5 Easy Easter Hat Ideas for Kids: Step-by-Step Parade Crafts

Need an Easter hat for a school parade without spending the whole weekend wrestling with cardboard? These five easy Easter hat ideas use simple supplies, include clear steps and can be adjusted to suit the time and patience you have available.

The fastest option is a decorated sunhat. The cardboard crown and bunny hat are also manageable on a school night. If your child wants a bigger project, save the papier-mâché egg for a weekend because it needs time to dry.

Choose an Easter hat you have time to finish

Before you start: keep the hat light and safe

An Easter hat needs to survive the walk to school and remain comfortable during the parade. Keep decorations light, check that your child can see clearly and make sure nothing sharp or scratchy touches their head.

• Adults should handle hot glue, sharp scissors, craft knives and staplers.
• Cover every staple with strong tape, or position it so it cannot touch your child’s skin.
• Do not tie ribbon or cord under your child’s chin. Use a fitted cardboard band, hat elastic cut to the correct length, or an adjustable closure instead.
• Avoid loose decorations, long ribbons and small craft pieces for children under three. The ACCC warns that small parts can cause choking and long cords, ribbons, threads and elastic can create a strangulation risk.
• Use paper or plastic decorations instead of real chocolate. Chocolate can melt, trigger allergies and make the hat heavier.
• Let glue, paint and papier-mâché dry completely before the hat is worn.

1. Decorated Easter Sunhat

This is the quickest option because the hat already has its structure. Use an old straw hat, fabric sunhat or bucket hat that still fits comfortably.

You will need

• A sunhat that fits your child
• Paper flowers, felt leaves or lightweight craft decorations
• Coloured paper or thin cardboard
• Scissors
• PVA craft glue, double-sided tape or an adult-operated low-temperature glue gun

How to make it

1. Put the undecorated hat on your child and check the fit. Remove it before adding anything.
2. Cut egg, bunny, chick or leaf shapes from coloured paper or thin cardboard.
3. Arrange the decorations around the brim before gluing. Keep the front clear so the hat does not block your child’s view.
4. Attach the largest pieces first, then fill small gaps with paper flowers or leaves.
5. Leave the hat flat until the glue is completely dry.

Make it easier: use removable adhesive dots if you want to return the hat to normal after Easter.

2. Cardboard Easter crown

A cardboard crown is cheap, light and easy to resize. Children can do most of the decorating while an adult handles the fitting and fastening.

You will need

• Light cardboard or a cereal box
• A tape measure or length of string
• Pencil and ruler
• Scissors
• Paint, crayons or markers
• Paper shapes, stickers or tissue paper
• Strong tape or a stapler for adult use

How to make it

1. Measure around your child’s head where the crown will sit. Add 3 centimetres for overlap.
2. Draw a cardboard strip about 10 centimetres high and cut crown points along the top. Keep the bottom edge straight.
3. Let your child colour the band and add paper eggs, flowers, chicks or bunny shapes.
4. Wrap the crown around your child’s head and mark the comfortable fit.
5. Remove the crown. Tape the overlap securely, or staple it and cover both sides of each staple with strong tape.
6. Try it on again and trim any points that feel too tall, heavy or unsteady.

Make it sturdier: tape a second strip of cardboard inside the band before joining the ends.

3. Tissue-paper flower bonnet

Tissue-paper flowers add height and colour without much weight. Build them on a fitted cardboard band rather than tying ribbons beneath the chin.

You will need

• A cardboard headband made using the crown instructions above
• Tissue paper in several colours
• Scissors
• Paper sticky tape or narrow masking tape
• PVA craft glue
• Green paper for leaves

How to make it

1. Stack four small tissue-paper rectangles, each about 12 by 18 centimetres.
2. Fold the stack backwards and forwards like a fan.
3. Wrap a short piece of paper tape firmly around the middle.
4. Round both ends with scissors. Gently separate each tissue layer and pull it towards the centre to form a flower.
5. Repeat until you have enough flowers to cover the front and sides of the band.
6. Glue the flowers and paper leaves to the band. Leave the back mostly clear so the crown remains comfortable.
7. Allow the glue to dry, then check that every flower is secure.

Make it less messy: prepare the tissue-paper rectangles before your child starts assembling the flowers.

4. Paper plate bunny hat

This bunny hat uses a paper plate as the brim and a fitted cardboard band to hold it in place. An adult should cut the centre opening and test the fit.

You will need

• A large sturdy paper plate
• White and pink cardboard
• Pencil
• Scissors
• PVA craft glue or strong tape
• A fitted cardboard headband

How to make it

1. Make a cardboard headband that fits your child comfortably.
2. Place the band in the centre of the paper plate and trace around the inside.
3. An adult cuts out the traced circle. Start smaller than the line, then enlarge the opening gradually until it sits over the headband.
4. Cut two long bunny ears from white cardboard and two smaller inner-ear shapes from pink cardboard.
5. Glue the pink pieces onto the white ears, then attach the ears to the back of the plate.
6. Attach the plate to the cardboard band with strong tape underneath. Cover all tape edges and check that the join is smooth.
7. Decorate the brim with drawn eggs, paper flowers or a cotton-wool tail. Leave it flat until dry.

Fit check: the plate should sit above your child’s ears without pressing against them or blocking their vision.

5. Papier-mâché Easter egg hat

This is the most involved option. Make the shell at least one day before decorating so it has time to dry completely. A shallow egg-shaped cap is lighter and easier to wear than a tall enclosed design.

You will need

• A balloon
• Newspaper or plain paper torn into strips
• One part PVA craft glue mixed with one part water
• A bowl and paintbrush
• Paint and lightweight paper decorations
• A fitted cardboard headband
• Scissors for adult use

How to make it

1. Inflate the balloon until its widest point is slightly larger than your child’s head. Place it securely in a bowl.
2. Brush a paper strip with the glue mixture and smooth it over the top half of the balloon.
3. Add two more layers, overlapping the strips and leaving the lower half of the balloon uncovered.
4. Leave it to dry completely for 24 to 48 hours. Drying time will depend on the weather and the thickness of the layers.
5. Once the shell feels hard and dry, an adult pops the balloon and removes it.
6. An adult trims the shell into a shallow cap. Smooth the cut edge with masking tape.
7. Paint the cap like an Easter egg and allow it to dry.
8. Tape the cap securely to a fitted cardboard headband. Check that it cannot slide over your child’s eyes.

Keep it wearable: stop after three thin layers. Extra layers and heavy decorations can make the hat uncomfortable.

The parade-morning check

Put the finished hat on your child before leaving home. Ask them to look left, right, up and down. The hat should stay in place without covering their eyes, catching their hair or pressing against their ears.

• Shake the hat gently and reattach anything loose.
• Check every edge, staple and taped join with your fingers.
• Remove any trailing ribbon or decoration that could catch on playground equipment.
• Pack a small roll of tape for emergency repairs.
• Carry the hat to school if it is too wide to wear safely in the car.

If you need another simple activity for the long weekend, browse our Easter ideas for families.

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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