Our Home Made Hula Hoop

    Riley has decided that for the school talent show this year she is going to do a Hula Hoop act.  It has been a steep learning curve.  The thing that is most funny to me and my new Hula Hoop skills is that I stink at hula hoop.  My family will sometimes ask me to hula hoop just for the entertainment value.  My version of hula hooping is spinning the hula hoop, and then gyrating like a stripper (a stripper who was fired after her first performance).   

    Our Hula Hoop adventure began when the snow melted enough for Riley to dig her hula hoop out of the ice.  We placed it over the register to defrost.  Those first attempts were interesting.  Riley has a real gift for that hoop, BUT, unknown to us, they had filled the hula hoop with water to weight it.  Apparently the winter had caused it to develop small holes.  This meant that we were showered with water as we watched her practice.  The more she practiced, the more the water sprayed out, the lighter her hula hoop became, the harder it was for her to keep up.

    I went to Toys R Us, looking for hula hoops.  It honestly seemed funny going in for summer toys in the throws of winter.  There was not a one to be seen.  I walked up to the register and asked if they could possibly check in the back.  Ten minutes later, a lady came up to the front of the store, plastic encased hula hoops in hand.  SCORE!  I bought two.  I thought that I was for sure going to get Mother of the year on this one.  I had selected a hula hoop that lights up.  As usual I was wrong.  Apparently although cool, they were both too light.  Back to the drawing board.

    I began to search online for hula hoops.  WOW they are expensive.  I thought that I had spent too much on the $10.00 each hula hoops at Toys R Us!  I was wrong, these magical hoops cost $60.00 and up.  I stumbled upon a website that had make your own hula hoop instructions.... light bulb!

    I made a trip to the hardware store.  I searched the isles for clear PVC pipe.  There is only flexible clear tubing.  I had this amazing plan that I would buy clear PVC pipe and fill it with battery operated lights, oh it would bring the WOW factor.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  No battery operated lights to be found after Christmas.  Plan B.  I purchased white PVC for only $3.50 for 10 feet.  I also purchased a 1/2 " coupling to attach the two ends, oh and purple duct tape.

    I would like to pretend that I am a genius and put out an amazing product the first time, but no I did not.  It took several tries.  To begin with I had a heck of a time getting the circle to be a circle and not a birds beak.  That was where the coupling came in.  I filled the hoop with rice (not an easy task) to weight it.  The coupling was the hero of this process.  I covered the PVC piping with purple duct tape (Riley's favourite colour).  After it was completely purple I carefully wound glittery ribbon (that I purchased at Michael's for $1.50 a roll).  The finishing touch was adhesive rhinestones that I put around the outside of the hoop.

   So now I have the creative bug.  I want to make hundreds of hula hoops now that I know how.  I'm not sure how many hula hoops one kid needs, but I plan to make tons.  It's pretty fun, and cost me well under $10.00 to make.