7 Spooktacular DIY Paper Lantern Halloween Decorations
Halloween is one of the best times to have fun with paper lanterns. It also makes for good family time, because everyone can get involved in creating fabulous Halloween decor.
An orange lantern becomes a pumpkin with nothing more than a black marker. A white one becomes a ghost. Add a few spiders, some felt cutouts, oversized craft eyes or a battery operated LED light, and a plain lantern becomes the centre of your Halloween display.
It doesn’t cost much either. Our orange lanterns start at $3, so a pumpkin family of three (8 inch, 12 inch and 16 inch orange lanterns) comes to about $13. Most of the craft supplies are probably already at home, the rest are easy to find at a local dollar store, and your order ships from Toronto.
Order in Time for Halloween
| Delivering to | Order by |
|---|---|
| Outside Ontario and Quebec | Friday, October 16 |
| Ontario and Quebec | Thursday, October 22 |
| Major cities with Xpresspost | Monday, October 26 |
| GTA pickup by appointment | Friday, October 30 |
Save 10% on orange, black and red lanterns when you spend $30 or more. Enter code SPOOKY10 at checkout. Offer ends October 26.
One rule before you start: keep anything you attach to a lantern lightweight.
1. Turn an Orange Paper Lantern into a Jack-o'-Lantern
This is the easiest place to start. A round orange lantern already has the shape of a pumpkin. Draw a face with a black permanent marker, or cut the eyes, nose and mouth from black or yellow felt or cardstock and stick them on. Yellow works well too, because it looks like the glow of a carved pumpkin.
Make the face scary, funny, surprised or silly. If you’re decorating with kids, let everyone create their own and group the finished lanterns together. Add a battery operated LED light and your jack-o’-lantern glows after dark.
Suggested size: 12 inch, 16 inch or 20 inch. Use a 24 inch for a statement pumpkin.
Best colour: Orange
You’ll need: orange paper lantern, black permanent marker, black or yellow felt or cardstock, scissors, glue stick, glue dots or double sided tape, battery operated LED light.
TPL Tip: Make several faces in different sizes and group them together to create a pumpkin family.
2. Create a Creepy Spider Lantern
A few spiders completely change the look of a lantern. Start with orange, black or red and add lightweight plastic spiders, or cut your own from black felt or cardstock.
You don’t have to attach everything to the paper. Every lantern has a wire frame inside, so you can tie spiders to it with thread and let them hang below at different lengths. Stretch a little artificial spiderweb around part of the lantern, add an LED light, and it glows behind the web.
Suggested size: 12 inch to 20 inch.
Best colours: Orange, black or red
You’ll need: paper lantern, lightweight plastic or felt spiders, artificial spiderweb, black thread, glue dots, battery operated LED light.
TPL Tip: Don’t cover the whole lantern with spiderweb. Leaving some colour visible makes the spiders stand out.
3. Make a Funny Halloween Monster Lantern
Halloween doesn’t always have to be scary. A lantern becomes a funny little monster with oversized craft eyes, felt and cardstock.
This is a great project for kids because there’s no wrong way to do it. Start with the eyes, then add crooked teeth, eyebrows, a tongue or whatever else is in the craft box. One giant eye works. So do three.
Suggested size: 12 inch or 16 inch.
Best colours: Red, orange or black
You’ll need: paper lantern, large googly eyes, black, white and pink felt, scissors, glue stick, glue dots or double sided tape.
TPL Tip: Don’t try to make every monster perfect. Crooked eyes and uneven teeth are what make them fun.
4. Create an Orange and Black Hanging Lantern Display
Not every lantern needs to become a character. Sometimes the colours do the work.
Mix orange and black lanterns in several sizes and hang them at different heights over a party table, in a window, above a candy station or behind a photo area. Start with the largest lantern, fill in around it with smaller ones, and avoid hanging everything in one straight line. Hang them on fishing line and they look like they’re floating.
Suggested size: Mix 12 inch, 16 inch and 20 inch lanterns, with a 24 inch as the focal point.
The display shown uses seven lanterns: one 24 inch orange, two 16 inch orange, two 20 inch black and two 12 inch black.
Best colours: Orange and black
You’ll need: paper lanterns in several sizes, fishing line, hooks or hanging supplies, battery operated LED lights for the orange lanterns.
TPL Tip: Different sizes are what make the display look full. You don’t need to light every lantern.
5. Create a Black and Red Gothic Halloween Look
Halloween decorating doesn’t have to be orange. Black and red lanterns create something darker, richer and more dramatic.
Combine them with dark flowers, decorative skulls, old books and battery operated candles for an adult Halloween dinner or party entrance. Hang the lanterns above the table with a 30 inch red as the centrepiece.
Suggested size: 12 inch to 30 inch, using several sizes for depth.
The display shown uses five lanterns: red in 30, 20 and 12 inch, and black in 24 and 16 inch.
You’ll need: black and red paper lanterns, fishing line, dark artificial flowers, decorative skulls, battery operated LED candles.
TPL Tip: Keep some areas simple. A few strong black and red lanterns have more impact than covering everything in decorations.
6. Create a Swarm of Bats Around Your Lanterns
You don’t always have to decorate the lantern itself. The space around it can be part of the display.
Cut bats from black cardstock in several sizes. Stick a few on the lantern, hang some below it on fishing line, and place the rest on the wall behind it. Fold the wings of the wall bats forward a little so they lift off the wall. Light the lantern and it looks like bats flying past a Halloween moon.
Suggested size: 16 inch to 24 inch for the main lantern.
Best colours: Orange, red or black
You’ll need: paper lantern, black cardstock, scissors, fishing line, glue dots or double sided tape, battery operated LED light.
TPL Tip: Vary the direction and height of the bats. If they all face the same way at the same level, the display looks flat.
7. Go Big with a Jumbo Ghost
Sometimes Halloween calls for something big. A 30 inch or 36 inch white lantern is a dramatic decoration all on its own, and we’re the only Canadian supplier of paper lanterns this size.
Cut two tall oval eyes and a round open mouth from black felt, or draw them with a black marker. Tape strips of white tissue paper or cheesecloth around the bottom opening so they hang down like a tail. Add LED lights and your ghost floats and glows.
Hang it in a hallway, over the stairs or at the entrance to a Halloween party. Surround it with a few smaller orange lanterns to build a full display.
Suggested size: 30 inch or 36 inch for the jumbo ghost. Use 8 inch to 16 inch for smaller ghosts.
Best colour: White
You’ll need: jumbo white paper lantern, black felt or black permanent marker, scissors, white tissue paper or cheesecloth, glue dots or double sided tape, battery operated LED lights.
TPL Tip: Keep the face simple. Two tall eyes and a small round mouth are all a ghost needs.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
- Open the lantern fully before you decorate it.
- Position first, then glue. Rice paper is very thin and fragile. Once a piece is stuck to the lantern, that’s its spot, and you can’t move it. Test the position before you put glue on the lantern or on the piece.
- Keep it light. A glue stick, glue dots or double sided tape is enough for paper and cardstock. Felt may need a small amount of low temperature hot glue. Test on a small area first.
- Use the frame. Hanging decorations can be tied to the wire frame instead of stuck to the paper.
- Light it safely. Use battery operated LED lantern lights only. Never put a candle or open flame in a paper lantern. Batteries aren’t included, so pick some up before Halloween night.
- Expect a soft glow. LED lantern lights are for ambience. Larger lanterns may need more than one light for an even glow.
- Keep them out of the weather. Paper lanterns belong indoors or in a covered spot, away from wind and rain. See our Safety Guide for details.
Common Questions
Can you put a candle in a paper lantern?
No. Use a battery operated LED light. Paper lanterns and open flames are a fire risk.
What can I use to decorate a paper lantern?
A black permanent marker, felt, cardstock, googly eyes and glue dots cover every idea here. Keep whatever you attach lightweight.
Can I hang paper lanterns outside for Halloween?
Only in a covered spot on a calm, dry day. Wind and rain will damage them.
What size paper lantern should I buy?
12 inch and 16 inch work for most of these ideas. Use a 24 inch as a focal point and a 30 or 36 inch jumbo for a statement piece.
Do the LED lights come with batteries?
No. Batteries are not included.
Create Your Halloween Look with Toronto Paper Lanterns
There’s no single way to decorate a lantern for Halloween. Start with the lantern, look around at what you already have, and have some fun with it.
Toronto Paper Lanterns carries orange, black, red and white paper lanterns in a variety of sizes, including jumbo lanterns for the ideas that call for something bigger.
Order by October 22 in Ontario and Quebec, or October 16 elsewhere in Canada, and take 10% off orange, black and red lanterns on orders of $30 or more with code SPOOKY10. Orders ship within 24 hours, with same-day GTA pickup by appointment.
Made something you want to show off? Email a photo to sales@torontopaperlanterns.com or tag us on Instagram or on our Facebook page. Your idea might inspire someone else’s Halloween next year.
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