They had this very cool coiled wire to use instead of some sort of elastic or other type of string. We spent maybe $11 and got enough supplies for the girls to each make two bracelets.
I used a needle-nosed pliers and bent the end of the wire so the beads would stay on:
The wire was pretty easy for the girls to thread the beads onto, though you had to be a little careful about it snapping back if you let it go.The finished product:
