgolfier family. In 1782, two brothers in the family invented the hot-air balloon, and the materials used to create this flying machine came from the Canson factories.

Cutting out the pieces

Download the PDF to get the template.

Cut out all the pieces in the relevant coloured paper. The children can choose the colour of their hot-air balloon, bearing in mind that it is made up of 7 oval pieces.

Mark the fold-line of each piece.

Making the balloon part of the hot-air balloon

Roll up the white paper rectangle into a tube shape, and glue the long sides together.

Then glue the oval shapes to the base of the tube you just made, using the special tabs. Then glue the oval shapes to the top end of the tube in the same way.

Making the basket

Fold and then glue each tab to make the hot-air balloon basket.

Make a hole in the centre of the flower shape to make the flying machine's ""hat"" and then add a thread, which you need to tie or stick to the back.

Assembling the hot-air balloon

Cut 4 threads of equal length, and stick them to the inside of the 'tube' of the balloon section and then to the basket's four corners.

Write a message on the banner and stick it to the balloon.

It's a simple hanging decoration item for a room, or a great gift. You can also make a garland out of all the creations made in the class.