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?!

Graduation Leis Video Tutorial

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)

*Note: I have received comments from people all over the country about this project. Isn’t that so fun? One suggestion is that if you live in a warm climate, chocolate might not be the best choice because it can melt and make a mess. Starbursts or Hi-Chews or other non-melting candy might be a better choice.

Instructions

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: 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:

Step 3: Roll the plastic wrap around the candy bars until you have a tube like this:

Step 4: Cut 6-8 inch pieces of curling ribbon and tie one in between each candy bar.

Step 5: 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.

Another variation is to use fabric ribbon instead of curling ribbon. Here are two examples of candy leis made with ribbon:

I made these leis the same way as shown above, but I just used layers of ribbon tied in between the plastic wrapped candy. The Starbursts look so cute! You could use ribbon with money as well. It’s a fun way to add more color and texture.

It’s also really fun to make folded money butterflies to add to your graduation lei.