Aloha Hawaiian Lei

Make your own version of the colorful lei Hawaiians give visitors as a way of saying "aloha" or "welcome." Theirs are made of beautiful flowers, but these Aloha Hawaiian Leis will last longer. In this wearable craft activity, try making your own lei.

hawaiian lei
Use pasta to make
a Hawaiian lei.

Aloha Hawaiian Lei

What You'll Need:

  • Uncooked ziti pasta
  • Tempera paints
  • Paintbrush
  • Waxed paper
  • Colored crepe paper
  • Scissors
  • String
  • Large sewing needle

Color 16 pieces of uncooked ziti using tempera paints. Let them dry on waxed paper.

Cut out bunches of flower shapes from colored crepe paper. Loosely tie a knot in one end of a 3-foot piece of string.

Thread the other end through the eye of a large sewing needle. Sew through the centers of a dozen or so flowers.

String on a piece of painted ziti. Continue sewing on flowers and pasta, stopping 3 inches from the end of the string.

Undo the beginning knot, and tie the string ends together with a knot (be sure the lei is long enough to fit over your head). Aloha!

Lei Day
In Hawaii, Don Blanding, a poet and artist, noticed that most leis were being worn by tourists rather than the islanders who made them. So, on May 1, 1928, the first Lei Day was instituted. The following year Lei Day became an official holiday, and every year islanders adorn themselves with leis!

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