Don't Just Dream of a White Christmas

By Broadside Interim Assistant News Editor Kevin Loker. Photo courtesy of Flickr user ralphunden.

A search of “paper snowflake” on Google will return about 1.6 million results. Don’t be intimidated. Out of all the wikiHow’s, eHow’s, and YouTube tutorials out there, we at Broadside have the absolute best method for all the season’s snowflake-making activities.

For real.

Before anything else, make sure you are working with the right materials. A pair of scissors is pretty key, as is a sheet of paper. For that paper, we suggest sticking to white. For the scissors, any will do, but we are pretty partial to the Acme United Titanium-Bonded 8-Inch Scissors.

The $10 at Staples? Definitely worth it.

Take the sheet of paper, grab a corner and fold it down and across to the opposite side. There should be a rectangle at the bottom, just a little bit wider than an inch. Chop it off. Unfold it, and you should have a nice square sheet of paper now.

Prep yourself for folding. Take the square piece and fold it in half diagonally to get yourself a triangle. Take that triangle, fold it in half diagonally again and you should get another triangle. From here, you can probably fold a few more triangles. We find it really doesn’t matter how many.

Once you have it all folded up, then you are ready for some fun. Pick up your scissors, and really think about what you want your snowflake to look like. Envision it. Really picture it in your mind. Then go to town. Cut little shapes into the folded end. Small triangles are good, but so are large curvy shapes. Mix it up. Don’t forget to cut off a corner—that’s always fun.

When finished, take a deep breath, put the scissors down and unfold your masterpiece. Feel accomplished.
Unless of course, you absolutely hate it. Then just remember that every snowflake is special, unique and oh-so-wonderful in its own right.

That’s what we told ourselves, anyway.