Jewelry Lovers

Birthday parties, sleepovers, or even any random winter afternoon is a great time to organize a jewelry-making party for kids. Both girls and boys of all ages enjoy making jewelry. Of course, the kind of projects you choose will vary with their ages.

The biggest challenge with kids is to keep it simple. Here are my suggestions:

Keep the group size manageable. The size varies with age. A good general rule is limit the number of kids to the age of the host child. So if you’re planning a jewelry-making party for 5-year-olds, keep the number of kids to five. This size will give you enough time to help the kids with their creations.

If you do have a mixed age-group group, it gets a bit more complicated. Start with a small group and see how it goes. Enlist assistance from other parents or older siblings, if necessary.

Choose your project in advance. Choose a project that’s fairly simple, one for which you can give clear, short instructions. And make sure you take time to give the instructions several times to the group, and possibly several times to each individual child. Beaded bracelets can be created quickly, especially with memory wire. You can loop one end, let them string away; they can bring it to you for the final loop. Necklaces with just a few beads are also good choices. Friendship bracelets made from tying knots can also be good choices if you have quite a bit of time. For an inexperienced knotter, a simple bracelet can take several hours, however. Consider doing this kind of project, during a campout, sleepover, or over several troop meetings.

Generally speaking, earrings don’t make a good choice for kids parties. Many kids don’t have pierced ears, so some kids will feel left out of the fun. Of course, if you throw a party to celebrate a group of friends getting their ears pierced, that’s a different story. Then, by all means, ladies start your earwires!

Organize the tools and supplies you need in advance. In fact, if possible, bring only the supplies you’ll be using to the party. Kids tend to get excited about jewelry making (and crafting in general). If you start digging into bead organizers, toolboxes, and bags, they’ll start digging in as well. I keep a separate bead organizer for kids‘ supplies. That doesn’t mean they get only plastic or really cheap stuff. I leave several open spots in the organizer, so I can add semi-precious stones that are appropriate to the project. I swap out beads out ahead of time, if necessary, so that anything they use (and only things they can use) on the project are available.

Make a few sample projects. Make at least one complete project (more for younger kids) so the kids can see, hold, and feel it. It’s a lot easier for them to create their own by looking at yours than by just listening to directions. Plus, if they can see the payoff (the really cool finished project), they’ll be even more excited to focus and finish their project.

Create a self-contained way for kids to take their finished projects home. Depending on the feel you’re trying to create, just about anything will work. You can use something as simple as resealable plastic bags or velvet pouches, leather drawstring bags, small Chinese takeout containers, or small jewelry boxes.

If you’re making jewelry at a party with younger kids, make sure their containers seal completely. Kids tend not to be very gentle with their creations because they’re just so darn enthusiastic. You’d hate for them to lose their project before they even got it home.

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