How to Make a Bottle Bloom into a Flower: Recycled Projects

Use your old plastic bottles to create a fun flower project for kids:  Bottle Bloom

Things to do with a Plastic Bottle. This is a special guest post written by my very creative brother, Jamie. Watch how he makes a plastic bottle into a flower  in this fun, recyled activity project. We'll be unveiling many cute coloring sheets for kids and lots of fun projects little boys will love. Welcome Jamie in the comments below the post. Enjoy!

Wondering what to do with all those empty plastic bottles? 
Make them bloom into something new.

Looking for things to do with plastic bottles? Have you ever seen an old plastic water bottle bloom into a beautiful flower? Take your recycled items to a new level, and give them new life with our fun, recycled project ideas for kids. Use this as a companion project for a science lesson on naming the parts of a plant.

Supplies Needed to make your bottle bloom.

This is a fun way to turn those constantly piling up plastic bottles into a cute craft that anyone can make. All you need is a pair of scissors, a glue gun, and a straw. Well, of course, you will need a bottle.

Cut the bottom off of  the bottle.

How to make a flower from a plastic water bottle:

• Cut the bottom of the bottle off near the end.
• Carefully space and then cut out leaves from the remaining bottle.
• Use a cap full of glue to secure the straw in the bottle's cap. You need to use a lot of glue to anchor the finished flower. 
• Now, glue the bottom of the bottle to the top of the straw.
• Finish with your choice of paint. We chose water colors- not the best coverage but an interesting look. If you want your paint finish to last use an acrylic or even spray paint made for plastics.    

Cut the leaves from the bottle.

Be careful not to cut them all way off, leave the sides (leaves attached near the lid).

Attach the straw with lots of glue.

Glue bottom of the bottle to the other end of the straw.

Make an entire flower patch in minutes!

Make a whole flower patch in just minutes!


Recommended Reading:

Sand Art Bottles with Rice

The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book*

The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling (Little Green Books)*










ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Christmas Games for Parties: Have the Best Party Ever with these Christmas Party Games for Adults (Tips to adapt for children's parties too)

Are You Ready for the Best Christmas Party Ever? 

Here are some fun games for your holiday party for kids or adults: For many years, I was a party planner. The office Christmas party got me started, and then I became a catering and special events manager. I had to come up with creative, innovative ideas for icebreakers and party mixers. We also have some fun ideas for New Year's Eve with the kids. Scroll to the bottom for Cotton Ball games that you can swap out for Marshmallow games. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Shh... I paparazzied Santa during a summer picnic. 
He was wearing this discreet disguise.

This skill came in handy when I later began teaching summer camp and afterschool enrichment activities for kids. What's cute for little ones is silly for adults and embarrassing for teens. Want to have the best party ever? Pick a few games for parties from the list below.

Click the link to find ideas for the best slumber party ever.

Games for Christmas Parties:

• Gift Wrapping Game

Divide groups into pairs. Each pair of people stand around a table in front of a piece of wrapping paper, a roll of tape, scissors, ribbon, and shirt gift boxes. Each pair of players stands with one arm around the other person. Say "Go!' and the players must race to wrap their box with one person using only their right hand and the other person using only their left hand. (Keep the other hand wrapped around the partner's waist.) The first pair to wrap their gift box wins!

• Toothpick Tower Marshmallow Game

Supplies: Toothpicks, mini-marshmallows, and adult supervision or use uncooked spaghetti noodles to make an edible game for preschoolers.  

Who can build the tallest marshmallow tower? It may sound simple, but you have to be super fast and some what creative to win. Suggested for ages 10 and up. Game details and instructions 

• Shaving Cream Santas

Supplies: Shaving Cream, plastic spoons, and paper towels.

Divide into pairs. Each pair decides who will play Santa. The Santa covers his face with shaving cream. The other player is Santa's barber. Jingle a bell to start! The teams race to "shave" their Santas. The winning team is the first to have a clean shaven Santa and sit their spoon onto the table. To signify they are done, Santa lets out a loud "Ho ho ho"! 

Tip: Make this an edible game for kids with Non-dairy whipped cream.

• Balloon Stomping Game

Grab a bag of Dollar Store balloons and give one to each player with some curling ribbon. The players blow up their balloon and tie them to their ankles. Now blow a horn or ring a holiday bell to start the stomping! Each party guest has to stomp the other player's balloons. The more you stomp, the better your chances of winning the game. The last person to have a balloon wins! Use masking or painter's tape to mark a circle of play area on the floor.

Christmas Book for Kids

• Little Known Secrets Game

Before the party collect little known surprising facts about 5-10 employees or party-goers. Collect photos of them as a toddler. On a colorful poster board, tape photocopies of the baby pictures and write the secret fact underneath the photo as a caption. Label the images from 1-10 (or how many co-workers you chose). Hand out paper and pens as guests arrive. Point them to your board and tell them to number the paper from 1-10.  Can they guess who is who?Winner is the one who gets most correct wins. If several get all the answers correct, place their papers (with their names) in a Santa hat and draw for a winner!

• What’s in your Stocking

Before the party, fill several stockings with two or three non-breakable items. Tie the stocking closed with a ribbon. Divide party-goers into teams. Have them spread out into different corners of the room to work. Now, each team must guess (by touch alone) what is in their stocking. The winning team wins the contents of all stockings! 

• The Amazing Maze Game

This is a fun party idea for a  child's party. Choose a variety of Christmas curling ribbon colors in a single roll or ball. One for each player. Tie a prize or party favor to one end of each ribbon. Hide the end with the gift on it somewhere in the house. Now, unwind the ribbon and wrap it all over the room, all around furniture, over tables, under doors, anywhere it will be a fun challenge. Tie a candy cane to the other end of the ribbon. Repeat for each player, tangling the ribbons if necessary. When the guests arrive, give each one a candy cane and have them follow the ribbon to untangle it (wrapping it around their candy cane as they go). Let them know it leads to a surprise! Then, let the chaos begin!

Handmade Candy Canes

• Christmas Wrapping Pin the Bow

Wrap three large boxes. Line players up single file behind each box. Give each player a giant sticky bow, spin them around and jingle a bell to start. They must walk around the box and then pin the bow on top, return to the opposite end and sit down before the next team member goes. The first team sitting down wins.

8 Simple Holiday Games with Santa

Find Santa's Reindeer

Buy some cute Dollar Store holiday plushies Reindeer, Angels, Santas, etc. Hide them around the house. The reindeers must be found to drive Santa's sleigh. Attach a clue to each stuffie of where the next one can be found. When they find a reindeer, they line it up next to the Santa stuffie. There are 9 reindeer to be found. When all reindeer are placed next to Santa you announce the winner. The winner is the one who 
found Rudolph and/or placed him in the lead position next to Santa. They win the stuffie of their choice!

Cotton Ball Games for Parties Fun Adult or Kid's Activity

We have lots of games with cotton balls 
which are a great sensory activity for kids.

• Shoveling Snow – Cotton Ball Game

Supplies: Vaseline, bowl, cotton balls, stop watch, camera

How to play game: Everyone sits in a circle on their knees or around a table. Place a dab of Vaseline on the tip of each player’s nose. Place a bowl in front of each player with a pile of cotton balls next to the bowl or scattered in front of them on the table. 

The object of the game is to have them use their noses to pick up a cotton ball and then somehow get the cotton ball off their nose and into the bowl without using hands. Hands should always be clasped behind their back. After 1 minute, the player with the most cotton balls in their bowl wins! The prize can be a wrapped surprise gift or a stocking full of goodies.

• Sticky Cotton  - Another Cotton Ball Game Fun for all Parties

Supplies: Bag of cotton balls, two large bowls, a blindfold, and a large wooden spoon or ladle. 

Blindfold your guests and place them in front of two bowls, one empty bowl and one with cotton balls. Give the players a wooden spoon. They must move as many cotton balls as they can from one bowl to the other using only 3 spoonfuls. Tally the number of cotton balls per player. Have them go to the end of the line when done. Everyone gets two chances! The person with the most cotton balls in both turns wins! 

• Cotton Ball Relay Races

Supplies: Bag of cotton balls, two large bowls, a blindfold and a wooden spoon (Note: these are the same for another game above, you could play both at the same time.)

Divide the co-workers, family members, or kids into groups. Place a bowl of 10 cotton balls at a starting line (Use painter's tape on the floor) and the other bowl 15 to 20 feet away. To begin the cotton ball relay game, player number one takes the spoon, selects a cotton ball, and walks it down to the bowl on the other end dropping it in. When the player drops the cotton ball into the bowl, they must race back to the start. When they touch the bowl, the next player takes their turn, and so on. If the cotton ball falls off the spoon, the player must return and start over. No hands allowed! The first team to empty their start bowl and fill their finish bowl wins. 

• Cotton Ball Spoon Race

Supplies:  Bag of cotton balls, bowls, wooden spoons

This is similar to the game above, but in this one there are no teams just individual players. 

Set your start line, halfway point, and finish line with painter's tape of chalk. Divide the players and put them on opposite ends of the halfway point. Give each player a cotton ball and a spoon. Ring a bell to start the race. Players must place the cotton ball onto their spoon, and race to the halfway point and return to the start without losing their cotton ball. They cannot touch the cotton ball after initially placing it on the spoon. If it falls they must return to the start line and begin again. The winner is the one who returns to the start line first.

• Snowman Building Contest 

Supplies: White trash bags, recycled items, plastic grocery bags, duct tape, etc.

Get white trash bags and have the teams/players stuff them with recycled plastic grocery bags or old paper (shredded office paper). Get a basket to fill with office or recycled items (you choose what you have on hand). Ask a trivia question about the holiday, your boss, your company, or team members. The team who answers correctly first gets to choose an item from your basket. These items will then be placed onto the trash bag snowman with duct tape. When all of your items are gone the team with the best snowman wins! 

Make a Snowman Potato Head Game

• Cotton Ball Straw Race

Supplies: Cotton balls, drinking straws, space 

Use a long dinner table or the floor for this fun, competitive, sensory game for kids or adults. Hint: Teens love it!

1. Set a Start and Finish line (10 to 15 feet apart.) 

2. Give each player a drinking straw and a cotton ball.

3. Let them know they must move their cotton ball from the Start to the Finish using only their Straw. (Keep hands clasped behind back)

4. Tip - Do not demonstrate how to play. They can use it like a hockey stick, folded as chopsticks, or as a straw blowing air toward the cotton ball.

5. The first one across the finish line Wins. You can make a dot on each cotton ball with a marker so you know who is what color. This will eliminate any confusion as to who won.

*This cotton ball game can also be played as a relay race. 

• Cotton Ball Target Drop - Easy and fun game for toddlers.

Supplies: Cotton balls, bowl or jar 

This is an easy games for the little ones. Toddlers and preschooler will enjoy this party game just as much as teens or adults!

1. Player stands on a step stool.

2. Give each player five cotton balls.

3. They are to hold the cotton ball to their nose and let it drop into the bowl below. 

4. Each player gets five tries. Give a party favor for each cotton ball that makes it into the bowl. If playing with adults or teens, the team with the most balls in the bowl wins.

• Cotton Ball Snowball Scoop Up Game

Supplies: 1 or 2 bags of cotton balls, bowl, spoon, blindfold 

This is a simple game. Players form a circle. Blindfold the first player and sit them in the middle of the circle to scoop up as many cotton balls as they can within thirty seconds. The middle of the circle is filled with snowballs (cotton balls). Hand the bowl and spoon to the player once they are seated. Jingle a bell to signify the start. The player with the most snowballs in the bowl wins. Enjoy! 

Recommended Reading:

Great Games! 175 Games and Activities *


Teen Birthday Party Sleepover Ideas for Girls

Seasonal Party Ideas and Activities *


Group Activities for Kids


Earth Day Activities for Adults

Look for more Christmas Party Games in our site. In the meantime, add some Christmas Stories to your kids' holiday party.

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

6 Easy PINTEREST Fourth of July Activities to Celebrate Independence Day

You can have your own Independence Day parade this July 4th with these Pinterest Fourth of July holiday projects

Make these easy, fun crafts and activities with your kids and march around the house for a sparkler free holiday.

1. Build a Felt American Flag for Fourth of July ~ Easy for Preschoolers (Tip: You can make it with construction paper too.)  This craft from Little Family Fun is easy and giftable too!

Felt Flag Craft for The Fourth of July.

2.  MeloMomma has a super cute Uncle Sam paper craft perfect for Preschool Kids.


Sorry, this website is no longer active. This is a good blogging lesson. Save the images and upload them with links. If you copy the url of an image and it gets removed, you have broken links. We'll make our own soon and replace this image.

3. Craft your own RED, WHITE, and BLUE windsock from plastic tablecloths and hoop. This easy Fourth of July craft is from Multiples and More.

Make a windsock from strips of plastic table cloths like this one from Multiples and More.

4.  Use recycled shopping bags (Target is cool)  to make an Independence Day Parade like this one from The Zui Blog.

Make a baton from plastic retail bags like this one from The Zui Blog.

5.  Make a Firework Hat go to Tippytoe Crafts for the How to.

How to make a Firework hat craft for Independence Day.

6.  We've got two easy crafts from toilet paper rolls (cardboard tube crafts). Both can be filled with candy and goodies for party favors.  Uncle Sam Hat craft and Rocket Popper craft.

How to make a rocket craft for kids.

How to make an Uncle Sam hat.

Recommended Reading:

Patriotic Crafts for the Fourth of July

Primary Art: It's the Process, Not the Product

Paper Crafts for the 4th of July (Paper Craft Fun for Holidays)

Activities for Toddlers: Sensory Messy Play with Foil, Shaving Cream, and Food Coloring

Toddlers Sight Word Sensory Activity

Whether your toddler loves to get messy or hates it, sensory play activities are essential to learning. When more than one sense is involved in learning, learning becomes easier. This Sight Word Sensory Activity with Shaving Cream and Foil is Messy, noisy, and fun for preschoolers. It also makes a great high chair activity for toddlers. Enjoy!

Shaving cream, aluminum foil, food coloring, and paper confetti for 
Sight Word sensory play.

The little explorers love the sensation of feeling a new substance. They learn hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and the ability to deal with being messy through sensory play. This activity is great for young children two to six years old.

So, what senses are used?

• Hearing: The aluminum foil is noisy. Cream makes a swoosh when it comes out of the can.  Shake the sprinkles to the beat of your favorite song.
• Sight: Add lots of colors for eye candy or combine different colors of food coloring, and watch as they change into a new color.
• Taste: Use canned cream and sprinkles (see below).
• Touch: Aluminum is smooth and crinkly.  Shaving cream is cold and wet.  Dots are difficult to pick up.  Squish a little shaving cream on your fingers to make picking them up easier and more fun. 
• Smell: Shaving cream comes in lots of scents like spearmint, peppermint, or perfumes. Add scented oils or extract for more scentsations :)

One of my favorite things to use for sensory play is shaving cream. It comes in varying scents, it always feels cold, it is light, fluffy, and super fun!  For our last messy play class, we gave each child a large piece of aluminum foil, wrote the first initial of their name, squirted a few drops of food coloring in a blob of cream, and recycled paper from hole punches. 

Fun activity for toddler shaving cream on aluminum foil.  Messy, sensory play is a great tool to use to aid in sensory processing disorders. Starting a sensory play regimen early gives children the best chance for improvement.

What do you think happened?  It was quite surprising. No one messed up their letter.  They played and mixed the blob with food coloring, they picked up the dots and moved them around, but not one preschooler smooshed their letter!  

I demonstrated by decorating my letter with the pieces of paper and mixing in the colored shaving cream.  After this, they were still reluctant to ruin their letters, but eventually one or two began to decorate their letters.  Finally, everyone joined in making faces with the paper and swirling the cold cream around.

This is a great way to teach your toddler the alphabet.  Gently, take their finger and trace the letters.  Focus on a new letter each day.  Add an alphabet coloring sheet.

Tip:  For an EDIBLE option, use refrigerated, canned whip cream, food coloring, and candy sprinkles or colored sugar. 


Recommended Reading:


Learning Sight Words with Scrabble Tiles

Letter B Printable Coloring Page 

100 Write-and-Learn Sight Word Practice Pages: Reproducible Activity Pages*

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ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

6 Cool Pinterest Father's Day Activities for Kids

Wondering What's Hot on Pinterest in Father's Day Activities for Kids? 

Check out these six fun, easy, and giftable craft projects to make your Father's Day the best one ever. These Father's Day activities are so neat- even the coolest Dads will love them. The best part is Kids can help make them. Enjoy!

Plan an Indy 500 Race Theme for a Kid's Birthday Party or Special School Activity

Indy 500 Theme Race Party with Cardboard Racecars

The Play Connection, Inc. (my alter ego) did lots of fun preschool activities that are great for a birthday party or for kids' outdoor pe games. Due to the proximity of Indianapolis, an Indy 500 racing theme is always popular in May. Plan Indy 500 kid activities for a fun field day at school, and make your own race cars from cardboard boxes. Enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.*

Indy 500 Activities for Kids.

Use recycled household items as props- 
including a plastic milk jug for a gas can.

Ideas on how to plan an Indy 500 Race Birthday Party: 

• Purchase inexpensive, large, black buckets to use in a pit stop race game. 
• Recycle a milk jug, paint it black with spray paint or acrylics, and use duct tape or paint to spell out G-A-S.
•  Turn a milk crate upside down to use as a Winner's Circle.
• Hang a race banner (we got ours at the Dollar Tree).
• Make 9 colored race flags for a realistic race experience.

Trick out your cardboard car with paper plate wheels or 
fancy, cardboard fan wheels.

Wondering 'what do the flags mean or stand for in the Indy 500 race'?  

• Green means go! Of course, you already knew that! Just like shouting "Green Light", the green flag is waved to signal the start of the race. It is also used to for restarts after a caution flag.
• Yellow flag signals caution for a hazard. It could be an accident, debris, rain, maybe a silly goose got loose on the track. The pace car hops on the track to lead the other cars in safety. When we play Red Light, Green Light, we use yellow to signal walk very slowly.
• Red flag STOP! Do not pass go, do not collect $100 dollars. A red light means freeze in your tracks. It is for accident or rain conditions.  Head straight to the pits or stay parked. No repairs, tire changes, or gassing up allowed. In other words, no fair cheating!
• Red flag with a yellow "X" means the pits are closed to all vehicles.
• Black flag means a penalty to a car on the track. Don't break the rules! It's also used for mechanical failures.
• Black flag with a white "X" black-flag penalty.  Your car isn't keeping score anymore.
• Blue flag or blue flag with yellow diagonal stripe Get out of the way, slow poke, a faster driver is about to pass. We use a blue light in our game to signal to turn around and walk backward toward the finish line.
• White flag the end is near! It's the FINAL lap.
• Checkered flag  Hooray! We have a winner. This flag means the race is over.

For our race car game of Red Light, Green Light, we purchased dowel rods and squares of fabric from Joann's Fabrics. To attach, rub glue on the dowel, wrap one end of fabric around the dowel, and staple as close to the stick as possible.

Lay out aluminum foil, tissue paper, paper plates, and colored duct tape.  
Let the kids' diy imagination run wild.

On your mark, get set, go! Mark off a track with chalk, tape, or use cornstarch paint in the grass. Get your flags ready to wave. Have parents or helpers use a stopwatch to track each child's time. No need to compete against others. Race around several times for your best lap. Now the fun begins!

On your mark, get set, let the games begin!

How to Play Pretend Pit Stop

Get parents and teachers involved with the fun. Before the game begins, designate a pit crew for each "driver". 

During a caution flag, have everyone pull into the pits. One member of the crew must run around the car 4 times checking pretending to check tires. 

Another crew member will take the pre-filled milk "Gas" jug (water) and pour it into the black bucket. 

Then, the crew members must use a funnel to re-fill the jug. Have the driver time the crew for even more giggles. When all the water is gone, the drivers can take off again.

Measure the water in the jugs to see which pit crew wins a prize. Just pour it back into the buckets, and see which one retained the most water (gas).

A game of Red Light, Green Light is fun around the track too.


Recommended Reading:

Things to do in Indiana: Indy 500 Race Activities for Kids

Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race* 

Hot Air Balloon Glow at the Indy 500

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ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Futuristic Activities for Kids: Fly to the Moon Lesson Plans and Companion Games

Activities for Outer Space Moon Lesson

Looking for new ideas for a children's Homeschool or VBS Futuristic Outer Space or Moon lesson for the kids? These futuristic activities for kids are fun and educational. We've included a few Outdoor games for P.E. activities too. Enjoy!

Futuristic Space Astronaut Backdrop for Photo Booth Op.  
Outer Space theme VBS fun for school fundraiser too.

This post contains affiliate links.

How to Make Snow Cones or Sno Cones or Ice Cones or Shaved Ice Slushy Slush Puppy

Make a Snow Cone with Shaved Ice

So how do you make an Ice Cone? I mean it's just ice and syrup, right? Isn't a slushy the same thing?  What is a Sno-cone; is it really made out of snow?  Well, we made one from real snow.  It's springtime in Indiana, so anything goes.  Here's a list of everything you never wanted to know about the tasty shaved ice treat.

Rainbow Slushy Popsicle Ice.

Wikipedia defines snow cones as a North American variation of shaved ice commonly served in paper cups. Shaved ice is finely crushed ice. Hawaiian's call it Shave Ice. Baltimorians call them Snowballs.

Slushies are all about freezing water. Snow is frozen water, right?

Authentic Snow Cones.

We cheated. We scooped up some Indiana snow and added the Hawaiian Punch syrup we found on clearance at Walmart. They put it on clearance when snow is in season, go figure. This was the easiest snow cone recipe ever. Start with clean snow. 

Mayhem leaves out collecting bowls whenever they are predicting snow. Was it good? Um... yes. It is softer than shaved ice, and oh so perfect for a snow cone. Just like the real thing, if you live in Baltimore.

Snow cone syrup: Get this, the first flavor of syrup for shaved ice was EGG CUSTARD. Apparently, during the American Industrial Revolution  New York ice houses started selling ice to Florida. When the truck passed through Baltimore, kids started asking for free samples. Each time the truck came through they got their wish. The mothers decided to flavor the ice. Since eggs, butter, and sugar were readily on hand, they made egg custard flavor shaved ice. Of course they did. Yep, Baltimorians invented this tasty treat. Later during the Great Depression, it was an inexpensive snack earning the Baltimore Snowball the name "Hard Times Sundae".

The Hawaiian's added a scoop of ice cream at the bottom of a cup and poured a little milk on top. Thank Hawaii for the rainbow colors too. Thank India for Salt and Pepper flavored shaved ice popsicles known as Kala Khatta. Hmm... I'll just stick to the colored, sugary syrup.

Sensory Play with Fake DIY Snow

When I was a kid, growing up in Indiana the Slush Puppie was the cat's meow. What a treat to get a $1.00 from Grandpa and head into the corner store for a Slush Puppie.

Slush Puppies.

Snow Cone Syrup Recipes (How to Make)

You need Sugar, lots of it, for a healthier alternative you could try Clear Corn Syrup or Light Maple Syrup. That's funny right there. For a healthy alternative how about ice and food coloring.

2 C. Sugar, 1 packet Kool-aid Drink Mix, 1 C. Water

Stir sugar and water together in a saucepan (or substitute one of the syrups above). Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in Kool-aid. Cool and store in a recycled glass bottle. Wait for a snow storm or use one of those nifty ice shaving contraptions or use the crushed ice from your fridge dispenser. Now pour the syrup over the ice. Tada! You should start your own snow cone biz 'cause you are officially a pro.

Recommended Reading:


Snowmen at Night*

Maple Doughnut Glaze

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks: Kitchen Kids Series: Holiday Recipes*