Custom Party Hats (and not just for kids and cats!)

My friend Noeleen,snarling on her birthday and wearing a photo of herself snarling at a previous birthday.PS: I’ll have you know, Noeleen authorized the public distribution of the photo above in exchange for my bringing coca cola cake to her boyfriend’s NYE party…!!BARGAIN!!

Oh, how I love me some party hats. I jump at any excuse to make them and wear them…

Birthdays = Party Hats
New Year’s Eve = Party Hats
Good haircut = Party Hats
Bad haircut= Party Hats
Visit to the dermatologist = Party Hats
Discovered the cat likes Barry Manilow music = Party Hats

There is never a bad occasion. Never. And I’m not just talking about kid’s parties either; adults enjoy part hats just as much, if not more! Well, maybe not all adults. Maybe just the cool ones.

The nice thing about party hats is they lend a sense of occasion to any location. When my friend Noeleen had her birthday party at a restaurant last summer, decorations weren’t really an option. Too much fuss. So, we brought the party to the table and wore the decorations on our heads. So what if the other tables looked at us funny? Fun was had by all!

My family wearing Abigail themed party hat’s at Abigail’s first birthday. Note every adult on the property that day was wearing one of these hats. The only ones *not* wearing them were Abigail and Old Rusty (Old Rusty the dog, not Old Rusty the Uncle)

Not long ago I was down South celebrating Abigail’s first birthday. Of course, there needed to be custom hats. And of course, everyone wore one except Abigail. Apparently, baby does not like anything touching her head, not even a custom party hat! Oh well, she had plenty of fun looking at all the adults looking like goofy Carmen Miranda types.

As long as we are on the subject of Abigail’s’ birthday, can we all just take a moment to admire my niece? I mean seriously. Just look at that pudding face!

There are lots of ways to make custom party hats, but I find the easiest, sturdiest, and least expensive bases are those latex foam visors you find at craft stores. I try to stock up when they are on sale, buying a bag of ten for $4.00 or so. You can also use disposable paper party tiaras from earlier parties, or anything that will sit securely on the head. I have even used paper cups in the past….just make due with what you have.

Embellishments are unlimited! The secret is to find one or two lightweight elements that take up a lot of space + one or two sparkly/unique elements that will stick out from the pack. The foam rubber is especially nice because you can piece it with pipe cleaners or silk flowers, but glue and duct tape will also get the job done.

Think about incorporating…

• Photographs
• Letters and Numbers (Hello 2011! Or what about celebrating Alex’s Birthday by putting one big A on one hat + L on another, etc etc.)
• Plastic bottles cut into flowers
• Coloring book pages
• Feather boas cut to bits
• Silk flowers
• Paper doilies
• Holiday tinsel garland
• Small toys
• Tulle netting
• Monopoly money
• Playing cards

Just about anything in your waste bin that doesn’t smell or stick to your show can be used to make nifty hats!

Y’all have fun!

PS: Just as I was about to post this, I saw this wonderful article from Tatertots & Jello featuring 20 fabulous party hats. Check it out!

Bubba, Kerry and Abigail celebrate the day in style! Abigail was fascinated by all the adults wearing hats on her birthday, but they only one she would put on her own head that day was the pink monster (a gift from Uncle John). Kerry took the party hats home afterwards –she thinks they will come in handy in the doctor’s office. Can’t you just imagine your childhood doctor administering shots in a kickbutt hat like this?!