A special way to welcome the sun on the sunniest day of the year

Hi friends! It’s the beginning of summer and the new Hebrew month of Tammuz. That means that the summer solstice (or Tekufat Tammuz) is almost here! On the summer solstice, we celebrate the sun, the arrival of a new season and most importantly, the longest day of sunlight in the northern hemisphere! In Hebrew, the word for sun is Shemesh, and for me, the image of the sun has always represented the promise of hope and happiness.

To welcome the sunniest day of the year, we made summer solstice pom-pom wands. The circle shape of the pom-pom reminds me of the sun, and the warm yarn colors represent happy sunny days. You can tell your little one that if they wave their wand high in the sky, the sun will shine ‘down sun-kisses’ to on earth. ♥

This is a wonderful project for a grown-up to do with littles, or for older children without much supervision. And if you don’t have time to make your own pom-pom, you could always purchase them too (so easy)! So let’s go make some summer solstice pom-pom wands (and get ready for some sun-kisses)!

DIY Summer Solstice Pom-Pom Wands

For each pom-pom wand, you’ll need:

Yarn in sunny colors
Stick (about 12-16” long and at least .25” in diameter)
Fluffy round pom-pom (see how we made ours below!)
About a 4” square of corrugated cardboard
Scissors
Hot glue (grown-ups only please)

Optional add-ons to make your wand extra wonderful:

White glue
Sparkly iridescent confetti or glitter

Here’s how to make a pom-pom wand:

1. Start with a pom-pom. One of the easiest ways to make one is with a piece of corrugated cardboard. My cardboard was 4” square. I cut an opening in the center which will come in handy later when tying a piece of yarn around the middle of the pom-pom.

2. Wrap the yarn around the cardboard many many times. Keep in mind, the more wraps, the fluffier the pom-pom!

3. Keep wrapping, and if you’d like, add another color! When you’re happy with the number of wraps (we did about 200), take a long piece of yarn and place it through the center opening of your cardboard square, pull the ends through each other and secure with a tight knot.

3. Carefully slip the yarn off the cardboard and cut the end loops on each side of the secured knot.

4. Shake out your pom-pom. Give it a trim going all the way around until you think it’s shaped like the sun!

5. Glue the stick to the pom pom. Seperate the yarn strands in the middle of the pom-pom. Place a good size glob of hot glue onto the top of the stick, and carefully push the top of the stick into the middle strands of the pom-pom. Add a little extra glue around the yarn on base of the stick if the pom-pom doesn’t feel secure.

6. Now it’s time to make your wand extra magical! Cut some extra-long strands of yarn and tie them around the stick just under the pom-pom. They’ll look pretty fluttering in the wind too.

And that’s it! A wonderful sunny pom-pom to welcome the summer solstice!

If you’d like, you can get really creative with the wands too. We love all things tiny, so we made some tiny pom-poms like the one below.

This cutie was made by wrapping the yarn around a fork (about 50 times).

You can also dab some white glue and sprinkle confetti on your wand and pom-pom. It will make it extra sparkly when waved at the sun.

Growing up, my mom would tell me, “tomorrow will be a sunny day.” It seems like a simple message now, but I there were many days when I was young that I needed some extra comfort. My sister was sick, and at bedtime, when I looked over at her empty bed, I felt better thinking ‘tomorrow will be a sunny day.’

I hope this summer solstice will be a sunny and happy day for you, with lots of sun-kisses all throughout the summer season! Let me know if you make a sunny pom-pom wand, and if you do, please wave hi to the sun for me and if you love pom-poms crafts as much as me, we have an adorable DIY apple and honeybee pom-pom necklace and DIY apple and honeybee pom-pom cupcake toppers! And for more summer ideas, visit our Summer Round-up! We’ll be adding sunny crafts, recipes and outings all summer long!

Happy summer!

~Jennifer