Jingle sticks are inexpensive and fun to make!  All you need is an unsharpened pencil, small bells and pipe cleaners.  Now you can easily create an instrument (which can double as a pencil or eraser for kids).

Here’s how to make your jingle stick…

1.  String a large bell in the center of a pipe cleaner.

2. Next place the bell on the top of the pencil and fold the pipe cleaner down along the sides of the pencil.  

*Note:  For younger kids you may want to put the bell on the bottom of the pencil so they don’t get stuck with the pencil.  Then they can use the jingle stick as an eraser.  My daughter’s older and wanted to be able to use the pencil, so we put the bell at the top of the pencil over the eraser.

3.  Take a second pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top of the first pipe cleaner, right below the bell. 

You can work with your child to get this started, if needed, to help hold the bell in place. 

Three hands are better than one! 

4.  Once that pipe cleaner is wrapped around the pencil, add another pipe cleaner.  You can string on a bell or two to that pipe cleaner as you make your way down the pencil. 

5.  Keep adding pipe cleaners with some bells until you’ve fully covered the initial pipe cleaner.  Make sure you tuck in the ends of each pipe cleaner as you go along so the pointy ends aren’t sticking out.

Now you have your very own jingle stick to play and shake while singing songs like Jingle Bells!

Many thanks to Daria for sharing this fun idea!  Daria is a childrens performer.  You can listen to some of her songs here.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa