Rainbow Tissue Paper Pom poms

We have made tissue paper pom pom decorations for parties before and they are always a hit. This year the girls had a rainbow themed party so of course the pom poms needed to be rainbows too. We decided to make mini pom poms and hang them clustered over the main table at the party and they looked great. Here is how you can make your own rainbow tissue paper pom poms.

1. Cut a standard size piece of tissue paper in half (or leave at full size if you want bigger pompoms).

2. Select your colours and stack tissue paper into a neat pile with all edges lined up. I had 2 sheets of each colour – purple, blue, green, yellow, blue and pink. You can make your pom pom all one colour or alternate coloured sheets or really create whatever pattern you like.

3. Concertina fold your pile of tissue paper along the short edge. Make each fold about 1 inch wide. If your last fold is too short just trim it off so that all of the folds are even. Once finished fold in half length ways.

4. Cut the ends to shape. I like the rounded ends, but you can leave them straight or cut a point or a frill. It is up to you. I kept my little bits of tissue paper I cut off and made some confetti to sprinkle on the tables and in the party bags and inside present wrapping. It’s messy but so much fun for the kids.

5. Tie something around the centre fold. This helps hold it all together and gives you something to hang it from. This time I used small elastic hair bands. Previously I have used thin wire. You can even just tie your string or ribbon straight on. Either way you may also like to tie your ribbon or string on that you will be hanging it by now as it can be tricky to do once your paper is fluffed out.

6. Gently tease each sheet of tissue paper apart on each side of your fold. Fluff them to get a nice even ball shape. If you want to sit them on tables or hang them flat on the wall you could also just open the sheets onto one side to make a semi circle that will sit flat.

These would make a nice take home gift for each guest that is a bit different from your standard balloon or keep them hanging up in the kids playroom or bedroom to extend the festive feelings a little longer. You could always store them away for the next party or hand them on to someone else for their party. Or let the kids play with them until they are ready for the bin.

They take a little extra effort to make but they are a cheap decoration, look great and last longer than most decorations.

Read about more rainbow themed things from our party:

• Rainbow layer cake
• Rainbow Jelly Cups
• Rainbow Popcorn cone stand
• DIY Paper Pinwheels with rainbow chevron print