< May Day
< May Day Fun and Food

Milkmaid's Butter-Making
Buttermilk Cake
Maypole Cake
Flowers to Eat
Mayday Madness
May Day Jig
Merrie May Days
Going A-Maying
Maypole Whirl
Make a Maypole
Junket
Vanilla Ice-Cream with Orange Toffee and Cowslips

Make a Maypole

Younger kids especially love capering madly round the maypole. This one is easy to make and is sturdy enough for eight children to dance around.

You'll need:
jam-jar lid, at least 9cm in diameter
4m red ribbon, 2cm wide
doweling 175cm long by 4cm diameter, painted white
strong glue
large screw or nail
two washers
plywood base, 2cm thick, 45cm by 45cm
3 shelf-fixing brackets
screws for brackets
8 ribbons, 250cm long, 2cm wide, in four different colours


1 Put eight holes around the rim of the jam-jar lid (to tie the ribbons through) and one hole in the centre (for the nail).
2 Wrap the red ribbon around painted doweling to create candy stripes and glue in place.
3 Take the screw or nail, thread a washer on, then the jam-jar lid, then another washer, and nail it into the top of the doweling so the lid turns freely.
4 Place the doweling square on the plywood base. Place 3 shelf brackets evenly spaced round, and screw in securely.
5 Tie 8 lengths of ribbon through the holes in the jam-jar lid.
6 Place the maypole on a flat grassy area and turn the music on!