Glitter Lanterns

The weather has been cold and we have been stuck inside.  Sometimes a little light helps lift the spirit.  My daycare kids love to have fancy lunches or indoor picnic lunches to break-up a cold weather stretch.  One easy way to make a meal more special is to simply add a lantern to the middle of the table.

My own children attend a forest school and the host showed us how to make these easy glitter lanterns. All the children loved them and they were completed in only a few steps.  Our host is a saint, all that glitter mess makes me feel faint!

The first step is to collect glass jars and wash them out.  Give the children small paint brushes to coat the inside of the glass jar with white glue. Make sure they have painted glue on the whole inner surface.

Have the kids generously sprinkle different colours of glitter into the jars. Let them tip their jars and gently shake the glitter in the glass so that it coats every side. Doing this over a bin or a tray helps contain the glitter spills a bit.

Thin wire was used to make a lantern handle.  She wound the wire around the top of the jar and then twisted it to create the handle.

A real candle will glow brighter but a fake one is much safer.  A real candle might also heat up the glue and cause it to run.

My daycare children enjoyed eating lunch with these beautiful lanterns.  This is a great project for a gloomy day.  May your light shine bright.