Fun New Year’s Eve Sparkler Wand

Welcome the New Year with Creativity and Curiosity!

New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration, reflection, and looking ahead to the possibilities of a fresh start. For children, it’s a perfect opportunity to nurture their creativity and spark their curiosity for the year to come. Activities like crafting this sparkler wand help children engage their imaginations while building memories that will last long into the new year.

I would love to help you encourage your children to embrace the new year with enthusiasm and curiosity. A sparkler wand can be a beautiful visual reminder for your children to embrace the power of curiosity. Let it serve as a prompt for them to Investigate. Ponder. Discover. Just as the wand sparkles with energy and excitement, it can ignite their imagination and encourage them to ask questions, explore new ideas, and see the world through a lens of wonder. As they wave their wands, let it spark a desire to learn and a drive to uncover the amazing possibilities in the new year!

If you love this concept, be sure to grab the new Wonderings eZine Activity Guide here.

What You’ll Need for the Sparkler Wand:

1. Colored craft papers
2. Glitter foam sheet
3. Popsicle sticks
4. Craft glue
5. Pencil
6. Scissors

How to Make the Sparkler Wand:

To get started with this craft, select two different colored craft papers for the paper sparkler pattern. We chose orange and yellow, but you can choose any two colors. Cut out long strips from the selected craft papers. You’ll want two strips, one of each color, for each firecracker wand you plan to make.

The strips you cut from the two different colors should be of the same length. However, keep the strips of one of the colors at least an inch wider than the strips of the other color. For example, the yellow strips below are an inch wider than the orange strips.

Next take one of the strips (it doesn’t matter which one you start with).

Fold the strip, lengthwise, and then fold it in half 2 or 3 times.

Use a pencil to draw a zigzag pattern along the top of the folded paper. Next, cut out the zigzag border that you traced.

Unfold your strip of paper to reveal something like this:

Next, you’ll very carefully fold the strip of paper, accordion-style. This is a great fine motor skill activity for young kids, and it will keep them busy for a while if you encourage them to fold the strip very narrowly (narrowly enough to match the zigzag border).

When you’ve finished folding the strip, accordion-style, unfold it and and set it upright, joining the open sides together to form a ring.

Carefully flatten the accordion-folded ring by spreading the zigzag border in an outwards direction. To make it easier, hold the flat side of the ring and push it towards the center. Tape or glue the ends of the strip together and glue a round piece of paper on the flattened accordion folded ring to secure the flat pattern.  Remember to keep the zigzag border pointed to the outside.

Repeat the same process with the strip of paper in the other color: folding the strip, drawing/cutting a zigzag border, folding accordion-style and laying it out/securing it in a ring.

Use craft glue to attach the small pattern on the top of the big pattern. Then let it dry.

Attach your layered, sparkler pattern onto a popsicle stick with craft glue and let it dry. Cut out a star pattern from a glitter craft sheet and attach it in the center of the paper firecracker pattern. Your Firecracker Papercraft Wand is now complete and ready to enjoy!

Do you like to celebrate New Years Eve and New Years Day as a family? If so, what are some of your favorite family traditions for this holiday? Let us know if you make this Firecracker Papercraft Wand and how it turns out!