How to make VE Day bunting and Union Jack decorations for the bank holiday

THE early May bank holiday falls on Friday this year, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) day. 

Despite remaining under strict lockdown rules you can still celebrate this important date at home. Here’s our handy guide on making your own bunting and decorations.

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You can hang your bunting in the window or garden over the May bank holiday [/caption]

Despite street parties and celebrations cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus, you can still mark the occasion with socially distanced activities such as a picnic and making your own bunting.

The decorations are traditionally British and are often found at street parties and fairs, but you can make your own at home using whatever you’ve got in your cupboard. 

The BBC shared instructions to make ‘Great British Bunting’, using paper, empty cereal boxes, sweet wrappers, stickers, string, ribbon, pens and paints.

If you don’t have outside space to hang your bunting, you can decorate your windows or the front of your house instead.

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Bunting is a traditional British decoration which can be found at street parties and fairs [/caption]

Start by getting an A4 piece of paper or card, and draw your triangular template, making sure to leave about 2cm at the top to create a flap.

Cut out the shape and then get creative, making sure to decorate both sides depending on where you’re hanging your bunting. 

When you’re happy with the final design, fold down the flap at the back, and put a piece of string or ribbon under it, and glue, tape or even staple it down. 

Repeat the process until you’ve got a string of bunting, making sure to leave enough length to hang it up at each end. 

To make Union Jack decorations, the process is similar to bunting but you can use rectangles as well as triangles.

The rectangular shape may be easier if you don’t have a pair of scissors – just make sure to leave a blank flap at the top to be folded over.

To draw the flag, you’ll need blue and red, and if your paper is white then that can count as the third colour – and it might be easier to draw your outlines in pencil before colouring them in.

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This handmade bunting features the Union Jack among other designs [/caption]

Start by drawing the outline of thick cross from top to bottom and side to side, then draw diagonal lines in a giant cross in the middle.

Now draw the outline a small triangle inside each of the eight triangles you’ve just created.

Colour the crosses in red and the small eight triangles in blue, and the remainder should form the white borders on the flag.

Plus here’s everything you need to know about VE Day and its history.

And here’s when all the bank holidays are for the rest of the year – and if any others have moved.

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