Hobbies And Interests
Stickers
The easiest way to prepare a bike for a parade is to buy stickers and apply them to the bike's frame, seat or handlebars. Before applying the stickers, make sure the bike frame is clean and remove dust and dirt, so the decorations stick to it. Decorate the child's helmet with stickers that match the frame decorations. Opt for stickers that are manufactured with washable glue, so if you want to remove them, you won't have a difficult time scraping off the stickers. Alternatively, create your own stickers allowing your child to choose an original theme. Print the designs on washable adhesive labels or decals.
Paper Streamers
Wrap the bike frame in different colored paper streamers. If your child is preparing for a July 4 parade, use red, blue and white. Tape the streamers to the bike's frame and check for loose ends, which could be dangerous when your child rides the bike. Tape one end of a piece of paper streamer to the handle bar grip and leave the other end loose, so it will float when the bike is moving.
Paint the Bike
Paint the bike in many colors or the colors of the American flag. This is a permanent decoration, but you can always re-paint the bike if your child wants a different design. Prepare a sketch on a piece of paper and consider a design that is visible from the sides when your child is riding the bike for the parade viewers to see. If you want to create a more spontaneous design, splatter color on the bike frame. Use paintbrushes or spray paint, which allows kids to obtain an even-colored surface. Use only nontoxic paints if your kids want to participate in the decoration of the bike.
Papier Mache
Create a papier mache figure for the parade and place it in the bike's basket. If your child's bike doesn't have a basket, install one. Create an over-sized figure of the Statue of Liberty, Casper or Shrek, using newspapers or scrap paper and white glue. Measure the basket and make the figure to fit in the basket. Create a support for the figure using wire hangers. Rip newspapers into strips, moist them in diluted white glue and apply strip by strip until you wrap the entire wire support in a layer of paper. Apply several layers of paper until the figure is sturdy enough. Papier mache figures are light and won't unbalance your child's bike, but place it so your child can see ahead when he's riding. If the figure is too large and your child has a front basket, remove the basket and attach it to the back of the bike with wire. Decorate the rest of the bike to match the figure in the basket.