Kids love to make paper lanterns in winter-time. These are simple to make, and look beautiful. My kids made the ones above when they were at school in Germany.
What you'll need:
Dark blue cardboard or heavy construction paper
Scissors
Translucent parchment paper in several colours
White craft glue
Tealight candle, or LED safety candle
What to do:
Cut the cardboard to make the house. For each wall, make a 15cm square, with a point above it. Leave a tab at the end of the four walls, to join them up with.
Cut windows and doors in each wall of the house, including a star at the top of the point of each wall. Use small scissors to cut these. Kids may need help with starting each cut.
Cut pieces of transliucent parchment paper slightly bigger then the windows, and glue them in place on the inside.
Make a fold between each wall of the house, with the good side out, and glue the tabs into place.
Put a tealight candle inside, on top of a small saucer, and light it. It will look wonderful on your table in winter.
Only light candles when an adult's watching, and always blow them out before the adult leaves the room. You can use an LED safety candle instead. These are much safer for small children, but they contain small batteries which could be a hazard if swallowed, so you still need to take care.
You could make paper lanterns in different shapes. How about a church with a steeple?
You could cut flower patterns or geometric shapes in the sides of your lantern. Think of your own ideas.
Here's another type of paper lantern. It's a simple box shape with geometric shapes cut from tissue paper pasted onto its windows.
