Need something quick and easy to entertain a group of kids at a party? This DIY paper cup party popper takes minutes to make but provides kids hours of fun.
Since it’s such a simple project, the paper cup pom pom shooters are also great for rainy days when your kids are bored out of their minds. They can prepare and assemble these party poppers themselves, you may just need to help them fit the balloon over the paper cup. Kids can shoot soft pom poms at targets or try and get the pom poms into baskets.
And you can shoot any small object in the paper cup balloon shooter! Try soft objects like marshmallows or cotton balls. You can even use this to shoot confetti at a New Year’s Eve party or 4th of July celebration!
For elementary school kids, you can turn these party poppers into an educational STEM experiment. Shoot different objects and measure which one goes the farthest. You can find free worksheets to go along with the experiment here.
How to Make Paper Cup Party Poppers
Materials:
- Paper cups (plastic ones work too)
- Balloons
- Duct tape
- Scissors
- Pom poms
Instructions:
1. Cut off the bottom of the cup with scissors. I found it easier with a knife, but just use caution and make sure your kids don’t get their hands on the knife.
It would be great if you have used coffee cups you can rinse off and upcycle for this craft.
2. Tie a knot at the end of your balloon. Cut off the top of the balloon (not the end you blow into). (Xanax) Don’t worry if the edge is not completely straight, we will be covering it with duct tape.
3. Stretch the balloon over the rim of the cup. You can stretch it over the top of the paper cup or the bottom. We found that the bottom is much easier since the opening is smaller.
4. Secure the balloon to the cup with duct tape. You can try using colorful washi tapes to decorate the shooter but duct tape is stronger. I recently found out that duct tape comes in bright colors now!
5. Put a pom pom (or multiple pom poms) in the shooter. Aim the opening of the party popper upward and pull back the balloon knot. Let it go and watch the pom pom fly!
Kids love toys that shoot, but there is always the question of safety. That’s why this pom pom shooter is so great. Pom poms are soft so your little ones won’t get hurt if there is an accidental friendly fire.
We placed a basket next to the wall and have the kids try to shoot pom poms into the basket. These homemade party poppers can really make the pom poms fly!
My daughter preferred shooting the pom poms straight up in the air and see where it landed.
Final Thoughts on the DIY Pom Pom Shooter
This pom pom shooter craft is great for the little kids to use their hand muscles and practice hand-eye coordination. And it promotes gross motor development as your kid will for sure run around the room, shooting at random objects and running after the pom poms!
And if you have a birthday party coming up but don’t have any ideas for party favors, make these pom pom shooters, and you are set! I guarantee you the kids will prefer these over the usual little toys you get in the goodie bags. You can even make these party poppers as a group activity to keep the kids busy while the adults mingle and chat.
To make the DIY party poppers even more exciting, you can shoot mini marshmallows and see if someone can catch the marshmallow with his mouth! Divide up the kids into teams of two, and the team that can eat the most marshmallows win!
Have lots of fun launching the pom poms!
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