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July 12th is National Paper Bag Day. Somehow I’ve missed this one before! Recently, I was thumbing through a magazine and paused at an article that listed lots of uses for paper bags, and then mentioned the existence of this ‘National Day’.
Among the common uses for paper bags are ripening fruit, serving popcorn, presenting a gift, and using them for arts and crafts.
I immediately thought of the fun Morgan and I could have with a package of paper bags and added it to my grocery list. Then I did some looking around for ideas and found some fun crafts to share with you all.
8 Activities Using a Paper Bag
Use Paper Bags to Set the Stage
I’ll probably decorate a paper bag, and fill it with things we may need, and/or things we can snack on while we work. If we will be together that will be simple enough. If we will be working virtually, I’ll be a little choosier about what goes in the bag (nothing that melts!) and I’ll send it off in the mail, ready for our facetime or zoom playdate.
Paper Bag Football
You’ll need a bag, hot glue gun, stuffing, and a white crayon to make this cute little football that won’t cause pain, or damage if the pass is dropped or batted down by another player! You can find the instructions here.
Fly a Kite
My granddaughter Morgan loves kites. She discovered them last Christmas on our beach vacation. At first, she was concerned, because she couldn’t see the string and was just sure someone’s pretty balloon was floating away. Then she discovered there was a string…..and off to the kite store we went. I think she will have fun with this paper bag version even if we just tie it off on a tree branch and watch it move in the breeze. See an example right here!
Paper Roses
This one would be great for tweens. Morgan would still love to paint the bag, but it would definitely be a team event. Thinking she would have fun using them after we finished them – decorating the table, delivering them etc…
Monster Puppets
Now, this I remember from my own childhood – making puppets out of paper bags. You can find lots of templates for mermaids and animals to cut, color, and paste when you google paper bag puppet. But making a ‘monster puppet’ or ‘silly creature puppet’ is a great creative outlet and a fabulous way to clean out that tote of random craft supplies at the same time! Get it all out – the crayons, scissors, glue sticks, googly eyes, scraps of ribbon, pipe cleaners – and have fun creating the most unique puppet ever!
What’s in the Bag?/Alphabet Guessing Game
This game could have a LOT of variations – so do what works for your grandkids. I plan to use Morgan’s name. I’ll write each of the letters of her name on a bag, and then add something inside that she might guess. She is just beginning to relate the names of letters to their sounds, so she’s going to need some help, but I think she will still love it!
M – money
O – orange
R – a ‘red’ crayon
G – glasses
A – apple
N – nail polish
Paper Bag Garland
This can be similar to the ‘monster puppet’ except you’ll cut bags into banner-shaped pieces, decorate them, and then hang them up. It will be the best decor ever! To make it easier, here’s a pennant banner template you can use!
This is a banner I made with supplies I had around the house!
Paper Bag Book
I am especially excited about this one, and will basically make it for my granddaughter ahead of time, and let her ‘finish’ the book. And it has pockets! Morgan LOVES pockets.
With all of these ideas, it seems we will have to pick our favorites for one day. We may have ourselves a Summer full of paper bag fun! We’d love to hear from you! What great ideas can you send our way?