As a staple of the Good Day Acadiana morning show, I loved coming up with easy, fun, children's crafts to celebrate the holidays. Each craft segment we did with Alex Worstell always led to a fun morning in the studio. On one of our featured segments to celebrate Independence Day, we created two super cute, easy homemade crafts that will make any 4th of July celebration fun for younger kids, especially if they are afraid of fireworks or sparklers.
Our rocket craft is made of cupcake liners, popsicle sticks, and straws, with flowy ribbons and glitter to make it sparkle! While the other is a DIY, Uncle Sam noise maker using items from around the kitchen. Check out a clip from the show below:
My focus with any craft is to use a mix of items you may already have around the house. You might have to do a little digging to gather up supplies like I do, but each craft will always let children use their creativity and imagination.
 Image by Mia Barletto |
Independence Day Rockets
What you'll need:
- Paint and paintbrushes
- Glitter glue pens or loose glitter (if Mom is brave!)
- Plastic or paper straws
- Thin ribbons
- A small box, like a cereal box or oatmeal box
- Glue and tape
- Construction paper, stickers, pom-poms, tissue or gift wrapping paper
- Clean up supplies
Step-by-Step Instructions:
You can make these rockets one of two ways. One way you can craft your rocket is to cut out an arrow shape from a small box, like a cereal box or cracker box you have from the kitchen. You can make your arrow as big or as small as you like. You can also use popsicle sticks as the base of your rocket. I suggest using no more than 4 or 5 popsicle sticks if you decide to go that route.
Once you decide which rocket you will create, paint them. We used red, white and blue for a patriotic theme. If you are using popsicle sticks, make sure to paint both sides. If you are using a piece from a small box, you can paint the cardboard side and put construction paper on the back to hide any of the original colors or writing from the box. Let your pieces dry before adding any additional decorations.
For your cardboard box rocket, you can begin adding other decorations like glitter, stickers, or pom-poms to your rocket. If you are using popsicle sticks, you will need to glue them together. To do this simply place them side by side and glue a small piece of construction paper to one side of the sticks. This will be the back of your rocket. Let the glue on the sticks dry completely before adding any additional decorations.
Now that the glue and additional decorations have dried on your rockets, you can begin to add your straws to the back. Simply use glue or tape to secure the straws to the back of your rocket. I will say the paper straws seem to work better so we decide to stick with those. We also got the cutest cupcake papers that were on clearance to decorate one of our rockets. Most of the items I find for crafts are clearance after the major holidays and always very inexpensive.
Next it is time to add the smoke from the rocket! We used white ribbon and taped it to the back of the rockets around the straws once they were dried and securely in place. We cut long pieces of ribbon in half, tied them together and then taped them in place. You can use multiple colors here if you decide. It's totally up to you and your kids! Be creative! Now you have the perfect decoration for your 4th of July celebrations for the kids.
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 Image by Mia Barletto |
Fireworks are always on the agenda for Independence Day celebrations. We know some of the younger kids may be frightened from the noise or may be to young to enjoy them without being scared. These easy noise makers will allow them to participate in the noise making fun!
Uncle Sam Noise Makers
What you'll need:
- Paint and paintbrushes
- Glitter glue pens or loose glitter
- Small can or plastic container
- Glue and tape
- Stickers, pom-poms, and construction paper
- Small items like macaroni noodles, beans, or coins
- Clean up supplies
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Take your small container and decorate as you desire. We used a small potato chip can and it worked perfectly! We painted our can with patriotic colors again, blending them as stripes all around the can. You will have to do 2 or 3 coats depending on the material you use and how much writing is on the container.
Once the sides of your container are dry, paint the bottom of the can too. This only took one coat for us. Let your container dry.
Now that your container is dry, fill your shaker with the noise! We used macaroni noodles ... of course! But you can use beans, rice, or old buttons. We decided to make a hat rim around our container to make it look like a Uncle Sam hat. Let the kids express their creative side with these Uncle Sam hats. Now your kids can shake and make all the noise they want to celebrate the Independence Day holiday!
Looking for more craft inspiration or at-home fun this summer?
Watch our past crafting segments with Alex Worstell on Good Day Acadiana on their YouTube Channel!
Happy Crafting Acadiana! |
