Mini Sombreros

For this Cinco de Mayo craft, you'll need a paper cup, mini paper plate, medium pom-poms in red, green, yellow, white, and orange, paint brush, tan colored paint, hot glue gun, and red ribbon. Paint the paper plate and cup using the tan colored paint. Let it dry completely. Then, hot glue the cup upside down to the center of the plate to form a sombrero hat. Glue the ribbon around the edge of the paper plate and around the cup where it connects to the plate. Next, glue all of the different colored pom poms to the edge of the paper plate. You can also decorate with other materials like glitter, markers, gems, etc.

Maracas

• Plastic Spoon Maracas: To make one maraca, gather aluminum foil, two plastic spoons, a plastic Easter egg, colorful tape, and small, uncooked beans. Pour the beans into the Easter egg, close the egg, and place it in between the tops of the two spoons.Tape the spoon tops together and wrap the entire spoons together in aluminum foil. Next, tape over the foil with different types of colorful tape for a festive maraca!

  

  
  

  

  
  
  
• Paper Mache Maracas: You'll need a balloon, paper mache, strips of news paper, beans, cardboard tube, glue, tape, various paint colors, and paint brushes. First, make paper mache using one cup of flour and four cups of water. Boil the mixture in a pot and stir continuously until it becomes thick. Take it off the stove and pour it into a separate bowl. Add a few ice cubes to help cool it down so you can work with it. To make the maracas, place the beans in the balloon using a funnel. Then, carefully blow up the balloon and tie it off. Cut a few slits at one end of the cardboard tub and fold them outward. This will help you attach the tube to the balloon. Tape the edges of the tube to the top of the balloon where the tie is located. Fill the tube with balls of newspaper. Tape of the edge of the tube so that the newspaper stays in place. Then, dip the newspaper strips into the paper mache mixture and cover the balloon and tube. Once it has completely dried, paint and decorate your Mexican maracas!

Fiesta Magnets

This is a great Cinco de Mayo craft for kids to do. For this project you will need white, green, and red felt, white, green, and red paint, paint brush, glue, miniature pom poms, glitter, scissors and sticky-backed magnetic strips. Cut the felt in various shapes for your fiesta magnets. You can help your kids trace and cut out the more difficult shapes like a cactus, sun, sombrero, or Dahlia, the national flower of Mexico. Have your kids decorate the magnets using the different materials. Once they have completely dried, peel off the paper from the sticky magnet and press it onto the back of the felt.

Once the Cinco de Mayo crafts are complete, take a picture of your kids and their creations and upload it to online Cinco de Mayo cards. Personalize the message inside the eCard and send it by text or email to friends and family!