For many people, the holiday season culminates with a big shebang as they celebrate what was and what is to come. For little ones who couldn’t make it until midnight, consider expanding your celebration to last all day or throughout the month with these crafts.

HOOPLA HAT

Items needed:
Plain, colored plastic visor (found at craft stores); foam or cardboard stars and numbers 2, 0, 2, 4 (1 1⁄2-inch or less); glitter; jewels; bright colored pipe cleaners; pencil; tacky glue (or glue gun).

Directions:
To make this party hat, the visor will be worn across the top of your head with the brim facing forward. Glue the numbers 2, 0, 2, and 4 to the center of the visor brim. Add stars. Embellish the visor with glitter and jewels. Wrap pipe cleaners around a pencil to create spiral shapes. Remove pencil. Glue pipe cleaners to the back of the visor.

NUTTI-LICIOUS NOISEMAKER

Items needed:
Empty toilet paper tube; bright, colored foil wrapping paper; metallic curling ribbon; tape; peanuts and/or small unwrapped candy (i.e. Skittles, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces).

Directions:
Fill the toilet paper roll with nuts and/or candy. Leave enough room for the tube to rattle. Wrap the roll with brightly colored foil paper, leaving three inches on each end for tying off. Secure the paper with tape. Twist ends and close off with a curling ribbon.

KRAZY KAZOO

Items needed:
Empty toilet paper tube; scissors; waxed paper; rubber bands; foil; tape; curling ribbon; holiday stickers.

Directions:
Measure and cut waxed paper to be a 2 ½-inch circle. Cover one end of the toilet paper roll with the circle and secure it with a rubber band. Use the scissors to make two small slits in the center of the waxed paper for air to pass through. Wrap the tube in foil, trim the ends, and secure with tape. For a festive look, attach curling ribbons that dangle from the sides, then embellish with holiday stickers.

COUNTDOWN CAPSULE

Items needed:
Large, empty coffee can; photographs; letter to yourself stating your future goals and dreams; list of your best friends; video recording of you, your family and/or your friends; newspaper article that reflects a major current event; ticket stubs to your favorite movie; copy of your favorite song on CD; packing tape; shovel; paper; pencil.

Directions:
Fill the coffee can with suggested items above. Add anything else you think would be fun to find 10 years from now. Replace lid and seal around the edges with packing tape. Dig a hole in your backyard and bury the time capsule. Make a map with instructions on where it is located. Keep this map somewhere you will find later. Or give it to your parents for safekeeping. Wait a year, or even longer, to see how things have changed or what has happened since then.

FUN FACTOID: THE GOOD OLE’ DAYS
At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, people around the world sign off another year by singing, “Auld Lang Syne.” But few know where the song originated or how it became so popular. “Auld Lang Syne,” translated as “old long since” or “days gone by,” was a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 that was set to the tune of a traditional folk song. The Scots began singing the song on New Year’s Eve and the idea soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As people immigrated around the world, they took the song and the tradition with them. In 1929, Bandleader Guy Lombardo began using “Auld Lang Syne” during his annual radio and TV broadcasts of the event held in New York City. Today, this beloved tradition lives on.

CELEBRATORY READS
Check out these holiday-related stories, available to bookstores and local libraries.

+ First Night by Harriet Ziefert
+ Goodbye Old Year, Hello New Year by Frank Modell
+ Just in Time for New Year’s!: A Harry & Emily Adventure by Karen Gray Ruelle
+ New Year’s Day by David F. Marx
+ P. Bear’s New Year’s Party by Paul Owens Lewis