DIY Red Paper Lanterns for CNY

To get the kids in the mood for Chinese New Year aka CNY, and to help make our basement playroom a bit more festive, I decided to make some easy paper lanterns with the 3 older E's recently.

Usually back in Malaysia, we would have made small lanterns out of red envelope paper and use them to decorate the small shrubs in our house but here in the US, I have a limited amount of red envelope paper so I wasn't willing to use those for this project. Instead, we just used red construction paper and I had the kids draw on them with darker shades of red hoping to add some more depth to them. This was also a great way for my 4 1/2 year old and 3 1/2 year olds to practice their paper cutting skills.

Things you will need:
1) Red construction paper
2) Sharpie or pen
3) Scissors
4) Tape or glue stick
5) Ribbon

First fold the construction paper in half length wise.

Draw cut lines, I only drew them on one side. And I did 1" away from the edge and about 1" increments but you can do whatever measurements you like.

I had my kids color on the paper before cutting but that is totally optional. You could add stickers or paint as well.

Cut along the lines that were drawn on.

Open up the construction paper and put together the 2 ends. Add tape or apply glue on the top and bottom to create the lantern.

Cut a small opening on opposite sides of the top of the lantern for the ribbon.

Thread the ribbon through the top from the outside in and knot the ends.

Voila! Your lantern is ready!

Here is a picture of the lanterns decorating the front porch of our play house.

Hope you enjoyed this super simple craft for your little ones!

Zi