How to Make Paper Lanterns for the Lunar New Year

Only a few items are necessary to create festive paper lanterns.

Paper lanterns are a festive and colorful decoration for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. In Chinese culture, the lantern festival signifies the end of the celebration. Festival lanterns are made to resemble animals, and some are even constructed from ice. Children can make their own lanterns from paper and decorate them creatively. Paper lanterns are an ideal decoration for Chinese New Year parties or as part of a classroom wall display. This craft introduces children to Chinese New Year celebrations and allows them to experience another culture.

Things You'll Need

• Colored A4 paper
• Tape measure or ruler
• Scissors
• Glitter glue pens
• Stapler

Instructions

1. Set one piece of colored A4 paper lengthwise, or so it is horizontal, in front of you. Measure 1 inch from the top of the paper, and draw a line horizontally across the top of the paper at the 1-inch location. Fold the paper in half lengthwise.

2. Mark 14 vertical lines that are 3/4 inch apart across the length of the folded paper, starting each line at the fold edge of the paper. Cut along the lines from the folded edge. Stop cutting when you reach the horizontal line you drew across the top of the paper in Step 1.

3. Unfold the paper, and use glitter glue pens to decorate the paper. Use a color of glitter glue that differs from the paper's color to add visual appeal to the lantern. Allow the glitter glue to dry.

4. Overlap the two short sides of the paper, and staple them together so that the paper forms a cylindrical shape.

5. Select another piece of A4 colored paper. If you wise, choose a color of paper that is different from the first color of paper. Place it lengthwise in front of you, and draw a line across the paper's length that is 1 1/4 inches from the paper's top. Cut along the line. The 1 1/4-inch long paper is the lantern's handle. Bend the handle, and staple one of its ends to the upper inside edge of the lantern's main body. Staple the other handle's end to the opposite upper inside edge of the lantern's main body.

6. Repeat the procedure to create other paper lanterns.

Tips & Warnings

• Tie a 12-inch piece of string around a paper lantern's handle to create a hanging lantern. To hang multiple paper lanterns together, use one piece of string to hold two or more lanterns.

• An adult should accompany children using scissors.

• An adult, rather than a child, should use the stapler to assemble the paper lantern.

References

• Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco: Celebration of the Lantern Festival
• Show Me; How to Make a Paper Lantern for Chinese New Year; Kristen Bailey; January 2006