Han Solo Cups Are for Everyone

I’m the proud parent of a happy autistic son, and when Disney challenged us to come up with some crafts involving red Solo cups to celebrate the Blu-ray release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, I knew the perfect Star Wars fan for the job. My son has been on Team Star Wars since he started playing the LEGO Star Wars video games in kindergarten or grade school. The original video games were perfect in (at the time) introducing the plot points without requiring reading or verbal language skills.

The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were released at just the right time to become instant favorites we love to watch at home. While we sometimes go to theater movies together, it’s a little easier on my now-teenager’s sensory processing to enjoy our movies at home with controlled volume and a much more permissive attitude about standing up and jumping or asking questions in the middle of a film. He has been waiting for Solo: A Star Wars Story since he saw the first trailer on YouTube.

I wanted this craft project to be completely his. So I gathered our supply materials:

A package of Solo cups and plates (courtesy Disney), markers, paints, Play-Doh, construction paper, scissors, and tape. The only instruction was to make Han Solo cups. You’ll notice we’re so big into crafting that our table is permanently stained from years of markers and paints.

He pondered the cup and his materials and grabbed some reference material. He opted for tape, paper, scissors, and markers. I left him to it. When he was done, he presented his creation:

We have Han, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and bonus Calicifer from Howl’s Moving Castle. Why not? They can all tell new, remixed stories together.

The Solo cups made great supports for the characters, and this craft was easy to do for any age or ability.

Kiyan’s Han Solo Cups

Supplies:

• Red Solo cups
• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Markers
• Tape

1. Draw characters on paper and decorate with markers.
2. Cut the characters out with scissors.
3. Tape them onto the cups.
4. Viola!

When you’re done playing with the characters, you can still use the cups for holding soft drinks. If you’re hosting a party, flip the cups in the other direction to allow each kid to personalize their cup. Thanks for the challenge, Disney.