Candy Bar and Money Graduation Lei Tutorial

Learn how to make candy bar and money graduation leis.

It’s graduation season and I love the tradition of giving leis to graduates. My favorite kind of lei is the candy and money kind. Ha!

A candy bar lei would be the perfect gift for a birthday, graduation, or as a “congratulations” after a football game, concert or knowledge bowl championship (hey, let’s not forget the nerds we love, haha). They are easy to make and pretty inexpensive. If you want a more substantial gift, you can easily add money fans to the lei too. Because who doesn’t love candy and money?!

I bought the candy bars at WalMart and spent about $4 and already had the other supplies. Here’s what you need:

Supplies Needed

• 24 Mini Candy Bars
• Clear Plastic Wrap
• Curling Ribbon
• Scissors
• Money (Optional)

Instructions

Divide the candy bars in half and lay them out end-to-end. Carefully lay out a long strip of plastic wrap about four inches longer than the candy bars on each end. Be careful with that plastic wrap. We all know how it can turn into a hot mess in a hurry.

Place the candy bars down the center of the plastic wrap and fold one end up so that it is flush with the bottom edge of the candy bars, like this:

Roll the plastic wrap around the candy bars until you have a tube like this:

Cut 6-8 inch pieces of curling ribbon and tie one in between each candy bar.

Tie the two ends together using more curling ribbon.

Repeat for the second set of candy bars and your candy bar lei is all done!

If you want to make this gift even better, you could make little money bows and attach them in between each candy. Just fold a bill in half, accordion fold it lengthwise, then gather it in the middle to make a bow and tie it to the lei with some curling ribbon.

Graduation Leis Video Tutorial

Your graduate is going to be all smiles when you give them this awesome graduation lei!

Here’s another version of a candy lei that would be cute too. There’s even a free printable tag that says congratulations.

Like this idea? Pin it so you don’t forget it.

Don’t miss this post for even more DIY graduation gift ideas!

How to Make Graduation Leis

Learn how to make a graduation lei out of candy bars and/or money

Print

Materials

• 24 Miniature Candy Bars
• 24 Dollar Bills
• Clear Plastic Wrap
• Curling Ribbon

Tools

• Scissors

Instructions

1. Divide the candy bars in half and lay them out end-to-end.
2. Carefully lay out a long strip of plastic wrap about four inches longer than the candy bars on each end.
3. Place the candy bars down the center of the plastic wrap and fold one end up so that it is flush with the bottom edge of the candy bars.
4. Roll the plastic wrap around the candy bars until they are encased in a tube.
5. Cut 6-8 inch pieces of curling ribbon and tie one in between each candy bar.
6. Tie the two ends together using more curling ribbon.
7. Repeat for the second set of candy bars.
8. Optional: make little money bows and attach them in between each candy.
9. Fold a bill in half.
10. Accordion fold the bill lengthwise.
11. Gather it in the middle to make a bow.
12. Tie it to the lei with some curling ribbon in between each candy bar.

Notes

Be sure to watch the video tutorial to help you with this project!