Chinese lantern craft for kids

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Are you looking for Chinese New Year crafts and activities to help ring in the Lunar New Year?

It is a tradition for Chinese children to create their own lanterns to display at Chinese New Year.

Using the free printable offered below, your children can easily create their own Chinese lantern to celebrate Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, or any other Chinese holiday.

Note: You’ll find more kid-friendly Chinese New Year activities on my Chinese New Year Activities for Kids page.

To make this Chinese lantern craft, you will first want to download and print this Chinese lantern template.

Once you’ve printed your template, begin by folding your paper in half along the dotted line.

Then cut along the solid lines. Be careful to stop at the end of the solid line and not cut to the end of the paper. This part can be a bit tricky for young kids whose fine motor skills are not fully developed.

Open up your paper. Then bend it into a tall, narrow circle.  The lines you just cut should now run lengthwise down the lantern.

Use tape to secure the ends of your lantern in place.

Use a hole punch to make two holes at the top of your lantern. The holes should be positioned opposite each other.

Run a length of string through both holes, and then tie it into a knot.

Display your Chinese lantern craft for all to see!

For an added touch, light up your lanterns! We had a few battery operated lights laying around.

I attached a short length of string to a light using tape. I then tied the other end of the string to the string already attached to our lanterns. I positioned it in such as way that the string with the light would hang down the middle of the lantern. We closed all our shutters to darken our house, and this is the fun photo we managed to capture!

Want a copy of my Chinese Lantern Craft?

Get it as part of the Chinese New Year Printables Bundle.

Or get this product by clicking the button below.

More Chinese New Year resources

More Chinese New Year posts from Gift of Curiosity:

• Chinese New Year Printables Pack
• Books about Chinese New Year
• Chinese New Year drum craft
• Chinese New Year Do-a-Dot Printables
• Chinese New Year Bingo

For more kid-friendly Chinese New Year activities, see my Chinese New Year Activities for Kids page and my Chinese New Year Pinterest board.