Whether you have a bunch of plastic Hula hoops that were bought at the toy store for the purpose of making childhood memories with kids or if you are like me and explored Hoop Dance as a dancer experimenting with styles in the early 2000’s, you may have a storage full of Hula hoops. Well, perhaps not a storage full but many. You might use one or two to entertain guests with children and keep them amused. Or you might use one to actually use. Hooping is a great way to stay in shape. The weighted Hula hoops are especially geared towards adults. But face it, you probably don’t need more than a few unless you are a professional Hula Hoop entertainer and let’s also face it, that industry is in a shift right now. Maybe one day, the craze about the artistic or acrobatic style of Hula hooping will come back in fashion. Until that day, here are a few ways to re-purpose or upcycle your old unused Hula hoops.

Kinikia, after her Belly Dance set  @Undeniable Boutique with Hoop dance performers. 

1. Give it to your hippie friend. – Do people even say hippie anymore? We all have that one friend that was organic and “crunchy” way before wholistic living was streamlined into mainstream culture. The one who still fire dances and do yoga in a meditative way versus a competitive Hot Yoga way. Give a hoop or two to them. They will make use of it far more than you. Maybe, they will even become a Hoop dancer and take it to a professional level. 
2. Use it as a retro decoration. – I have really gotten into creative home decor lately. I even upcycled old dresser drawers. I repainted them a colorful aqua green and drilled holes on the bottom. They ended up as planters outside of the greenhouse. I also use Hula hoops between the railing and wall of the stairs for my split-level house. It gives it a little character. You can place your hoop unexpectedly around the house. 
3. Make it a picture or painting frame. – I don’t have a picture for this. This was something I just thought of possibly giving a try. I haven’t done anything like that before. I’m sure there is a way to do this without getting too involved. It might not work without a lot of extra expense as a picture frame for photos, but you can surely use it was a frame for a painting. I think you can stretch some canvas and affix with some screws inside a hoop. If you are an artist or a wanna-be artist, you could paint your masterpiece on the canvas and hang it up with its own unique, one-of-a-kind hoop picture frame.
4. Make a dog bed. – Again, I haven’t tried this, but this is something I’ve thought about. I think if I do try doing a DIY dog bed again, I will utilize a hoop. My idea is to take a hoop and wrap old sweaters and other items of clothing around the hoop. There will probably be a few layers to fatten up the dog or cat bed. When it fills to the middle, I’ll take an old large pillowcase and stuff it inside. I’ll sew up the edges to form a circular pattern around the hoop skeleton.
5. Make a wreath. – This is something I found here. I’m also planning on trying this out. My family cuts down our own trees in local farms each year. We usually score a ton of shavings. I try to create wreaths every year, but it never comes out looking as nice as I wish. I think making a wreath is an ingenious idea.

I hope whatever ideas you try, you try something. We can always send stuff to get recycled when we no longer have a use for it, but it’s better for the environment if we can use it again. Besides, you might look upon whatever you upcycled the old hoop and have fond memories of another time in your life.