Top 10 Ways to use your Noodle!

Take control of the noodle population, create memories with the family, have the best party games and even construct unique crafts, just by using your noodle!

1.  Construct a Race Car Track or Marble Slide

Fun for the neighbors, party friends, or the kiddos, this is sure to be a competitive highlight of any gathering. Slice the pool noodle evenly from top to bottom revealing the hallowed out center track. Create signs indicating start and finish. Use an old shoe box or plastic bin for the finish line, or allow the cars and marbles to roll freely. Add a theme of Pixar’s Cars or even Nascar to spice it up a bit.

2.  Form Rings and Hoops

You may want to invest in some patterned duct tape for this creation. If not, plain old silver has always worked for grandpa’s fix-its. The rings can be used in a ring toss game or as hula hoops. Or get in touch with your inner bookish side and go for a Lord of the Rings game. Everyone can take turns adventuring through the yard, aka “the Shire.”

3.  Wrap a Light Saber or a Javelin

Use your Jedi mind to craft a light saber. Use a half or whole noodle and apply silver reflective duct tape to one end. For a javelin, decorate with spiral design up and down the noodle. Teams could decide their own design. Then, the fun will begin. Every child on the block will remember this competitive game. Set up a hoop and aim several noodles through the goal. Pretending Olympic sport teams is always fun.

4.  Colorful Croquet Tunnels

Cut noodles or keep them whole. Line them up on a course for playing the beloved game of croquet. Stake them in the ground with metal u-shaped stakes to keep their form. Use another noodle to hit any kind of ball or balloon through. These tunnels can easily be made into stations for a backyard Candyland game.

5.  Craft a Sponge Paint Collage

Slice a noodle, bread loaf style, to make doughnut shaped sections. Don’t worry about whether it’s a straight slice or not; the coarser the cut, the more definition and the more detail the painting will have. Choose the paint kind and color. Since this is a kid-friendly craft, washable paints are highly recommended. Ocean scenes are fun, or put several sponge paintings together in a collage. If this is a party craft, take a photo of the art work to make a Shutterfly book, or give the party-goers the snapshot via email. When it comes to your little Picasso, you’ll want a digital copy of his/her art to post on Facebook.

6.  Set up an Obstacle Course

Use chairs, bikes, benches and even the hose reel to create an obstacle course with pool noodle challenges. Utilize chairs to create hurdles, plant noodles in the ground for an in-and-out-and-around game, line pool noodles up in a sandbox for a moving walkway, or hang them in the trees for a forest maze.

7.  Make Party Invites

Loop a noodle and use trusty duct tape to make life saver invites, or use a halved noodle with an invite attached. You choose the theme; beach ball, sand toys, flip-flops or waves - the options are many.

8.  Fashion a Bold Wreath

Choose to blend in or stand out with a bold, noodle inspired wreath. Decide on a season, then decide what materials you’ll use. Some ideas are; lace, Christmas bulbs, felt, ribbon and even flowers. Use a mini hack saw (or any other blade form) to cut your noodle down to the desired size. Depending on your materials, you may need to puncture the noodle with scissors and use a hot glue gun for the items to adhere. Ribbon and felt may be wrapped around using small amounts of craft glue or spray adhesive. Lace will allow the bold color of the noodle to shine through, giving your house a warm summer look.

9.  Protect Your Garage

Splice a pool noodle in half and use the halves to protect your garage walls and car doors from those nasty unwanted, unsightly and untimely dents. Use a large enough screw and washer to hold the noodle in place. Keep the bright noodle color or paint it to match your garage. It will function either way.

10.  Model a Science Project

Partial slices in the side of a pool noodle can be a good model of the the human spine. Cut pieces of a noodle on a spiral can represent a double helix. Chunks of pool noodle coupled with popsicle sticks and toothpicks can make a great robot. The options are as endless as the human imagination.