How to make a maypole

may pole

My husband is very used to hearing me say ‘I have an idea’. It may elicit a groan, but not always. And it doesn’t always mean I am asking for his help, but sometimes it does *wink*

My most recent idea was making a maypole for my Waldorf playgroup. Something on a smaller scale than the beautiful maypole at our Waldorf Spring Fair. And something easy to set up and pull down. And then it came to me ~ why not use a Christmas tree stand!

maypole base

maypole stand

We used a long branch (that we had in the garden for loose parts play) as our pole. My husband drilled a hole at the top of the branch and screwed in an eye screw. Then I placed the pole in the Christmas tree stand, tightening it up to hold the pole in place. I also added some sand to help stabilise it.

Next was the wonderfully colourful step of adding ribbon! I used 6 colours that were 3 meters in length. I folded them in half and used a slip knot to tie them to the eye screw.

ribbons

eye screw

And then we just needed to pop it in place on the day, using tent pegs to hold the stand steady.eye screw for maypole  maypole ribbon and branch

Next week I will share photos from our Spring maypole celebration *grin*

And if you would like to see how to make a permanent or stronger maypole visit my friend Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home.

Happy days, Kelly

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12 Comments

  • Reply Zena September 28, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    It’s so lovely. So much fun and delight to be had.

    • Reply Kelly September 29, 2015 at 7:46 pm

      It was lots of fun! My kids and I danced around it for days 🙂

  • Reply Bek @ just for daisy September 28, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    Brilliant! I’ve been waiting for this post!! 🙂 Can’t wait to see it in action!

    • Reply Kelly September 29, 2015 at 7:46 pm

      hee hee, hope it lived up to expectations 😉 was great fun!

  • Reply Gae September 29, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    Lovely example Kelly I love the colurs
    Here is how we made ours years ago
    http://cherishedheartsathome.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/making-maypole-and-how-we.html
    and some of our other may day activities (havent blogged the last couple past draft 🙂 )
    http://cherishedheartsathome.blogspot.com.au/search/label/May%20Day

    • Reply Kelly September 29, 2015 at 7:45 pm

      Thank you for sharing Gae. I knew I had seen one before but couldn’t remember where! I have linked to yours in my post now too xx

  • Reply Kate Lloyd September 29, 2015 at 4:28 pm

    Oh WOW! Can’t get enough of your beautiful ideas.

    • Reply Kelly September 29, 2015 at 7:45 pm

      thank you lovely lady xx

  • Reply Anastasia October 1, 2015 at 11:26 am

    Such gorgeous idea! Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply kate @ livinglovinglaughing October 1, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    oh, this is sooo pretty and the xmas tree holder is genius. bet the kids loved it, cant wait to see the full post!!!

  • Reply A maypole dance at playgroup ~ Happy Whimsical Hearts October 5, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    […] You can read how to make this simple maypole stand here. […]

  • Reply Gae October 8, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Thank your Kelly for linking to my Maypole that was very generous and and unexpected
    Blessings
    Gae

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