by Valerie Gawthrop

Created on: November 27, 2009   Last Updated: November 28, 2009

When the clock strikes twelve, be ready to make some noise. You can buy noise makers at the party store, but why not try making your own?

This easy-to-do project will rattle in the New Year with style. Start by saving those water bottles you throw away or recycle. We all have tons of these filling our trashcans.

*First, remove any labels. Take a clean, dry bottle and fill about halfway with beans from your pantry. Any type will do, as long as they jingle jangle.

*Put a line of glue inside the bottle cap and twist it back in place.

*Now dig out those scraps of tissue paper you've saved from gift bags and packaging. If you don't have a variety of colors, the paper can be purchased at the dollar store. Tear or cut into irregular pieces.

*Brush the water bottle with decoupage or watered-down white craft glue. As you brush on the glue, adhere pieces of paper to the bottle, overlapping the tissue as you go. Add more glue over the paper until the bottle is covered and all pieces are sealed with glue. Work with lots of colors, shapes and sizes for a confetti effect. Let the finished project dry. This shouldn't take long.

*Wrap festive ribbon around the neck of the bottle, using whatever you have left over from Christmas wrapping projects. Tie the ribbon into a bow and curl the ends with scissors if you've used curling ribbon. Now, shake, shake shake!

Another project that is fun, easy and costs almost nothing is the toilet paper kazoo.

*Save the empty rolls from your toilet paper.

*Paint and cover with New Year's Eve stickers. You can find these at craft stores, dollar stores or online.

*Instead of painting, you can also cover the roll with paper. To make fun decorated paper, go online and find the words to Auld Lang Sang. Put the lyrics into your word processor using a fancy font such as Edwardian Script. You can also type in Happy New Year in different colors and fonts until the sheet is full. Print out and trim the sheet to fit the tube. Paste in place making sure to cover all the cardboard. One standard sheet of paper will cover several toilet paper rolls.

*Once you have the toilet paper roll decorated, punch a hole about two inches from the end of the tube. Cover the end of the tube with wax paper, securing tightly with a rubber band. Leave the punched hole exposed. Cover the rubber band with ribbon streamers. At midnight, hum into the tube and you'll buzz like a kazoo. Great fun!

Simple ideas are the best ideas. Buy a bag of children's whistles at the discount store. Decorate by gluing feathers and sparkly trinkets to ribbons and tying the ribbon to the mouthpiece of the whistle. Dried gourds make natural rattles. As the flesh of the gourd dries out, the seeds loosen and rattle when the gourd is shaken. Of course, this takes some advance planning, as most of these gourds are harvested in the late summer in time for fall decorating. Don't throw them away after Thanksgiving. Store in a cool, dry place and by New Year's Eve you'll have perfect maracas. Paint with shiny lacquer enamel, sprinkle with glitter while wet.

If you're planning a party, you can make the noisemakers ahead of time and have baskets of them throughout the party space or you can put out the supplies and have the guests customize their own party favors. Make a lot of noise and let the New Year begin!

Learn more about this author, Valerie Gawthrop.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.