How to Make a New Years Eve Tambourine

The best part of New Year's Eve is all the noise you are allowed to make at midnight. There are always pots and pans you can bang together, but that gets old after awhile. If you allow your children to stay up on this special night, you should help them to create their own instruments to play at the stroke of midnight. The beloved tambourine can easily be made at home with a few simple household items.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 paper plates
• Stapler
• Paints
• Paint brush
• Beads
• Rice
• Stickers

1. Find two paper plates to make 1 tambourine. Set one plate flat on the table.

2. Place all kinds of beads, rice, or beans on one of the paper plates.

3. Take the second paper plate and flip it over so that when you lay it on top of the other paper plate, it makes a tambourine shape. The rice and other items will be in the center.

4. Staple the two paper plates together all the way around the edges. You will need a lot of staples because the beads and rice can escape from even a small space.

5. Paint the tambourine. You can paint the whole thing a solid color or choose a rainbow of colors. You can even choose to paint the new year on the front and your name on the back. Be creative and have fun.

6. Allow the paint to dry and add some stickers. These can be any type of stickers that you wish. Some fun ideas are to use music notes since you are making an instrument, or to use some fireworks stickers since fireworks go off New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight. You may even want a sticker of an apple to simulate the big ball dropping in Time Square.

Tips & Warnings

• Glue on some strips of crepe paper for flare.
• Be careful not to staple your fingers with the staple gun.
• Wear a smock and use newspapers to protect yourself and the table from the paint.