Christmas lollipops

Cheap and easy Christmas DIY

This summer, whilst browsing through Pinterest, I found a couple articles on how to make these super cute lollipops for your yard made out of pool noodles. It seemed cheap and easy enough so I figured I’d give it a shot!

One of these articles mentioned using hot glue and another mentioned using caulk to keep the pool noodle in its lollipop form. I opted to use hot glue because I already had it on hand. 🤷🏽‍♀️ So, without further ado, here’s how to make these cute lollipops!

Supplies

Pool noodles – any color – you’ll need 2 noodles per lollipop, I bought 6 from Walmart @ 50¢ each (this was after summer but they do have some at dollar tree as well!)

1/2” dowel rod – I used 3 for this project – Walmart @ 97¢ each.

Duct tape – 1 roll of any color you want! I went with white to keep it simple. $3.24 per roll @ Walmart.

Cellophane wrap – 1 roll $3.50 @ target.

Ribbon – any color/pattern your heart desires! I had some left over from last year but you can usually get ribbon 50% off at hobby lobby.

Glue sticks & glue gun – if you’re a crafter, you already have these on hand! I did use quite a few glue sticks so make sure you have plenty!

Let’s get started!

First thing you want to do is glue the ends of the same color pool noodles together. I totally messed up on the first one I made because I decided to skip this step and just start putting duct tape on first. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Don’t do that. It just makes more work for you. I tried glueing the red one after putting the tape on and it held together until I started rolling. You need them stuck together with glue and a bit of tape so it’ll actually hold and not look weird in the middle.

Next, you’ll want to add your duct tape. I found the easiest way to do this is, start at one end of the noodle, pull the duct tape back off the roll a bit and roll your noodle away from you.

Now for the fun part! 🤣 Glue and roll! Start at one end, squeeze out some hot glue onto your noodle about 4” from where you’re starting, and roll while applying a bit of pressure. You’ll want to keep constant pressure while applying glue and rolling, otherwise it’ll come undone. I understand why some people choose to use caulk on this because it holds much better than hot glue!

I have no idea why I was making that face towards the end 🤥

*The end of the lollipop may unfurl a bit so make sure you’re glueing and sticking directly to the noodle and not the tape. I say this just for the end as obviously you’ll need to glue over the tape throughout this process.

Next, use scissors or a knife to poke a hole in the noodle so you can insert your dowel rod. You could also use pvc pipe instead of a dowel rod.

Bug helping mommy and showing off the end that unfurled a bit.

Then, lay out your cellophane wrap. On my first one, I didn’t add enough cellophane so make sure it comes down about 8” or so below the noodle or just make this part as long or short as you want! You can use a rubber band or small piece of ribbon to hold the cellophane in place before you put the decorative ribbon on.

Wrapping can be a bit tricky so I used clear tape, you can see it where the red string is, to hold the cellophane down in the back.

Add the ribbon! Make it as big or small as you like!

Stick these beauties in your yard to enjoy for the holidays and have a glass of wine! You deserve it after all that work!