All girls love jewellery and making it themselves is an added bonus. It is the perfect activity for rainy days and requires a minimal amount of supervision. Depending upon the age of the girls as well will dictate the level of intricacy involved.

This activity is not however suitable for children under the age of three as beads and sparkly things will appeal to them and will inevitably end up in their mouths leading to unwanted complications.

So for any girl over the age of three this is a fun activity. You could even use this as the meet and greet activity at childrens birthday parties. As guests have a tendency to arrive over a certain time period then it is always a good idea to have an activity set up that kids can just join into and go back to throughout the party.

Set up an area or a separate room where the kids can be ferried into when they arrive where all the items required will be set up. This will allow you to be the meet and greet person and ensure that unsupervised children are not running around your house.

It also gives the advantage of having all the guests gathered in one place before the party starts. Jewellery making as well is a no mess activity making it ideal for ensuring that your sofas, walls and carpets remain free from paint, crayon and glue.

So what do you need?

The secret to good jewellery making is ensuring that you are always on the lookout for any bargain that you may find. Look in second hand shops, charity shops or any woollen/knitting shops that may have reduced any clearance lines.

Have a jewellery making box as well for all your supplies and spend a fun afternoon decorating it with the beads that you have found. This will unfortunately require glue so be prepared. Also keep any broken pieces of jewellery that you may come across as the clasps, beads or wire can be used again. A good supply of thin strong elastic is a must and can be used to make bracelets, necklaces etc.

For younger children use pipe cleaners to thread the beads onto the elastic as sharper implements may cause accidents. You may have to secure a bead at the end of the elastic for them to ensure that the beads do not all fall off. Remember to leave a section of elastic free to tie it to the other end.

If you have a wide selection of beads, the more glittery the better, then give the girls turns at picking out the beads. This will prevent any unwanted conflict and ensure even distribution of popular beads.

Estimate to have about five bracelets and two necklaces for each girl prepared beforehand. For the older girl get a selection of the alphabet beads where they can put their names onto the bracelet or make friendship beads.

If you want to make this a theme of a birthday party why not spend the main activity decorating a personalised jewellery box. This will require a bit more forward planning but is a popular and productive activity.

Look about for a plain wooden box with a hinged lid that can be painted. It is best to use fabric paint or for the older child acrylic paint are good as water based paints will just be absorbed by the wood.

Ensure that you inform the guests parents that there will be a �messy� activity and that they bring along an old shirt to cover up party dresses.

Get a lot of glitter and stickers that can be applied to the wet paint for added sparkle. Once the boxes are completed then leave them aside to dry which will probably take overnight and then varnish them to seal in the glitter and stickers. Ensure that you know which one belongs to which child and ask them to pop back for them.