(Donna Erickson)

When there's a birthday in your house, fly a pennant! This personal pennant celebrates the occasion and how unique the birthday child is. Make pennants together with your children now, and enjoy using them on their special day.

  • Sports pennant (for a pattern)

  • Craft foam sheet the size of the pennant and smaller sheets in different colors

  • Paper

  • Pen and marker

  • Glue

  • Paintbrush

  • Odds and ends for decorations, such as buttons, yarn, shells and ribbons

  • 1/2-inch dowel, 24 to 36 inches long

    WHAT YOU'LL DO:

    Lay the sports pennant down on a foam sheet. Trace the shape with a pen. Cut it out. Outline the letters of your child's name on a piece of paper. Draw around them with a pencil on foam sheets, using contrasting colors, if you wish.

    Pour household glue into a shallow plate. Using a brush, coat one side of the letters. Glue them on the pennant.

    Now, ask the birthday child, "What's really special to you? Let's picture it on your pennant."

    The answer might be horses or in-line skating, chess or basketball. If the interest is quite difficult to create, figure out the best symbol for whatever your child holds dear. For example, a saddle for a horse or a king piece for a chess set.

    Draw the outline for the shape you want to create on another piece of craft foam. Cut it out. Then, think fun details. If it's in-line skates, use buttons for the wheels. Draw lines on the basketball. Glue yarn

    Advertisement
    on the saddle for reins.

    Once everything is drawn in and glued on, let the pennant dry. Cut some horizontal slits along the straight vertical side of the flag 1 1/2 inches apart. Weave the dowel through the slits until the pennant is flying straight up and down and out.

    Finally, grab a few medium-length pieces of ribbon and secure them in a small knot onto the dowel so the ribbons cascade downward.

    And there you have it — a birthday pennant!

    Wave it around and display it on your front porch so neighbors know there is a birthday child in your house. Or fly it indoors propped between mounds of fruit in a large bowl or in a planter next to the dieffenbachia.

    Extra tip: You need not limit the pennant's use to birthdays. Wave it if your child has had a special day in school, won a big game or comes home with a good report card. You may even want to wave it when things aren't going well, just to show the family cares.

    Donna Erickson's award-winning television series, "Donna's Day," is airing on public television nationwide. Watch it in the Twin Cities at 7:30 a.m. Fridays on tptLife on channels 13 and 17. Sign up for Donna's e-newsletter at donnasday.com. Her latest book is "Donna Erickson's Fabulous Funstuff for Families."