We know that masks help protect our kids as they head to school — but only if they aren’t lost!

If you’ve ever dug through your school’s lost and found closet, you know that kids lose a LOT of stuff. The last time I went looking for Mitch’s ever wandering jacket I found TONS of stuff. Water bottles, lunch boxes, sweaters, hoodies, even SHOES. (Seriously…nice shoes.)

Those masks our kids will need to wear to school in 2021? They don’t stand a chance.

boy in tan shirt wearing a blue disposable mask

Lanyards to the Rescue

Some genius mom decided she can save her sanity — and maybe her kid’s health — with a simple lanyard attached to a kid’s mask. This will keep the mask from getting lost or just plain falling off when they start fidgeting with them. (Cause you know they will fidget.)

Lanyards for masks are similar to the type used to keep eye glasses around your neck.

Blue baseball Cardinals facemask with a lanyard and pony beads

Since masks are a fairly new accessory we’re all wearing in 2020, you’re unlikely to find a mask lanyard on a store shelf. But that’s ok! It’s easy to make a simple lanyard — and lots of super cool lanyards for kids are popping up on Etsy right now.

Simple Lanyard Hack

For a quick fix you only need ribbon or thick string — maybe even yarn! Take 24 inches of your lanyard material and tie a secure knot to each ear strap of the mask.

a simple face mask lanyard made with cord — This lanyard is made with plastic lacing for pony beads.

BOOM. DONE.

Granted, if you’re using disposable masks or don’t want to get the string knotted up when you throw a reusable one in the wash, you might have to cut the string. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Make a Reusable Lanyard

For a lanyard that can be removed when you wash a kid’s mask — or to temporary attach to a disposable mask — we need to get crafty.

Head over to Amazon or your favorite craft store (they do curbside pickup, you know) and grab some supplies!

bunches of colorful plastic lacing to make face mask lanyards for kids

You’ll need:

Cool Strap Material — ribbon, leather string or beading lace.

A pair of Clasps — I like these lobster claw clasps

Cord End Caps

Jump Rings

Needle Nose Pliers

Super Glue

To make the lanyard, cut the strap material to about 24 inches or whatever length fits your child.

Place a drop of glue in the cap. Place the end of your strap material on the glue in the cap.

Use pliers to crimp the cap shut.

Attach the lobster claw to the cap with the jump ring.

Clip the lobster claw to your mask straps!

There’s a huge variety of cord ending doodads at the hobby shop! If you want to see more details on the different kinds of cord ends you can use, check out this quick video from Hobby Lobby.

Personalize that Lanyard!

You can jazz up your kid’s lanyard with pony beads to make it super snazzy. Grab a pack of letter beads to personalize the lanyard — and help it get back to your kid if it should wander off to lost and found.

kid mask lanyard decorated with letter pony beads

Buy a Lanyard from Etsy

I get it, you’ve got 99 things to do before your kid gets back to school and hand crafting a dang lanyard is not one of them. That’s where the crafters at Etsy enter the game!

A quick check on Etsy shows PAGES of lanyards you can pick from to buy. Here’s a few I thought looked neat.