Birthday Hat
Make and decorate your own cone-shaped birthday party hat. Printable hat templates are included for easy crafting.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- Printable A4 or Letter size cardstock
- Glue or double-sided tape
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- Elastic string
- Crayons, markers, stickers, glitter glue, etc.
- Curly ribbons, crepe paper, large pompom, or feathers
STEPS
1Choose the template.
There are two templates to choose from:
- Birthday hat template - the resulting hat has a small opening at the tip for gluing fun hat toppers such as curly ribbons or a large pompom.
- Cone template - plain cone shape for making birthday hats without toppers.
If you'd rather do without a template, follow our instructions for making a basic cone hat.
2Print out the template.
Print out your chosen template on A4 or Letter size cardstock. You can use plain cardstock or go for a patterned one like I did.
3Cut out.
Cut out the template.
4Decorate the template.
Draw or paint patterns, characters, and other designs on the template. You can also put stickers, stamp fun images, stick some colorful washi tape, and decorate as you please.
If you printed out the template on patterned cardstock, you won't need to decorate it or just add a few accents like some glitter glue.
5Add a topper.
Add fun toppers like curly ribbons, crepe paper strips, feathers, or feather boas. Tape or glue them at the back of the template and as close to the tip as possible.
6Roll the template into a cone.
If you're using heavy cardstock, it helps to roll the template into a cone before gluing the edges together.
7Glue the edges together.
Unroll the template. Apply glue or place double-sided tape on the entire tab area marked with the words "Glue here". Bring the hat's opposite side towards the tab, aligning the edge with the tab's dashed line.
8Add a chin strap.
Punch a pair of opposite holes near the base of the hat. Tie the ends of an elastic string around the holes to create a chin strap. Adjust the length of the chin strap for a comfortable fit.
9Wear the hat!
Now you're all set for a fun party! Check out more crafting ideas below.
More Ideas
Easy option for young kids.
Finger painting dots, swirls and other patterns is a fun and easy way for little kids to decorate the hats. Cutting crepe paper into strips and gluing them on as a hat topper is also a great option for young crafters.
Adding pompoms and heavy materials.
A pompom makes a really cute hat topper. Heavier materials like pompoms, buttons or beads need to be attached using a strong glue such as tacky glue or hot glue. They're also better glued on after Step 7, when the hat has already been assembled into a cone shape.
Accent the hat's base.
Accent the base for whimsical party hats. You can use the same material for decorating the base and the hat topper like the fuzzy craft boa on this princess-themed party hat. Examples of other materials you can use include colorful buttons, pompoms, lace, rickrack and tinsel.
Create fun character hats.
Character hats are awesome for themed birthday parties. Use materials such as wiggle eyes, craft foam, felt, paper, or buttons to make the character's facial features.
Hat toppers also make the hat more interesting. I used a bent pipe cleaner on this bird, though other materials like feathers, craft boa, or paper shreds are also great options.
