Early Bird Puppet

What you'll need Paper lunch bag, craft glue, wrapping paper, scissors, blue and orange tissue paper, 2 white bottle caps, ribbon, double-stick tape, curly ribbon bunches ($1 each; partycity.com), gift-wrap bow

Make it:

1. Beak: Lay paper bag flat with bottom facing up. Fold the 2 bottom corners of bag's bottom up; secure with glue. Cut a triangle the width of bag from orange wrapping paper and glue over the turned-up bottom of bag.
2. Head: Cut a dome shape the width of bag and about 5" tall from wrapping paper. Fringe the straight edge and glue to bag just above the triangle.
3. Eyes and nostrils: Roll 2 small balls of tissue paper in each color. Glue blue ones inside 2 bottle caps and glue on bird's head. Glue 2 orange balls on beak.
4. Body: Cut 6 2" strips of ribbon; glue.
5. Tape a curly ribbon bunch to either side of the bag as wings. Stick gift-wrap bow to top for head feathers.

Originally published in the November 2012 issue of Parents magazine.