For a long time, we didn’t really decorate out front for Halloween. By the time I figured out everyone’s costumes, and got all the candy, and helped with school parties — Halloween decorations sort of got lost in the shuffle. But these luminaria are something I can set the kids making, and end up with some beautiful decor for our porch. So I think this is a win-win.
Halloween Decorations – Make Luminaria
What you need:
- brown lunchbags
- push pins with an easy-to-grip top
- pencil for drawing designs
- craft scissors or punch (optional)
- old towel
- sand or rocks
- battery operated tea lights
We began by freehand drawing some simple Halloween silhouettes on plain brown lunchbags. We did pumpkins, and ghosts, and one very ambitious Frankenstein monster by my son. If you’re not confident in your drawing skills, you can also Google images, cut them out, and tape them to the front of your bag. Also — position your drawings toward the bottom of the bag, because…
you’re going to trim about 2 inches off the top of your bag. It helps make the bag sturdier, and our tea lights didn’t really light up the larger bags well. You can use craft scissors to make a decorated edge (but only if you already have them — not worth going and buying some). We also used a craft punch to make little flower cutouts along the tops of some of our bags.
Lay out an old towel or other spongy surface (or just use the carpet, depending on how picky you are about it). Using a push pin with an easy grip, poke holes all along the lines of your drawing (poke all the way through to the back, so you have a mirror image on the other side of your bag). If you really want the image to show up, you may have to wiggle the pin to make each hole a little bigger.
Once you’ve punched holes all along your drawing, open the bag. Add some rocks or sand to the bottom to weigh down the bag, and add a battery-operated tealight candle.
Place your luminaria outside and admire your beautiful lights! We have a series of wide steps leading to our front door, so I think if I put one on each step, they may actually help keep trick-or-treaters from tripping.
Happy crafting (and happy Halloween!)
This was written by me and originally posted on BabyCenter. It is reposted here with permission.
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