DIY 4th of July Firecracker Kids Hat Craft

My kids love to dress up and act goofy during the holidays.  Maybe it's all the soda they are allowed to drink; I like to think it's because they are having that much fun.  At any rate, these Firecracker crowns from Family Fun looked like fun to make.  I chose to switch out a few of the materials and make the hats a bit larger -- for effect.  Here is my version of a fun Firecracker Hat for Kids!

1.  Gather your supplies.  You'll need one sheet each of red, white, blue, and yellow, as well as assorted glittery pipe cleaners, glue, scissors, and some blue painter's tape.

2.  Cut your strips.  The red, white, and blue paper should be cut into 1" wide strips going longways on the paper.  I used a paper cutter for these.

3.  Cut out your stars.  If you have a star-shaped punch, this will be very easy.  I chose to make one star, then trace duplicates.

4.  Glue a star to each end of the pipe cleaner.  Make sure you give them plenty of time to dry!

5.  Lay your strips in an alternative red/white/blue pattern with the sides touching but not overlapping.  When you have the strips laid out as long as your child's hat will need to be (I measured with a tape measure beforehand), you're done!

6.  Cut a piece of blue painter tape the length of the strip design and position it 2-3 inches from the bottom.

7.  Wrap the strip chain around into a circle and secure on both the inside and outside with more blue painter tape.

8.  Add the sparky "stars" at even intervals around the hat.  Use extra tape to secure them into place.

You now have a fun and crazy hat to wear to the parade or family BBQ's!  This craft can be fun for kids to do; just choose which tasks are most suitable for them.  (Maybe they can lay out the strips in the right pattern or help measure the length of the hat.)

Do you have a fun 4th of July Craft to share?  We'd love to hear about it in the comments!