Glow Sticks Light Up The Fun On Summer Nights

Glow Sticks Light Up the Fun on Summer Nights

Jim Busby

Add fun to your summer nights with long-lasting glow sticks in a rainbow of colors! Kids of all ages love the brilliant, attractive colors; and parents love letting their kids play outside after dark.

Summer's right around the corner and that means it's time for outdoor fun - even after dark. But how can you be sure they're safe outside? They're out there running around - how can you be sure they're not tripping over rocks, tree roots and other stuff in the great outdoors? Simple: Equip them with glow sticks.

Glow sticks are small (generally four to six inches in length) wands that contain two or more reactive, non-toxic substances that - when combined (by breaking the small glass tube within the plastic stick) - create a long-lasting glow.

And with the upcoming summer holidays almost upon us, it's time to stock up on these fun, practical little doodads. There's the biggies: Memorial Day, the first day of summer (it falls on a Saturday this year), the Fourth of July and Labor Day plus just about any other excuse you can think of for a summer outing.

Lots of towns host summer-evening events. Among the most popular are Friday-night movies in the park, weekend-long festivals, band concerts. Selling glow sticks can be a great way to generate funds at these types of festive public events. Kids love the pretty colors and fun, flexible shapes (specifically the necklaces and the glasses) and the long-lasting glow. Parents appreciate the safety they afford their kids, as well as the low price.

Parents also like the fact that the glow sticks come in so many different colors. They can give each of their children a different colored glow stick and let them go play, secure in the knowledge they can keep track of them in the dark, distinguishing each one by his or her individual light color.

But grownups appreciate glow sticks for other reasons, too. They lend special ambience to adult functions like late-evening dining al fresco, pool parties, backyard parties - even intimate gatherings for two by the pool or hot tub. Dangle the glow sticks (using their attached strings) from porch or deck rails or tree branches; insert them into latex balloons before inflating and hang strings of cleverly lighted balloons by the pool or hot tub to add atmosphere. And watch them dance and sway in the slightest breeze.

Take glow sticks along on your next camping trip; they require no electricity or batteries; and a single stick lasts a minimum of 10 to 12 hours - which is plenty long enough for a full night's use - and you can always find your glow stick, unlike those clunky flashlights that just love to disappear in the dark!

Colorful, long-lasting glow sticks are great to have along on camping trips and weekend beach parties, too. You never know when someone in your group is going to have to go looking for the bathroom facilities after dark.