Platinum Jubilee Activities & Crafts
We are excited about the Queen Elizabeth II upcoming Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. And as with all celebrations, we of course have to gather our favourite Platinume Jubilee Activities and crafts. We have a fantastic set of ideas to help you celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – be it at home, at a street party or as resources in the classroom!
Queen Elizabeth is first British monarch to celebrate 70 years on the grown! So the platinum Jubilee really is very special! Across the UK many communities will be holding picnics, parties adn street parties or a street meet to celebrate. We last had a street party for the Meghan and Harry and the couple’s wedding.. and we are so ready for renewed celebrations!
When is the Platinum Jubilee?
Queen Elizabeth II accended the throne on the 6th February 1952. So the 6th February marks her 70 year rain. It is being celebrated with an extended Bank Holiday Weekend in June – starting on Thursday 2nd June and ending on Sunday 5th June 2022. The platinum Jubilee is designed to celebrate the 70 years of service!
Organising a street party for the Jubilee is easy
Street parties are easy to organise, you simply have to get an application form from your local council website, make some necessary road closures (we simply asked our neighbours to move their cars and put big black bins or if you have them traffic cones as “blockades” at the end of the street). We did have to ask for a small fee from neighbours too, to pay for some insurance, but it really wasn’t very much! All residents are invited to join in! June 3rd and June 4th are popular street party dates as they fall in the middle of the bank holiday weekend – making it a better time to celebrate, as you have plenty of time to set up, but also tidy up!
Please also recycle AS MUCH as you can. I have made some FREE posters you can print to make some recycling stations.. in the UK, most councils will collect:
- Food Waste
- Hard plastic – e.g. fruit punnets
- Bottles & cans
- Paper & cardboard (though a lot of this may be “food dirty” and you may need to put it in the regular bin
- Large Sainsbury’s and Co-ops have soft plastic recycling stations for things like plastic bags (thing burger buns) and crisp packets
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activities & Crafts
How to make a crown for the Platinum Jubilee
Let’s begin by making our majesty’s crowns! There are LOTS of wonderful ways you can make a DIY Crown Craft, and we have picked out a few for you! Crowns are of course ideal for “wearing” …. but you can also make them as a Jubilee decor to decorate the centre of your Jubilee picnic tables! They also make great photo props and can also be set up as simple craft tables to keep the kids busy and entertained.
Our favourite (but possibly most involed) paper crowns are these printable paper crowns based on Queen Elizabeth’s REAL crown! They are AWESOME! And free for you to download. Brilliant. These will keep the kids busy quite a while.. however they may need a little help cutting and assembling!
This is a fabulous recycled cereal box crown. The best bit? You can prep the basics ahead of time and then let the kids go wild with the decor on the day! So this one would be PERFECT for setting up a craft table and letting the kids get on with it. So fun.
We have been making these Toilet Paper Crowns for YEARS. They are so so so cute and easy to make. If you are setting up a craft table, you don’t even have to paint the crowns golden, but let the kids decorate with pens and sticker gems. Nice and easy!
Make your own Bunting – for the classroom, at home or for a Street Party
We have a set of Simple DIY Bunting ideas for you already.. but to recap:
Time for simple DIY Bunting (including some free printable bunting below!). We love having parties and street parties at our house, and bunting is always a key part of it. Whether you are decorating your home, or outside your home.. here are some great ideas to get you started!
We created a simple Paper Union Jack Bunting Printable for you to down load and print! There are two versions – the full colour version (much quicker to “assemble”, but uses more printer ink!) or the colour your own Union Jack version (takes a little longer, but is a great way to involve all the kids! I recommend using paints or thick crayons, to cover as much surface area as possible). The bunting is “flag shape” – rather than a triangular bunting, as I felt it is nice to stay “true” to the Union Jack. The printable, prints 2 per A4 Page – so it is a nice medium size flag bunting and lets you make a longer piece of royal bunting with less paper and less printer ink!
If you are after some fabric bunting.. a few years ago we made this no sew bunting using recycled materials. Please note that it isn’t waterproof though!
Similarly, you can get creative with some Potato Print Bunting! Make make it patriotic?!
Or if you don’t have fabric to print on, make some newspaper bunting? You can cut out shapes or use your potato print process from the above craft!
Fabulous Union Jack Craft Activities to celebrate the Jubilee
Time for a little more DIY Union Jack fun to get really British this Jubilee. You saw our British Flag Bunting printable above.. now we have for you:
A Union Jack Fortune Teller! One comes complete with British Quiz.. the other with blanks. Why not add some platinum Jubilee quiz questions to yours? E.g. (easy!) When did Queen Elizabeth ascend the throne? How old is Queen Elizabth II? What national dish (see below) was invited for Queen Elizabeth? What are the names of the Queen’s children? etc
Make some Patriotic Ribbon Wands with Sun Hats and Wellieboots
We have always LOVED yarn wrapped hearts.. they are so fun and easy to make. And these Union Jack Heart Bunting from Fave Crafts is just the ticket for the platinum Jubilee!
Now, I do love the heart bunting, but it is a little labour intensive. If you want something super cute and super easy, that involves your toddler or preschooler.. try this Union Jack Handprint Bunting by Entertainig Monsters! Just the cutest!
Build a Castle and Pretend Play
You can also celebrate the Jubilee with some pretend play! Time for some lovely DIY Carriages to make and play with.
This Giant Princess Carriage is just too cool! What fun.
Sun Hats and Wellie Boots has a Royal Carriage that is made from a simple cardboard box..
…or have a go at our “real” royal carriage photo prop! As mentioned, we last had a street party for Megan and Harry and the couple’s wedding! At the time, I made this large traditional carriage out of cardboard. It was used as Jubilee party decor but also as part of a Royal Photo Prop!
Ok ok… so these are all quite “labour” intenstive… if you need a simple carriage craft.. how about this adorable paper plate stage coach? Isn’t it adorable? Preschoolers will LOVE making this one. So easy! Full details on Treading on Lego.
DIY London Guards and Beefeaters
Everyone who has been to “visit the queen” at Buckingham Palace has seen the London Guards in action. Why not make a soldier or two yourself?
I have a feeling that this is one of my OLDEST posts here on Red Ted Art – well.. oldest craft posts.. it goes back a looooong time. These clothespeg soldiers are super simple to make. Pain the peg 2/3s red. Add some gold dots and cut out a black paper hat! Then a chin strap and done!
Similarly I have a cheeky little clothespeg soldier in my “Red Ted Art, Cute Arts & Crafts for Kids” book…. you can see him in this image from our clothespeg mermaid. Paint the body in soldier features… then the hat was made from two pieces of feld glued together. The “wet” glue, helped shape and mold the hat a little to fit the soldier’s round head.
The gingerbread house has a super cute and simple version too! We love “recycling” our lolli sticks in the summer, so these popsicle stick soldiers are thrifty to make too!
Soma Juttu has fabulous Toilet Paper Roll soldiers! Aren’t they cool?
Other fun activities for the platinum Jubilee celebrations
Print your own Royal Paper Masks from Oh My Fiesta! Choose from different members of the royal family! Yes, these are almost a bit creepy, but they are super funny too!
Platinum Jubilee Party Food Must Haves!
There are few recipes and bakes you simply HAVE To have a go if you are having a big Jubilee lunch or a bank holiday Weekend Jubilee Street Party:
- The classic Victoria Sponge – this is the basic of all cakes, known under different names and guises all across the world.. but essentially, it is a super simple cake for kids to learn to bake. Add some cream and some strawberries and blueberries and you have the a cake suitable for any monarch at the Jubilee weekend. Afterall, it is named after royalty too!
- Coronation Chicken – it is a well known fact that Coronation chicken was invented for her Majesty many moons ago.. and is a must for any street party!
Then of course add all your party classics such as:
- Cocktail sausages
- Sausage rolls
- Scotch Eggs (a nod to the royal scottish connections)
- Coleslaw
- Quinessential Scones – scones are really easy to make too – and another great basic bake for kids to learn how to make! The only question – is it cream then jam.. or jam and then cream… mmmh.
- Check out this great article on Good To Know for more fantastic “classics” and Street Party recipe ideas!
Oh.. and if you are super keen.. why not have a go at a collaborative Street Party Cake?! We are doing one again this year! Needless to say, this was a “wedding cake” for Harry and Meghan, complete with a copy of the Happy Couple as corks on top of the cake! The Union Jack biscuits were made by a talented neighbour.. they would make a great little party favor too!