How to make a lantern?

Making paper lanterns is a popular craft activity for children. They are so simple to make that children can make them as soon as they are able to use scissors. Hanging paper lanterns can be made just for fun, but they are also used in celebrations such as Halloween or in Chinese New Year.

Gather your materials

What you need for lanterns? You will need a thin card, a pair of scissors, a pencil and a ruler. Moreover, you will need either a glue or staples along with coloured pencils or paints if you want to decorate the lantern.

Step one

Folding of the paper Lie an ordinary sheet of thin A4 sized card (the kind used to make greetings cards, which come in many different colours, is ideal) down on your table and fold it half length wise.

Step two

Drawing of lines Draw a line across the top of the folded card, away from the crease line, at about 2cm down from the edge.

Step three

Drawing out dots and cuts Use your ruler and pencil in order to make dots along the folded edge that are half an inch apart.
Take your scissors and make cuts through your pencil dots, from the folded edge up to the pencil line you drew across the open edge.

Step four

Painting the card Unfold the card, and if you want to decorate your lantern, now is the time to do it. You can paint each of the strips in a different colour, or alternate colours to make the lantern striped. You could also add glitter, or glue on beads and buttons for extra decoration. If you do not want to decorate your lantern, then you can go straight to the next step.

Step five

Sticking the paper Roll up the card so that the short edges meet and run a line of glue down one of the sides. Overlap the two sides in order to glue them together. Hold the sides of the lantern together with either paperclips or pegs until the glue has dried.

Step six

Cutting the handle Add a handle by cutting a 1-inch strip from another sheet of card. You can cut the handle either length ways or width ways across the card. This depends on how long you would like it. You could also cut the handle from a different colour of card.

Step seven

Gluing the handle Either glue or staple the handle across the top of the lantern. Hence, this will fasten the two strips inside the lantern so that they are opposite each other.