Fiesta Napkin Rings

Looking for a fun way to jazz up the dining table for your Cinco de Mayo party? Let your child add her creative touch by showing her how to make chili pepper napkin rings. The cutting, wrapping, gluing and decorating provides your child with ample opportunity to develop those fine motor skills.

What You Need:

• White tissue paper
• Red and green craft foam
• Green ribbon
• Paper towel tube
• Pencil
• Picture of a chili pepper
• Piece of blank paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Ruler

What You Do:

1. An adult should do the first step: Mark the paper towel tube at 2-inch increments. This should yield four little tubes from one tube, and the remainder can be discarded. Cut the tube into four equal sized mini tubes.
2. Help your child draw a picture of a chili pepper and ask her to cut it out carefully. This will be her stencil.
3. Take a piece of red craft foam and trace the chili pepper around the stencil. Draw one chili pepper per napkin ring.
4. Take a piece of green craft foam and trace the upper stem portion of the chili pepper using the stencil. Again, you need one per napkin ring.
5. Have your child carefully cut the chili peppers and stems out of the craft foam.
6. Glue the green stem onto the red chili pepper. While they dry, work wrapping the tubes with tissue paper.
7. Help your child measure four strips of white tissue paper that are roughly 19” x 9”.
8. Fold the tissue paper to form a crease where the tissue paper should be cut.
9. Hold the tissue paper so that it is taut between your hands and ask your child to cut the four strips.
10. Help your child roll a tissue paper strip around a tube.
11. Tuck both ends into the inside of the tube and press the tissue paper flat.
12. Help your child cut four pieces of ribbon that are long enough to wrap around the tube, with about an extra inch overlapping.
13. Have your child glue the ribbon to the tube.
14. When the glue is dry, give your child the napkins you are going to use for your party. Show her how to slide the napkin through one of the holders and let her do the rest. Think how proud she will be to make this festive contribution to your table décor. Along with tissue paper Mexican flags, these make a whimsical and worldly statement for your Cinco de Mayo celebration.

What makes chili peppers hot? It’s capsaicin, which is insoluble in water; that is why drinking water doesn’t get rid of the burn when you eat a hot chili pepper. The best thing to do to put that fire out on your tongue is to consume dairy – drink milk or eat some ice cream!  The heat in chili peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Mild ones like bell peppers are 0, jalapenos range from 3,000 to 6,000, and habaneros rank between 200,000 and 300,000 SHU. The hottest chili pepper in the world is said to be the Naga Jolokia, also called the Bhut Jolokia, Naga Morich or Ghost Chili and ranks between 885,000 and 1,041,427 SHU!