Fun Patriotic Crafts for Kids

Who doesn't love a great Fourth of July parade? Even small kids can easily assemble these patriotic batons and wave them high while waiting for the next candy-throwing float to pass by.

Simple lengths of intertwined string, lacing, or ribbon have cemented camaraderie between generations of best buds. Weave a little patriotism into the classic craft with red, white, and blue lacing (available at crafts stores) braided into bracelets to give and to wear. Experiment with different combinations of strands and embellish with beads for added flair.

Waiting for the fireworks to start can make kids (and adults!) antsy. Make the wait pass more quickly with snacks served in festive take-out containers. Give kids red, white, and blue take-out boxes (available at crafts or party stores) and an arsenal of stickers, ribbons, and other embellishments and let their imaginations do the rest. Fill the decorated containers with popcorn or trail mix, grab a blanket, and settle in for a spectacular show.

No need to wait until dusk to see these fireworks. Chenille stems, glue, and glitter make these bursts of fireworks that can be on display all day.

Planning a road trip this Fourth? Keep kids in the holiday spirit by letting them decorate binders ahead of time with stickers and scrapbooking paper. Fill the binders with coloring pages or trivia questions and patriotic puzzles (depending on the child's age). Tuck a package of crayons or a few pencils into the pocket and hit the highway.

Add a little patriotic flair to your wardrobe with star-spangled flip-flops made especially for firework-watching. Hot-glue glow-in-the-dark stars to red-white-and-blue flip-flops. The fireworks won't be the only thing lighting up the night.

Engage your little Jackson Pollack in a patriotic painting craft. Cover a work surface with newspaper and splatter paint on red, white, and blue cardstock. Then spread paint around by blowing on it through a straw; let dry. Cut out star shapes from the cardstock and adhere to slightly larger stars cut from unpainted pieces of cardstock in contrasting colors. Punch holes in the star tips and thread together with ribbon to make a banner.

Editor's Tip: Attach zip ties to the ends of the stars to use as sturdy hangers.

Host your own Fourth of July parade. Let kids decorate their bikes and scooters with pinwheels, ribbon, chenille stems, and more. If you're hosting a big crowd with lots of children, sponsor a decorating contest and offer prizes to participants.

Make this windsock by gluing scrapbooking paper around a clean frozen juice-concentrate container, then extending paper a few inches beyond the can. Tape streamers and pipe cleaners that have been twisted around a pencil for a curly-q shape to the inside bottom edges of the windsock. Inside the top, tape two equal-length pieces of fishing line across from each other so the windsock is balanced. Tie lines at the top for easy hanging.

Plain foam beverage insulators become canvases for creativity on the 4th of July. Dress them up with patriotic style by using paint pens and attaching sticker stars and stripes.

Squirt blobs of diluted crafts glue onto a piece of black sheet foam. Then blow through a flexible straw to spread the glue and create interesting starburst shapes. Sprinkle colored sand on the glue, then let it dry. Repeat with more glue and sand colors to layer your faux fireworks display.

Set up a Bubble Wrap hopscotch course in the garage. It's loud, legal, and safe. Apply doublesided adhesive tape to the underside of the painted squares to prevent them from slipping.

Send airy bubbles afloat on summer breezes with these star-spangled bubble wands.