Paper Roll Fireworks with a Candy Surprise

The 4th of July is one week away and although I love the fireworks shows, my little ones are afraid of the loud noises that go along with all those pretty colors in the sky. Not to mention the safety factor. I’m a nervous nellie when it comes to lighting our own fireworks. Did you know that even sparklers can reach 1,800°F (982°C) — hot enough to melt gold. But there is no need to skip the festivities when you can make your own kid-friendy firecrackers from supplies you probably already have at home! Gather up a couple toilet paper rolls, construction paper, buttons, ribbon, pom-poms, star stickers, pipe-cleaners, or whatever you have on hand and lets get started!

Materials:

– Toilet Paper Rolls (spray with Lysol to sanitize or use a paper towel roll!)

– Cardstock or construction paper

– Glitter Foam Star Stickers from Craftprojectideas.com

– Buttons

– Ribbon

– Glitter Fuzzy Sticks (aka pipe-cleaners) from Craftprojectideas.com

– Hot Glue Gun

– Individually wrapped candy like Starbursts

First thing you will want to do is decorate your paper rolls. Cover them in paper, glue on buttons, ribbon and stickers. Let the kids have a hay day with this! Or decorate them yourself as a special treat/surprise for the kids.

Now you will want to cut 2 inch circles out of your card stock paper. Make 2 circles for each roll. One will go on the top and one on the bottom. Hot glue around the rim of the bottom of your paper roll to adhere one of the circles.

Fill the tube with candy. I thought Starburst candy was perfect for this project. “Stars” and “Bursts” couldn’t describe this project any better 🙂

Cut a glittery pip-cleaner sticks in half. Curl the tip of it around your finger and then poke the bottom in the center of your other round paper circle.

Hot glue around the rim of the top paper roll and stick the paper circle on. You can just put a couple dabs of hot glue around the rim so your kids can easily peal the top off when its time to open the firecracker.

Enjoy these patriotic poppers and let the kids eyes light up when they see the burst of candy in the middle! Have a fun and safe Independence Day to those who are celebrating!