What celebration do you have coming up? These 4th of July party favors are great for 4th of July, New Years, A birthday party, and any other celebration you want.
These 4th of July party favors are super easy to make.
Kids and maybe even adults will love to receive them. If you have kids they may have fun helping you make these. Or they may want to make them on their own to give out.
If you don’t have kids and are wanting to make them for the kids coming to your 4th of July celebration you can be the cool aunt/friend/neighbor that the kids will love.
This rocket party favor would be a cool party favor for kids having a space themed party also.
There are two great things about these firecracker or rocket party favors.
- They are a party favor to hand out with yummy or fun treats inside.
- The Rockets and Firecrackers can be used as decorations. You can decorate the tables with these diy firework or rocket party favors.
At the end of the party your kids can hand these out to the guests as they leave. Or give out during the party if you put in snap pops or other simple fireworks to play with during the party.
These are extra fun because they have a hidden treat inside which can be a surprise to the kids.
So if you are ready to make these cute diy firework or rocket party favors here are the items you will need:
Toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls – Any type of paper rolls that you can cut down to the size of a toilet paper roll. Even wrapping paper tubes will work. Wrapping paper tubes might be a lot skinnier so realize that when choosing goodies to go inside. Those tubes can also be a little harder to cut but can still work nicely. This is a fun way to upcycle cardboard and I have shared other great ways on my upcycle cardboard blog.
Printer paper/photo paper/construction paper/index cards with no lines/cardboard – Any type of solid color paper to use for the top and bottom circle of your paper roll. You can use cardboard also but it will be a little harder to cut out especially for kids. You can color your paper or leave it white. Or if you have colored paper you can use that. For rockets you will want some white or colored paper to make fins and a cone top for your party favor. Index cards are just the right size to use for the cone. They are also a little thicker than paper so that works a little better.
Pencil – To use to trace the bottom of your tube. It can also be used to poke a hole in top circle. Can be used to draw your triangles for fins for the rockets.
Scissors – For cutting out your circles. And to use to poke a hole in the top circle of the firework if you go that route. Also for cutting the pipe cleaner with. If your scissors aren’t able to cut the pipe cleaner you may want to use wire cutters. If making the rocket you will need to cut out 4 fins for the rocket and cut a piece to make the cone out of.
Hot glue gun and sticks/or glue sticks – Whatever you want to use to glue on the decorations on your tube. And to glue on the top and bottom circles of the tube. Hot glue works fast and maybe the best but if your child is doing this a glue stick works fine it just takes longer for the glue to set. The glue will also be used to stick the fins for the rocket onto the tube and the cone on top.
Tape or Stapler/staples– If making the rocket you will use these. You will use either of those to connect the cone top together. And then to attach the cone to the paper roll.
Pipe cleaners – Use a small piece of pipe cleaner to stick in the top of the firework party favor to use as the fuse.
Paint-paint brush/markers/colors/pencil colors/spray paint – To add color to your basic paper roll.
Glitter/rhinestones/stickers/jute or yarn/curling ribbon – Whatever you choose to decorate your paper roll with to make it cute. If you want to decoupage them a cute 4th of July napkin or red, white, and blue ones would work out great. If making these for New years eve then silver or gold might be the colors you want to go with. Really it’s all up to you.
Candy or small treats – Buy or get wrapped candy, gum, fruit snacks or whatever yummy treats you can fit into these paper rolls.
Small pop firecrackers or little toys – This is another option if you don’t want to go the candy/treat route.
Now that you have all your supplies lets talk about how to make these cute party favors.
How to make your 4th of July party favors or favors for other celebrations
1. First off you need to color all your paper rolls with what ever you desire. And then let them dry thoroughly. If you plan on covering your paper roll with curling ribbon, colored jute, duct tape or decoupaging them then you don’t have to color them first. For a rocket you need to figure out if the fins can be glued to the decorations you choose. If not you might just want to go simple with those and only paint them first.
2. Second while you are letting those paper rolls dry you can start working on your paper circles for the top and bottom. Use a roll as a guide to trace and make your circles. If your tubes are all different widths then you may want to wait to make your paper circles specific for each one after they are dry.
A big tip when making your circles – you can make your tracing but then actually cut out a circle bigger than the circle you drew. You want to make sure that the top and bottom are plenty big enough to glue on and cover the entire opening. If your circle ends up really big don’t worry about it as you can trim it later after it’s dry if you want.
If upcycling cardboard to use as your circles you might want to cut those out for your child as cardboard can be a little harder to cut. Unless you child is older than that will be good for them to work on extra finger strength.
** If making Rockets please go down to the section below labeled “For the Rockets” to complete.
3. Next you can poke or cut a tiny slit in the middle of one of the circles for each firework tube. Use your scissors or a pencil to poke a small hole. Make sure you only do this for one circle per tube. The bottom circle doesn’t need a hole and you want it to be solid so it keeps your treats held in. If you want to make a hole through the top circle at the end that will work also.
4. Now is a good time to go back to the rolls and decorate them. Make them as cute and decorative as you or your child wants.
5. Glue on the bottom of the tube now and let it dry.
6. When the bottom of the tube is dry and set, you can then put in your treats.
7. Then you are ready to glue on the top circle with the hole/slit.
8. After your top circle has dried, cut a small piece of pipe cleaner and stick it in the top hole to look like a fuse for the firecrackers.
FOR THE ROCKETS
Follow steps 1-2 and then
3. Glue the circle on the bottom of the tube now and let it dry. Then trim it if way to big.
4. Go ahead and cut out 4 right triangles for the fins. You will want the triangles to fit nicely against the side of the tube in 4 places around it. You can now use regular glue or hot glue to attach them. Hot glue works a lot faster but not safe for small kids.
- A tip for cutting out the fins. If you are using an index card cut 1/3 of the card and use that 1/3. That will give you a rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half giving you two squares. Then cut each square diagonally and then you have your four fins. This is great fine motor work for kids along with being educational talking about shapes and fractions.
5. When the bottom of the tube is dry and set, you can then put in your treats.
6. Then you are ready to glue on the top circle.
7. Last cut about 1/4 piece of paper or use one index card. Fold the paper or index card to form a cone. Hold your cone over the tube to make sure it will fit. It’s easiest to use a stapler and staple the cone together. If you use hot glue that can be done pretty easily. Regular glue may take some time holding it together until it drys. Finally use hot glue, tape or other to attach the cone to the top of the roll.
And there you go. You now have a cool rocket party favor with a yummy treat hidden inside.
FYI: If you happen to have plastic sports bottle lids or kombucha plastic lids or any other lid that size upcycle them and try them out with your tube. Some of those lids work pretty well with turning them upside down and pushing into the tube. It can be a simple way of closing the tube without gluing on paper. But you would need to prepare for this and save plenty of bottle cap lids ahead of time. Check to see if they fit in your tube. Making a hole through the top lids would be easy if using a drill. But you can also use a hammer and nail.
Now you are ready to decorate your table/tables with the cute 4th of July party favors. Or favors for another celebration such as New Years or a fun space birthday theme. Don’t forget to hand them out at the end of your party.
All your guests (or kids) can leave with a fun decoration/party favor filled with goodies.
One of the best parts about this party favor is that it really shouldn’t cost you much at all to make.
Start collecting and keep your toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls. Besides paper rolls the next biggest part is whatever you color or decorate the tube with.
The only part you really need to spend money on is the treats that go inside the tube.
This really can be a fun activity for families to make together. A great way to have some family bonding time. It is super simple and most kids can do a lot of this project.
One of my favorite ways to prepare for a holiday is by making decorations together. By making decorations together and not just buying them makes your kids feel special and they know they had a part in it. Check out my blog on easy and cheap diy 4th of July decorations.
If you are working on fine motor skills with your child this is a great activity. Your child will be tracing, painting or coloring, using their fingers to do so much work with this craft. Cutting, gluing and working on so many more skills that you may not realize.
You can even work on counting by making sure you have enough circles for the tubes. Counting the pieces of candy you will put in each tube and sorting the candy. Working on colors and shapes. And counting all the completed firework party favors to make sure you have enough for your guests.
This is also a very personal gift because you and/or your family have made these to give out to family and friends.
Your family and friends will appreciate the work you put into it for them and like the yummy or fun treats!
What kid wouldn’t want to receive a special firecracker party favor at a celebration, especially with cool or yummy things inside.
So go enjoy making your 4th of July party favors or favors for another celebration and let me know how it turns out.