The Chaos and the Clutter

sensory bottles

New Year’s Eve Noisemakers

By

These New Year’s Eve Noisemakers are great for involving kids in the New Year’s celebration. They also provide sensory input and are a good way to use empty water bottles. gold and silver bottles with stars and curly streamers and text reading "New Year's Eve DIY Noisemakers"This New Year’s Eve, let the whole family get in on the festivities with activities such as this easy to make New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle and these fun Minute to Win It games for all ages.

New Year’s Eve Noisemakers:

Supplies needed:

  • water bottles, empty and dry
  • glitter paint in gold and silver
  • gold and silver glitter
  • festive duct tape or washi tape
  • jingle bells (about 2 for each noisemaker)
  • pony beads (for additional noise if desired)
  • foam star stickers
  • curling ribbon (we used black, silver, and gold)
  • scissors

Directions:

  1. Take the lids off from the water bottles and make sure bottles are completely dry on the inside.
  2. Squirt about 2 Tablespoons of paint into each bottle (the exact amount depends on the size of the bottle) and replace the lid. Shake the bottle while turning to coat the inside of the bottle with paint.
  3. Remove the lids and liberally pour glitter into the bottles. Seal tightly and shake the bottles until all of the glitter has stuck to the paint.
  4. Take the lids off again and place the bottles on their side until completely dry inside.
  5. Once the paint is dry, add a few bells bells and some beads to each bottle to make as much noise as desired.
  6. Close each bottle.
  7. To avoid having the lid removed and the excess glitter, beads, and bells being poured out, use decorative tape to cover the lid completely.
  8. Decorate the bottle with foam star stickers.
  9. Cut curling ribbon so that it’s about 8 inches long. Tie the curling ribbon around the neck of the bottle, making a knot to keep it attached. Use scissors to curl the ends of the ribbon.

Sensory Opportunities:

Essentially, these are just fancy sensory sound bottles. Homemade New Year’s Eve Noisemakers engage the visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems.

Meeting your child’s sensory needs can help them better regulate their emotions and behaviour. And as a parent or educator, I’m sure you know that sometimes that comes in extra handy around the holidays!

Check out these other New Year’s activities for kids:

New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle

Minute to Win It Games

New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle

By

Help kids ring in the New Year with an easy to make sensory activity. Since that evening tends to hold a lot of excitement, this New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle can also double as a calm down bottle. This can potentially come in very handy for both parents and child!clear bottle with liquid, glitter, confetti, and mini clocks with text that reads "New Year's Eve Sensory Bottle"

A few years ago, we made a New Year’s Sensory Bottle, but I decided that it may be time for a bit of an update, so I created this New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle with more of a countdown theme. If you’re looking for another great kids’ sensory activity for this night, check out our New Year’s Eve Noisemakers.

New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

  • 1 plastic sensory bottle or empty water bottle (I use either a sensory bottle from Michael’s or a Voss water bottle)
  • 6 oz. bottle Elmer’s Clear School Glue
  • warm water
  • silver glitter
  • gold glitter
  • silver star confetti
  • clock buttons (I love the antique look of these ones)
  • optional: hot glue and glue gun

Directions:

  1. Empty one bottle of glue into bottle.
  2. Fill the empty glue bottle about half full with warm water and seal with the lid. Shake well to combine the rest of the glue with the water. Pour into the jar with the glue, replace that lid, and shake to combine.
  3. Add the glitter, star confetti and clock buttons.
  4. Seal the jar and shake well.
  5. When the contents of the bottle move like you want them to, seal the bottle.
  6. If using with younger kids, hot glue the lid in place.*

*As with all sensory activities, adult supervision is advised at all times.

Troubleshooting tips:

If the glitter or confetti does not move as easily as you would like, add more warm water. If the glitter or confetti moves too quickly, add additional glue.

Due to the clock buttons being metal and coming in contact with the liquid, you’ll only want to play with this sensory bottle for a few weeks because the clock buttons will rust.

Fun idea:

If you’re planning a New Year’s party, you can even set some of these bottles out on the tables as decoration. You’ll notice that even the adults will be mesmerized by the slowly falling glitter (the calm down effect). You can even sprinkle the leftover star confetti on the tables as additional decor.

Check out these other sensory bottles for kids:

New Year’s Eve DIY Noisemakers

New Year’s Sensory BottleThis New Year's sensory bottle is especially for the kids but can also add to the decor of any New Year's celebrations.

Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle

Bug Sensory Bottle

The Grinch Sensory Bottle

By

What would the holidays be without the classic story The Grinch?! Bring a bit of that story alive with The Grinch Sensory Bottle. This can also be a wonderful calm down tool.

As the hearts and glitter slowly make their way through the liquid, children will find their breathing slows as they focus on the slow movement. Having at-the-ready calm down tools is especially important for this time of year as some children can find the holidays quite stressful.striped white and red background with a clear bottle with green glitter and red hearts with text that reads "The Grinch Sensory Bottle"

The Grinch Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

Directions:

  1. Empty the glue into the bottle. I like the look of Voss water bottles, but sometimes Michael’s sells sensory bottles that look similar.
  2. Pour warm water into the bottle with the glue about 3/4 of the way full and screw on the lid. Shake to combine.
  3. Adding glitter. Replace the lid and shake again.
  4. Drop in the aquarium rocks and buttons. If necessary, add a bit more water.
  5. Seal the jar and shake well. If the glitter or confetti does not move easily, add more warm water. If the glitter or confetti moves too quickly, add additional glue.
  6. Replace the lid. If you’re going to be using this bottle with younger children, you can secure the lid with hot glue.
  7. If you want to, you can cover the lid with decorative duct tape or washi tape.

As with all sensory activities, adult supervision should be used. Over time, even a lid secured with hot glue can become unsecured.

Sensory and Learning Opportunities:

This activity engages the visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems.

Because of the glue, the glitter falls slowly in the bottle. This is what creates a calm down bottle and can have a soothing effect on kids (or adults) as they watch the glitter and other items in the bottle slowly move through the liquid.

Read How The Grinch Stole Christmas to your child while they hold and play with their Grinch Sensory Bottle. This will help reinforce what they are hearing and help them maintain focus on the story.

You’ll also enjoy these sensory bottles:

Deconstructed Christmas Tree Sensory Bottle

Nativity Sensory Bottle

I Spy Christmas Counting BottleChristmas I-Spy Counting Discovery Bottle

Deconstructed Christmas Tree Sensory Bottle

By

I am so in love with this Deconstructed Christmas Tree Sensory Bottle! It’s really simple and yet, it’s got this kind of whimsical quality to it that reminds me of something Dr. Seuss would have created. little hands hold a bottle full of green pompoms, tiny ornaments, and a star with text that reads "Deconstructed Christmas Tree Sensory Bottle"This is a great quiet activity for kids in amongst the hubbub of the holidays. Every year, I make several seasonal inspired sensory bottles for the kids like our Melted Snowman, Christmas Tree, and Nativity Sensory Bottles. They are small enough that kids can take it with them wherever they go.

Deconstructed Christmas Tree Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

Directions:

  1. Fill the bottle about a quarter of the way with clear dish soap.
  2. Add the pompoms.
  3. Drop in the mini lights, ornaments, garland, and lastly, top it off with the Christmas star.
  4. If there is any space left in the bottle, fill to the top with water.
  5. Replace the lid. If you’re using this with younger kids, hot glue the lid in place to secure.

You can find the supplies to fill this at the Dollar Store, Hobby Lobby, or on Amazon. Of course as with any sensory activity, adult supervision should be used at all times even if the lid is secured in place.

This really does look like a deconstructed Christmas tree in a bottle. It has all the decorations that would be on a tree, right down to the star topper. It even seems to almost look like it’s lit up when you hold it up to the light. It’s so cool!

Sensory and Learning Opportunities for Kids:

If preschoolers are playing with this, you can have them practise colours and counting but asking questions such as, “how many red Christmas lights can you find?” or “Can you count how many silver ornaments there are?”

Exploring with this sensory bottle engages the visual, tactile, and proprioception sensory systems. Sensory play is an important part of learning and development.

Check out these Christmas Sensory Bottles:

Nativity Sensory BottleMelted Snowman Sensory Bottle

Christmas Counting I-Spy Sensory Bottle

Nativity Sensory Bottle Snow Globe

By

Is it weird to call a sensory bottle “beautiful”?! Because I really think this one is. The soft colours combined with the calming falling snow make this Nativity Sensory Bottle Snow Globe so pretty.

Sometimes parents can assume that the holidays are a time when kids don’t need as much sensory input because there are so many other things going on, but the opposite is actually true. With the change in routine and all the hubbub, children actually need more regular and varied sensory play to help them manage emotions and mitigate stress. We also use our Christmas Calm Down Kit for this purpose. clear bottle filled with clear liquid, falling snow, and the nativity icons with text that reads "Nativity Sensory Bottle"

I love this Nativity Sensory Bottle as a holiday activity. It highlights the reason for the season. It also creates kind of a snow globe effect because of the snowflakes and glitter. And watching that fall helps kids (or adults) to regulate their breathing and feel more calm.

Nativity Sensory Bottle Snow Globe:

Supplies needed:

Directions:

  1. Fill a plastic bottle about halfway with clear dish soap.
  2. Drop in some glitter.
  3. Add some of the snowflake buttons.
  4. Drop in all the people (buttons) that belong in the nativity scene.
  5. Fill the remaining space with water and screw on the lid.
  6. I suggest that you super glue the lid in place to prevent kids from opening the bottle.

Even if the lid is glued in place, determined kids can get it off and this contains small parts, so adult supervision is required when kids are playing with this.

Sensory Opportunities:

This sensory activity engages both the tactile, visual, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Sensory play is important for development, regulating emotions and behaviour, language development, and so much more.You can also play a game where as you tell or read the Christmas story, your child can find each character in the story as they are talked about. This is a great way to increase their interest and attention to the story. It allows them to participate and engage.

You may also be interested in these Christmas activities:

O Holy Night Nativity Sensory Bin

Nativity Chalk Silhouette

Time Capsule Family Ornament

Football Mini Sensory Bottle

By

We love sensory bottles and usually make them in either the regular size or even the large one, but lately we’ve discovered these cute mini bottles. They’re great for bringing with you or putting into your child’s backpack. This football mini sensory bottle can be an effective small calm down tool for kids.

toy football in the background with a small bottle filled with gold and brown glitter and small footballs with text that reads "Football Mini Sensory Bottle"This would be a good sensory bottle for football season, Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl, or just for a sports fan. One of the things I like about it is that it can be hard to come up with sensory play ideas that boys are interested in. That’s not to say that some girls won’t also like this! But football is certainly an interest that many boys share.

You can even customize the colours of this football sensory bottle to show your support for your favourite team! This could be a professional team, collage, or even school team. You could even take it with you to cheer on your team at games.

Football Mini Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

  • mini bottle (we used these plastic test tube treat containers)
  • clear dish soap
  • mini football beads
  • sequins (choose a colour for your favourite team)
  • glitter (choose the colours of your favourite team!)
  • optional: hot glue

Directions:

  1. Pour clear dish soap into a mini bottle until it’s about half full.
  2. Drop in some mini football beads.
  3. Add in sequins and glitter.
  4. If there’s any room left in the bottle, fill the the top with water.
  5. Replace the lid. If using with small children, you can secure the lid with hot glue.

With this or any other sensory play activity, adult supervision is recommended. Even with the lid secured, it can be opened by determined kids or when the glue gets old and the bottle contains small parts that could be a choking hazard.

With its tiny size, this mini calm down bottle is great for bringing anywhere. You can tuck it into the seat pocket of the vehicle, put it in your child’s backpack, or include it in their calm down kit.

This cute little bottle engages both the visual and tactile sensory systems. Because the glitter and sequins stay suspended in the dish soap and fall slowly as it is turned, this can also serve as a calm down bottle. Children can watch the glitter slowly fall as they focus on regulating their breathing. It’s surprisingly effective.

Check out these other sensory bottles for kids:

Thanksgiving Sensory Bottle

Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle

Bugs Sensory Bottle