May Day Crafts

Make a flowery homage to Hawaii.

May Day crafts welcome spring into your home. The holiday falls on the first day of May and is a celebration of the reappearance of flowers in the spring. Countries all over the world celebrate this holiday in different ways, and many people celebrate by making crafts to exchange with their friends and neighbors. Flowers are frequently used in the different activities and crafts.

In Hawaii, people exchange leis. In other places, maypoles are decorated with streamers, carried in a parade, and then people dance around them while singing.

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The most common May Day custom is to secretly leave a basket of flowers or other small gifts on a neighbor's doorknob or doorstep.

In this article, you'll find ways to celebrate May Day with fun activities and crafts. Explore the following pages for more May Day fun.

Glorious Garlands

Guests at May Day festivities usually wear a crown of green leaves with flowers in their hair. Learn how to make a garland for your celebration.

May Day Baskets

Surprise your neighbors with a May Day basket of flowers. Check out this page to learn how to create a beautiful basket.

Robin Hood Hats

Celebrate May Day just as the Merry Men would. This page will show you how to make a fun hat for your celebration.

May Day Hoops

Invite your friends to a race. Children used to have hoop races on May Day -- now you can, too! Learn about everything you will need to make your race a success.

Nine Men's Morris

This is one of the most popular May Day games in England -- now you and your friends can play -- check out this page to learn how to construct and play the game.

May Day Colorful Lei

May "Day-sy" Frame

This frame makes a great May Day gift. This page will explain how to make and decorate this flowery frame.

May Day Flower Cone

Surprise a neighbor or friend with a lovely May Day flower gift. Learn how to make this decorative flower cone.

May Day Garland

Celebrate the arrival of spring with one of these flower crowns. Just follow the easy instructions to make your own flowery May Day garland.

May Day is a special holiday to honor the return of spring. Continue to the next page to learn how to create and decorate a glorious garland to wear at your May Day celebration.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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Glorious Garlands

Glorious Garlands May Day Craft

Guests at May Day festivities are often "wreathed" -- sometimes wearing crowns of green leaves. Here's how to make a Glorious Garland.

What You'll Need:

Leaves

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Stems

Flowers

Go on a leaf hunt. Look for a bunch of the same kind of leaves with strong stems. Break off the stems, but hold on to them. Overlap the leaves and push the broken-off stems through the leaves as if they were pins to hold them together.

Make a chain of leaves. When your leaf chain is long enough to fit around your head, fasten the final leaf to the first one. Add flowers by slipping their stems under the stem-pins on the top side of the leaves.

(Warning! If you live in an area where poison ivy or poison oak grow, make sure you know what they look like before you go leaf hunting. They could give you a terrible rash.)

May Day is a special holiday to honor the return of spring. Check out the next page to learn how to create and decorate May Day baskets to leave as surprise gifts for your neighbors.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May Day Baskets

May Day baskets are easy to make -- and fun to give.

This May Day consider making May Day baskets and giving them to neighbors as gifts. Here's how to make a May Day basket for your neighbor.

What You'll Need:

Poster board

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Pencil

Ruler

Wallpaper with spring pattern

White paste

Stapler

Fresh flowers

Draw a circle 5 inches across and a strip 10x1 inches on the poster board. Cut them out. Use the poster board circle and strip as a pattern. Lay them on the back of the wallpaper. Trace around them.

You will need two wallpaper circles and two wallpaper strips for each basket. Cover one side of your poster board circle with glue, and glue a wallpaper circle to it with the pretty side up.

Cover one side of your poster board strip with glue, and glue a wallpaper strip to it, pretty side up. Turn the strip over, and glue the other wallpaper strip to the other side.

Lay your circle on the table wallpaper-side-down. Center the strip, and glue it across the middle of the circle. Glue the last wallpaper circle pretty-side-up on top of the strip. Turn it over.

Pull the ends of the strip together to make a handle. (The sides of your basket will curl up.) Staple the handle together at the top.

May Day is a special holiday to honor the return of spring. Explore the next page to learn how to create and decorate Robin Hood hats to wear to a May Day celebration.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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Robin Hood Hats

Make creative Robin Hood hats from paper plates.

May Day crafts are fun for kids to create, and these easy-to-make Robin Hood hats set them off on a game of make-believe in the back yard.

What You'll Need:

Measuring tape

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Pencil

Paper

Green felt

Scissors

Needle

Green thread

Feather

Small safety pin

Using the measuring tape, measure around your head and add one inch. On a piece of paper, draw a line half as long as your measurement.

From the middle of your line, measure up nine inches, and make a dot. Draw a semicircle (half circle) from the end of the line, through the top dot, to the end of the other side of the line. This half circle is your hat pattern.

Stack two pieces of green felt, and pin your pattern to them. Cut along the pattern. Stitch or staple 1/2-inch in from the edge -- only along the half circle.

Turn up a one-inch brim. Pin a feather to the side of your Robin Hood hat. Gather all your merry friends, and head for Sherwood Forest.

May Day is a special holiday to honor the return of spring. Explore the next page to learn how to create and organize hoop races for your May Day celebration.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May Day Hoops

Hoop it up with a traditional May Day hoop.

In the past, children used to celebrate May Day by having hoop races -- now you can, too. Read on to learn how to make May Day hoops, and then invite your friends and family over to join the races.

What You'll Need:

Plastic hoop (hula hoop)

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Ribbon

Small bells

12-inch wooden dowel

Use a plastic hoop and decorate it the way children did hundreds of years ago.

Cut 6-inch lengths of thin ribbon. Tie as many ribbons as you can to the hoop, all the way around. Make sure the knots are on the inside of the hoop so they won't get in the way when the hoop rolls.

Tie a tiny bell to the end of every third or fourth ribbon.

Practice rolling your May Day hoop by touching it with the dowel. How fast can you go? Invite your friends to a race!

May Day is a special holiday to honor the return of spring. On the next page, find out how to construct and play the popular English May Day game Nine Men's Morris -- and then invite friends and family over for some fun.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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Nine Men&#39s Morris

Nine Men's Morris is a game of skill.

Nine Men's Morris was one of the most popular May Day games in England. Now you can learn how to make and play this fun game.

What You'll Need:

Large cardboard square

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Marker

9 black stones

9 white stones

Coin

Copy the Morris board (as seen in the illustration) onto a piece of cardboard.

Each player starts with nine stones of one color. Flip a coin to see who moves first. Take turns putting the stones on the dots on the Morris board one at a time. You can put a stone on any vacant dot.

The goal is to make a "mill" -- three of your stones together on any line. Each time you make a mill you get to take one of your opponent's pieces. If your opponent forms a mill, they get to take one of yours.

Pieces in a mill are safe -- they can't be taken. When all the stones have been placed on the board, the goal is to create new mills by taking turns moving the stones.

A stone can be moved one space along any line, but there can't be a stone already sitting on the dot you move to.

The game ends when one player has just two pieces left or when one player is unable to move.

Hawaiians celebrate May Day by making and exchanging various floral crafts. Continue on to the next page to find out how to make a beautiful May Day colorful lei.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May Day Colorful Lei

This is a colorful necklace inspired by Hawaii.

Many people around the world create floral May Day crafts to celebrate the holiday. In Hawaii, people celebrate May Day by exchanging floral leis.

What You'll Need:

Yarn

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Scissors

Construction paper

Pencil

Hole punch

Pony beads or any large beads

Tape (optional)

Cut a length of yarn to hang loosely around your neck (make sure you cut it a little longer than you want it so you have room to tie the ends of the yarn together).

Cut colorful flower shapes out of construction paper. (If you want flowers that will stand up to a little more wear and tear, make them out of craft foam; use tissue paper for more delicate flowers.) Punch a hole in the center of each flower.

To put your lei together, tie a knot at one end of the piece of yarn. String 6 to 10 beads onto the yarn (this will be the part of the lei that touches the back of your neck).

Then alternate flowers and beads however you want. If you have a hard time stringing the beads onto the yarn, wrap a small piece of tape around the end of the yarn to stiffen it.

Once you get the design you want and the yarn is almost full of flowers and beads, end just as you started, with 6 to 10 beads. Tie the end in a knot. Then tie the two ends of the yarn together, and wear your lei with pride.

Continue on to the next page to learn how to create and decorate a May "Day-sy" frame. It makes a great gift.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May ''Day-sy'' Frame

This lovely flowered frame needs one more thing -- a picture of YOU.

A fun May Day craft for kids to do is to make May "Day-sy" frames. (Adult help is needed for this craft.) Here's how to make a May "Day-sy" frame.

What You'll Need:

Wood frame

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3 yards lightweight ribbon, 1/2-inch wide

Low-temperature glue gun and glue sticks

Scissors

Pink and white silk daisies

Photo

Heavy-duty clear packing tape (optional)

Take apart the wood frame, and set aside the frame backing and the glass. Glue one end of the ribbon to the top middle of the back side of the frame.

Wrap the ribbon around the frame, overlapping the ribbon edges to hide the wood. Pull the ribbon taut, but make sure there is enough give so that the frame backing will still fit in the frame.

When the frame is completely covered, cut the ribbon and glue the end to the back of the frame.

Lay the frame right side up on a flat surface. Position the daisies as desired on the front of the frame. Once you're happy with the design, glue the flowers in place.

Press the glass back into place, position the photo inside, and fit the frame backing into place. If the backing no longer fits, use heavy-duty clear packing tape to secure the backing to the frame.

May Day flower cones are traditionally left as a surprise on a neighbor's door as a springtime greeting. On the next page, learn how to make one of these special surprise gifts.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May Day Flower Cone

May Day Flower Cone May Day Craft

May Day crafts are fun to make, but this one is also fun to give away. These flower cones are traditionally left as a surprise on someone's door as a springtime greeting. Here's how to make your own May Day Flower Cone for that special someone.

What You'll Need:

Decorated paper

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Glue

Hole punch

Ribbon

Paper towel

Plastic bag

Fresh flowers

Roll a piece of pretty paper into a cone shape, and glue the edges together to seal it. When the glue has dried, punch two holes on opposite sides of the cone.

Tie the ends of a piece of ribbon through each of the holes to make a handle. Gather some fresh flowers. Put a wet paper towel around the flower stems and cover the towel with a plastic bag.

Tie ribbon around the plastic bag to seal it, and set the flowers inside the decorative cone. Hang the cone on a family member's bedroom doorknob or on the front door of a neighborhood friend.

Continue to the next page to learn how to create and decorate a beautiful May Day garland to wear to your celebration.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

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May Day Garland

Make a May Day garland to wear.

Many May Day crafts include various floral arrangements. Celebrate the blossoming of the spring season with a floral crown. Here is how to make your own garland crown.

What You'll Need:

Fresh flowers

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Floral wire

Scissors

The arrival of spring is celebrated in many European countries on the first day of May. Flower garlands, crowns, and baskets full of flowers are part of many of the celebrations.

To make a flower crown, gather 6 to 10 colorful flowers. Wrap green floral wire around the stem of each flower. Wind the wiry stem of each flower around the stem of the next flower, just beneath the flower. Weave the stem of the last flower around the stem of the first to form a circle.

(Place the garland on your head to check the fitting before closing the circle.) Now don the floral crown, and celebrate spring.

For more fun activities and crafts for kids, see:

ABOUT THE CRAFT DESIGNERS:Glorious Garlands by Lisa Lerner, Kersten HamiltonMay Day Baskets by Lisa Lerner, Kersten HamiltonRobin Hood Hats by Lisa Lerner, Kersten HamiltonMay Day Hoops by Lisa Lerner, Kersten HamiltonNine Men's Morris by Lisa Lerner, Kersten Hamilton

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