2010 Banner

I wanted to make a banner for New Year's Eve with the boys. I considered a "Happy New Year" banner, but thought that the boys would lose interest & not really get it. Instead...we went with "2010". You could use felt, but we just used good old cardstock! I don't have a cricut...so I just printed out some numbers...we cut them out...glued them onto the banner triangles. Then I strung the triangles onto some ribbon. This is just for display...we plan on hanging it up on the fireplace at my parents' house, but this works for now!

Ribbon Spool Shakers

I have two sick little guys {with colds} but my baby {3} get pneumonia very easy. We are staying in for most of the week & it is harder on the kiddos because today is a SNOW DAY!!! I wanted to find something fun for them to make {with stuff I already had}. I came across this great New Year's shaker from Family Fun. Here is what you need:

paint
paint brush
stickers
ribbon spools
tape (masking--NOT PACKING)
dry peas, beans, or rice



Cover one hole of your spool. You will need the other hole to put your dry peas in.


Pour some DRY peas (DRY beans or DRY rice) into the open hole of your spool. Just enough to make some noise...not FULL!! If your spool doesn't have a hole..use a pencil to make a hole big enough to put the peas in.


Cover the other open hole in the spool with your tape (or a sticker like we used).


Paint your spools. Top, bottom, & the sides.


Let them dry.


Set the kiddos loose putting stickers all over the painted ribbon spool. This was probably their favorite part.


Ta-Da!!! The boys are so excited to use these tomorrow night! I'm so glad that we sat down to make these!

Make a Time Capsule

I was looking up some fun things to do for New Year's Eve & came across a really cute idea {thanks Family Fun}. Have your child write a time capsule letter. They can write about the things that they like this year {food, toys, animals, color} & make predictions for next year {how tall they will be}. I also think that a good thing to put in the letter is their New Year's Resolution. Help them think of a goal that they want to work on this year. Then, you seal up the letter & keep it in a safe place {like with your holiday decorations}. On New Year's Eve next year...let them open their letters. It will be a fun little activity that you can keep doing from year to year. I can't wait to do this with my 5 year old who loves to write.

New Year's Noise Maker

I have found a few fun ideas for the kiddos to make for New Year's. Here is one of my favorites...I got it off of http://crafts.kaboose.com/.



What you'll need:
Miniature paper plate
Colorful paper streamers or tissue paper
Craft jewels, large and medium
Peach craft paint (optional)
White craft glue or hot glue gun
Scissors
Beans or beads

How to make it:
If you like, paint the paper plate with peach paint. Let dry.
Fold paper plate in half to find center. Make a crease that you can see and unfold.
Place paper plate onto work surface. Cut streamers or tissue paper into thin strips about 4-5” long.
Glue the strips to the rim of the plate, only on one side (see your crease) leaving most of the strip sticking out. The glued end of the strips will be on the inside of the plate once folded. Glue colors in an alternating pattern.
Fold the plate and place a handful of beans or beads inside. Glue the plate closed.
Decorate the outside of the plate with craft jewels.

Tips:
You can purchase craft jewels in variety bags at your local craft supply store.
Make decorating this craft easier by using stickers instead of craft jewels, a great option for smaller children.
Save leftover crepe paper streamers from birthday parties for future craft projects.

Here is another off of that website:



What you'll need:
Empty plastic water bottle
Beans, coins, or other items to place inside
1 sheet white tissue paper
Scraps of tissue paper in various colors, cut into small squares
24” long strip of light blue crepe paper streamer
24” long strip of pink crepe paper streamer
White craft glue
Water
Scissors

How to make it:
Place a handful of beads or coins inside the clean, dry water bottle. Run some glue around the mouth of the bottle and replace the cap.
Make a mixture of 1/2 white craft glue and 1/2 water that will be enough to cover the bottle a few times over.
Tear white tissue paper into large chunks, approximately 4”x2”.
Paint a small section of the outside of the water bottle with the glue mixture. Place a torn piece of white tissue paper onto the glue mixture and paint over it with the glue mixture. Repeat this process, covering the entire bottle with 2-3 coats of white.
Apply small colorful squares of tissue paper randomly over the white tissue paper to resemble confetti.
Cut each strip of crepe paper streamer in half. Carefully tie one of the pieces around the neck of the bottle. Repeat with other lengths of crepe paper. Use scissors to cut each length to about 4” hanging length, and then cut upwards into thin strips. Use a couple pieces of the excess crepe paper you just cut off to twist around the neck of the bottle and glue in place. Allow to dry for several hours.

Tips:
Save tissue paper from birthday parties to use in projects such as these.
Always save extra, and used crepe paper streamers from parties to use in craft projects.
If you don’t have any crepe paper you can use regular ribbon.