How to Put Lights in a Pom Pom

Pom poms are colorful objects used by cheerleaders to rally spectators at sporting events to root for the home team, showing support for their team's players and sometimes making it more difficult for the opposing team's players to communicate with each other. Pom poms are often made in the school or organization's colors and are made from a combination of plastics. You can, however, make your own pom poms from trash bags and add LED lights to the finished pom poms for a special effect at night games or when the lights go out momentarily at an arena.

Things You'll Need

  • 10 colored trash bags
  • Scissors
  • Duct or electrical tape
  • Battery powered LED tea lights
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Look for 10 kitchen-sized trash bags in your school's colors; select black or white as one of your colors if you cannot find both of your school's colors in trash bags at a craft or athletic supply store.

    • 2

      Fold each bag in half vertically and lay all 10 bags on top of each other on a flat surface. Cut the top and bottom off of each trash bag, reducing its height and giving you a rectangle shape with flat, crisp sides.

    • 3

      Cut the bags in strips in from each short end towards the center, leaving about three inches in the center uncut. Make strips 1/2-inch wide.

    • 4

      Wrap electrical or duct tape around the center of the trash bags to form a handle. Choose a color of duct tape that matches one of the colors of your trash bags.

    • 5

      Crinkle up the cut strips repeatedly until your pom pom appears full and fluffy. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 for your second pom pom.

    • 6

      Pull apart the crinkled strips at the end of one pom pom to expose the base of the center handle. Secure a battery-powered LED tea light with duct tape to the base. Make sure to leave the on/off switch for the tea light exposed. Pull down strips around the tea light, concealing it. Place remaining three LED tea lights in similar fashion. Choose lights that match one or both of your school's colors, if possible. Turn the tea lights on by pressing the button at their bottom sides when you want them to light up.