Without a doubt, St. Martin's Day is one of the most famous and popular German autumn traditions. November 11th is coming soon, so today we are presenting you with a few ideas on how you can make a colorful and beautiful lantern with your children for the St. Martin's Day parade.
Paper or glass are available as materials and the motifs include moon and stars, fairies, owl,Hello Kitty, monsters or fish announced.
Paper offers various options for making lanterns and is therefore often used. You can decide for yourself whether you want to fold creative and colorful origami lanterns yourself or use colored wax paper as a template. Thanks to its certain transparency, a beautiful effect is created, especially when you use a lantern or light an LED candle.
Mason jars are also suitable for a lantern parade if you are traveling with small children on St. Martin's Day. Glue colorful tissue paper and/or googly eyes onto the mason jars and make your own monster face.
Another fun idea that would make the preparation a lot of fun would be to let the children do the crafting and decorating. Put mason jars and tissue paper on the table, invite the little ones and after a few hours you will have unique masterpieces for an unforgettable lantern parade!
Colorful tracing paper offers space for creative design and is perfect for crafts thanks to its excellent adhesive properties. Metallic and pastel tones really come into their own at night when combined with light. Unfortunately, this paper reacts very strongly to moisture, so the lantern cannot be used in the rain without special protection.
Little girls especially enjoy fairies. To do this, you basically have to cut a fairy template out of paper and stick it on the inside of the mason jar. This leaves the impression that the fairy is standing in the glass as if by magic. When you light the lantern, the whole lantern looks extraordinary and magical.
First, we'll give you some advice on how you can motivate your children to take part in the crafting process. If the little ones like to paint, give them watercolor paper and colored pencils and let them create their own pictures and motifs. Then you have to coat the pictures with oil and let them dry overnight. The next day, cut an old plastic bottle, first fold the paper around the bottle, staple it with staples, make 2 holes and use old shoelaces as carrying handles, for example.
These colorful variations attract the attention of all children and parents at the lantern parade on November 11th. You hardly have to invest any time in preparing them as they are quick and easy to make compared to the complicated origami patterns. All you need is colored paper and a desire for crafting and folding.
Wind light lanterns can be designed in different sizes depending on your taste. The instructions for making such a lantern are simple, so you can quickly try out this idea with children at home. Paper in various colors is again the material that you have to use. Be sure to choose a battery-operated LED candle because it is safe for children. Making the paper lantern is really easy. Take a sheet of A4 paper in the color you want and fold it in half. Now cut into the folded edge of the paper sheet every 2.5 cm with the scissors. There should be a margin of around 2 cm at the top. Then unfold the sheet of paper, roll it and glue the ends of the paper along the long edges. Feel free to develop your own creation and decorate the paper as you wish.
Making balloons for the lantern parade is a lot of fun for toddlers if you want to try something new with the little ones. It is recommended to use papermache technique. You need a balloon, tissue paper, glue and lots of joy. Combine glue and water until the mixture looks similar to milk, then blow balloons into the desired size and shape, cut the paper into strips and stick them onto the balloon with this mixture. Finally, apply another layer of paste. You still have to wait a few days until the whole thing dries out. If this has already happened, carefully pop the balloon and take it out.
Paper mache lanterns in purple and yellow go well together, look beautiful and are sought after for a lantern parade. You can also stick on glitter particles, as the children think these are great and are very happy. Cut a sufficiently large opening and punch holes on both sides. Now you can thread and tie a ribbon.
Children will be particularly excited about a colorful balloon lantern if you choose the owl as a motif for the lantern parade and design it according to your taste. We recommend that you use the papier mache technique repeatedly because the material is easy to shape and inexpensive. To give the owl a cheerful and colorful appearance, you can cut out circles for the owl's feathers from colored tissue paper and glue them slightly overlapping. For the typical large eyes, you can also use patterned or colorful paper and glue wobbly eyes in the middle.
For a wonderful St. Martin's Day celebration, choose other animals in addition to owls - such as elephants. Although the owls are called hunters of the night and shine beautifully like lanterns in the dark and are therefore suitable for parades at night, some small children are afraid of the birds and prefer cute animals. For the elephant lantern, cut out two large ears and the long trunk from sturdy paper. You can also make the legs out of paper and attach them. Using the paper mache technique, you can conjure up a variety of animal figures and attract everyone's attention at the lantern parade.
Another variant for St. Martin's Day is the Hello Kitty variant. Make it with your girl at home using again balloon and paper mache technique. For the ears, feel free to use pieces of an empty egg carton and shape them into shape. Ultimately, you have to paint the eyes, nose, mustache, stick a pink tissue paper bow on the head and the cat is ready. The little boys will certainly look forward to a Minion lantern. You can make the tiny yellow creatures for the lanterns out of paper, glass, empty plastic packaging or paper mache. The idea is also easy to implement. It is important that the Minions have their blue dungarees and glasses.
You and your child can make a cute monster lantern for Saint Martin. Follow the steps already described and stick the monster with pieces of tissue paper in green or blue. Cover the balloon with several layers of tissue paper to create a rich, vibrant color. Cut out the ears and attach them to the body. Don't forget to paint a big smile and glue on the eyes. The cute monster still needs hands and feet. You can also make these out of green construction paper. You need a total of four strips, which you fold like witch's stairs.
These colorful, Chinese paper versions can be bought either locally or online, for example at IKEA. If you have limited time and your children are impatient, they are particularly suitable. With colorful paints and brushes, the little ones can experiment and let their imagination run wild. Even very small children can take part in making lanterns out of paper and you can be sure that they will have a lot of fun with this great activity.
It is best to let the lights hang on a branch or pole. Replace a real candle with its battery-operated LED version to avoid the risk of fire or burns.
“Lantern, lantern, sun, moon and stars…” the children sing on November 11th. Sent to the lantern parade, you just have to make a really beautiful moon and star lantern. Although this motif is very traditional and common for St. Martin's Day, your children will definitely remember St. Martin's Day forever. To do this, you can form the small lantern out of tracing paper and on top of it stick another layer of colored paper on which you have already cut out the desired patterns. The cutouts create a great effect that not only children find great.
Saint Martin's Day is a Catholic church festival, so a wax paper lantern with a church motif looks very impressive. Use a black marker to draw a pretty church pattern, stick it on the mason jar and, like every year, go through the city with your children.
Another original idea is still available. You can first print out this creative flower template and achieve the 3D effect using a sharp cutter knife with a base or nail scissors.
If you want to distinguish yourself from all other visitors on St. Martin's Day, you can choose a few motifs like in the picture above when designing. We recommend combining different shapes and colors or using washi tape so that the lantern doesn't look boring.
Alternatively, a great moon lantern would be a great idea. It can also light your child's path during the lantern parade. The craft introduction is simple and quick. You will need to cut out two circles from blue cardstock that will be used to make the front and back of the moon lantern. Draw the desired motifs, such as the moon and stars, on the paper and cut them out. Now take yellow tracing paper for the star and orange for the moon and cut out pieces that are slightly larger than the cutouts you have already made. Then stick the tissue paper behind the side pieces. When you put this lantern togethercraft with your child, let them design the face themselves and stick on the eyes and cheeks. The homemade moon lantern looks very cute with freckles. Finally, all you have to do is cut out a middle bar that you glue between the finished decorated side parts. Attach the hanging brackets and attach the lantern rod and bulb.
