"Need ideas for easy lanterns" Topic

My wife signed me up to make lanterns for a Halloween event at my daughter's school. Our initial idea of using mason jars was declined since the event will be for 5-9 yr olds, & you know one of the kids will end up dropping the lantern & it will break.

So I'm looking for easily reproducible lantern ideas that can either hold a battery powered tea light, or maybe take glow in the dark paint. It doesn't have to actually provide significant light, just the illusion of a "fairy light". & being a Waldorf school, no plastic containers. & they need to be easily carried by little kids, so a handle would be helpful.

My wife's idea so far is to modge podge gauze onto a balloon to get the shape and stiffness. Pop the balloon & put the tea light inside. Seems way to messy.

I've seen the tin can lanterns with patterns poked through the sides. But I need 100+ of them, so don't know if I want to do hammer that many holes through the cans.

& I've seen the paper cut out lanterns, but they don't seem to have any bottom, and if they did, they might not have the rigidity to keep their form with a tea light inside.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Glow sticks?

Back when I was a kid, my folks would put out lunch-sized bags with a little sand in the bottom for weight. The bags were green & red at Christmas. They would press a votive candle into the sand and line the front walkway and steps.

For kids, you could vary this a little for safety.

#1 – Get white lunch bags and have the kids decorate them.

#2 – Cut construction paper or string for handles to staple on top to carry.

#3 – If you need weight inside, a ziplock bag with dirt or gravel will work.

#4 – Place a tea light inside to replace the candle.

How about cutting dowels as handles and then use wall tack for posters to keep the electric tea lights on the end of the dowel?

The kids could color their own handles.

Matthew

16oz neon colored plastic cups. Poke a couple of wholes near the top for a rope handle, hotglue the tea light to the bottom.

$8.29 USD per 40 at online bar supply stores.