Ice Cream Cone Party Hats

Today I'm sharing another easy, peasy ice cream party DIY from Lola's birthday party back in October. Ice Cream Cone Party Hats! 

This one really has to be one of the easiest party DIYs ever. Just stick an ice cream cone on your head and you're done. Well, not quite, but it's almost that simple.

These hats were a huge hit with all of the kids at Lola's birthday party. They loved the novelty of wearing food, but not in that messy "I dropped my lunch all down my front" way that kids usually wear food! 

Here's how I made them...

What you'll need:

Sugar cones

Pom pom trim

Thin elastic

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Start by working out how much of the pom pom tape you'd like to wrap around the bottom. I went with four pom poms around the bottom of each hat as that fit perfectly. Cut the tape a little longer than what you'll need so you have a little overlap.

It's a good idea to cut your elastic now too. How long you cut it will depend on who will be wearing the hats. As most of Lola's party guests were around the same age as her I used her head to work out the length. Position a cone on top of your child's head and run a piece of elastic from one side of the cone, under the chin and back up to the other side of the cone. Add a centimetre or two to the length for gluing or tying onto the pom pom tape. It's best to keep the elastic a little loose rather than tight. Loose elastic can always be tightened with a knot on the day but tight elastic will result in the kids not wearing in the hats. It doesn't matter how cute a party hat is - if the elastic digs in, kids won't wear it.

With the strips of pom pom tape and elastic cut it's time to get to work with the hot glue gun. Run a line of glue around the inside edge of a sugar cone. 

Gently press the pom pom tape onto the glue all the way around. You'll need to work fairly quickly as the glue is fast drying but be careful not to burn your fingers. That glue is hot! Once the pom pom tape is attached add a dob of glue on either side and press each end of the elastic into it. I missed this step and added the elastic later (hence it not appearing in the photos) but you may as well do it now while you're working with the glue gun to save a little time. You could also tie the elastic onto the pom pom tape before you glue it to the cone if you prefer but that just creates more work and this DIY is all about simplicity!

Set the cone aside to dry and move onto the next one. I have an ice cream cone stand which made the perfect drying rack but you could always stand the cones in glasses to dry.

Once the glue is dry (which will only take a minute or two) you can start adding pom poms to the top. Cut individual pom poms from your pom pom tape. They won't need any of the string attached for this part.

Turn the cones over with the pointy side up. Add a dob of glue from the glue gun to the point and carefully press a pom pom on top. Continue with with all of the hats then set aside to dry for a minute or two.

And that's it! Ice cream party hats done!

All that's left to do now is assemble a group of cute kids, place ice cream cone party hats on their heads and eat some ice cream - or an ice cream shaped birthday cake!

There are endless variations you could make with this simple DIY. I think the hats would look particularly festive with a little sparkly tinsel around the bottom instead of the pom poms. Or you could skip the trim around the bottom altogether and just go for one big pom pom on top. Maybe even some ribbon streamers.

What ever you choose to decorate your ice cream cone party hats with, they're sure to be fun and a huge hit with the kids. Just don't let them try to eat them!