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You are here: Home / Activities & Crafts / Chinese Paper Lantern Craft

Chinese Paper Lantern Craft

February 4, 2015 by Scarlet

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When I was in fourth grade, I went to a Chinese American school.  It was a lot of fun and I learned about the Chinese New Year.  The date varies a little each year but this year the Chinese New Year 2015 falls on February 19th. It is an official public holiday in China. The Chinese lunar calendar is associated with the Chinese zodiac and this year is the year of the goat! I remember lots of Chinese paper lanterns and that the children each got a red envelop with a little money it. Anyway, I thought I would share a DIY Chinese paper lantern project with you in case you want to help your little ones celebrate it. This Chinese lantern craft is super easy to make and only takes a few basic supplies.

DIY Chinese Paper Lantern

Chinese Paper Lantern Craft

Chinese Lantern Craft Supplies:

  • pipe cleaners
  • paper (solid or printed)
  • scissors
  • ruler
  • hole punch

chinese lantern craft supplies

Chinese Lantern Craft Directions:

You have a lot of freedom to customize this easy Chinese paper lantern to your own liking by changing the size of the strips of paper and the pattern of the paper.

I choose to use origami paper cut into strips because I like the pattern but you could use construction paper or typing paper.  Since origami paper is usually 6 inches by 6 inches, I cut it into 6- 1 inch strips.

I chose a total of 9- 1 inch by 6 inch strips and hole punched them in the middle about 1/3 of an inch up on the top and bottom.  (See photo above.)

I then cut a pipe cleaner to be 5 inches long and made a small loop at the bottom so that the the paper strips would not fall off.  I then loaded all of the strips onto the pipe cleaner with the pattern facing down towards the little loop.  I alternated color strips as I loaded.  (See photo below.)

place paper strips onto wire

Next I loaded the other end of the strips onto the pipe cleaner so that it made an arc shape.  (See below.)

Chinese paper lantern strips all on

 

I finished it off with a big loop on top to keep the paper lantern strips on and to give a place to hang the lantern if you so desire.

DIY Chinese paper lantern

Then, you just fan the paper strips out and you have a Chinese paper lantern!  It is a very quick and easy craft.  You can make bunches of them and hang them from doorways and window frames.  You can use red strips for a more traditional Chinese Lantern Craft if you prefer.

Do you think you will try this Chinese paper lantern craft yourself?  Share your photos @familyfocusblog!  Do you have any other special crafts or traditions to celebrate the Chinese New Year?  You may want to share some ancient Chinese proverbs with your children too.  What is Chinese zodiac sign?  I’m a dragon!

 

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Filed Under: Activities & Crafts Tagged With: Chinese, crafts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nancy b. says

    February 9, 2015 at 9:27 am

    Great craft – both timely and because we have the materials on hand! We will add this to our snow day activities – Thanks!

  2. Tamara @ We3Travel says

    February 9, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    These are so pretty! I imagine they would work well with scrapbook paper too?

  3. Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? says

    February 9, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    What a great and easy craft that we can do together! I never would have thought of the pipe cleaner to hold it all together!

  4. Heather G says

    February 9, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    These are adorable! My three year old would love them!

  5. Emily @Random Recycling says

    February 9, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    This post reminds me of how much I loved doing origami as a kid. This looks like such a fun way to use up extra scrapbook paper scraps too.

  6. Kimberly @ Red Shutters says

    February 9, 2015 at 7:29 pm

    I love this craft – looks doable and so much fun! Plus, it’s a great starting off point to discuss this holiday with kids. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Jessica @ Keeping Mommy Sane says

    February 9, 2015 at 8:05 pm

    this is so cute! And just in time for all these snow days here in New England 🙂

  8. Annie {Stowed Stuff} says

    February 10, 2015 at 8:05 am

    Super cute craft. I made a tiny little book out of these papers once! Great craft for another SNOW DAY!

  9. Lori Popkewitz Alper says

    February 10, 2015 at 9:17 am

    I’m saving this one for our next snow day, which could happen in a day or two! Love this!

  10. Leticia Barr says

    February 11, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    As a Chinese American who looks to pass on the traditions of Chinese New Year to my own children and has been asked to share our culture with our kids’ friends, I’m always looking for great crafts and can’t wait to share this one with my kids’ teachers and friends!

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Thanks for reading Family Focus Blog, which has been named a top family blog for parenting resources. It was created by Nashville mom blogger, Scarlet Paolicchi, to share tips for better family life, parenting, family fun activities, eco-friendly lifestyle, family food ideas, family travel, and home decor. Family Focus Blog has been named #3 in Cision PR’s 50 U.S. Top Mom Blog list.

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