Straw Garland Party Decor Kids Can Help With

Do your kids always want to help you when you are in DIY crunch time leading up to a party?  Mine do.  And while I love that they want to spend time with me and be part of it, it sometimes slows me down.  So I came up with the idea to have them make these super easy straw  garlands.  You can pretty much find straws in every color so it will easily coordinate with the rest of the party decor.  And these are super inexpensive to make.  Another plus.  As for how many you will end up, well, that is totally dependent on their attention span.  I’m not saying these have to be the focal point of the party, but you won’t need to hide it somewhere either.

These straw and knot garlands are also a great way to put up some last-minute decor for a teacher’s birthday, kid’s birthday or a holiday where you want to add something to make your house more festive.

I found a bag of sommarfints at Ikea.  Does anyone else think their word for straw is super crazy?  I do.  And are you also now going to only refer to straws as sommarfints?  I am.  This bag of straws probably cost around a dollar.  And I still have a bunch left.  I love using different kinds of ropes in crafts and this one is a cloth laundry rope I think.  But you could easily use yarn or some other kind of string you have on hand.  And then you just need scissors.  Super simple stuff.

Have the kid decide what length they want the straws to be and have them start cutting.  When cutting the straws, the unheld end will fly thus leaving the room riddled with straw parts.  This will make the kids laugh like crazy.  Just know you will most likely have to gather the pieces off the floor before you string them.

Have the kids string on the straw parts one at a time.  And they can choose to add the knots wherever they want.  It is a great way to talk about patterns and symmetry, etc.  Once they figure out where they want it, you can show them how to knot the rope.

No need in making super difficult macrame type knots.  A simple knot is all you need.  Tip:  If you hold the rope where you want the knot to be and then pull the free end with your other hand you can guide where the finished knot sits.  Reading that back, it makes no sense so play around with it, but you can get the knot to sit where you want it.  And there we go, I’ve increased the difficulty of this tutorial on tying simple knots by trying to be helpful.  Never ask me for driving directions anywhere…

After you tie the knot, add more straws.  Repeat for the desired length of the garland.

Super easy.  Super colorful.  Super kid friendly.

Hang them wherever you feel a knot garland should go.

And did you see my straw heart tutorial?  These won’t be right for everyone’s party decor needs but it is another craft you can have your kids do to keep them busy.  And who doesn’t love hearts?