A DIY Christmas lantern is one of the cheapest ways to make a room feel like December. You probably have half the supplies already: a jar, a tin can, a paper bag, some scrap wood. Add a light and you have something that looks far more expensive than it was.
This list covers 18 real tutorials from other makers. Each one links to the creator’s own page, where you will find the full steps, supply lists, and photos. I kept the mix wide on purpose. There are five-minute jar lanterns, a couple of weekend wood builds, paper lanterns for kids, and one that is literally made of ice. Pick the one that matches the stuff you already own and the time you actually have.
1. Jute ring ball lanterns for the porch
Credit: Seasonal Home Magic
Jute wrapped around a ring form makes a round, glowing ball that reads rustic from the street and soft up close. Hang two or three from porch hooks and they fill the whole entry with warm light. Jute burns, so use battery fairy lights here and never a real candle.
2. A Christmas village lantern
Credit: Celebrated Nest
This one turns a plain lantern into a tiny Christmas village, with little houses and trees arranged inside around the light. It works as a mantel centerpiece or a side table piece, and you can swap the scene each year without starting over. Keep the light battery powered if your village pieces are paper or fabric.
3. Warm, magical lantern ideas
Credit: Morella Ulalume
Morella Ulalume pulls together a set of festive lantern looks, from pinecone-topped jars to ribbon-wrapped glass, all built around the same idea: a simple container, a warm light, and a few natural bits from the yard. Browse it when you want inspiration before you commit to one build. Most of the looks here use glass, so a real tea light works, but switch to battery lights the moment paper or dried greenery gets close to the flame.
4. Simple jars turned into holiday magic
Credit: OrganizerTone
This tutorial starts with the most basic jar you own and dresses it up with twine, greenery, and a warm light. It is a good first project if you have never made a lantern before, because there is nothing to cut and nothing to build. A real tea light is fine in a plain glass jar, as long as the rim stays clear of anything flammable.
5. Snowy mason jar luminaries
Credit: Evelyn Osborn of My Turn for Us
Epsom salt glued to the outside of a mason jar reads as fresh snow once the light goes on inside. The whole project takes about ten minutes, and the jars look right lined up along a porch or a dining table. Evelyn’s version uses a real votive or a battery tea light set into the salt. Keep the flame below the rim and the lid off.
6. A mason jar lantern with a garland handle
Credit: Between Naps on the Porch
A half-gallon mason jar, a length of garland wrapped into a handle, a pillar candle, and a handful of cranberries. That is the whole project, and it looks like something from a garden shop. Hang it from a shepherd’s hook by the front walk, or set it on the table. Measure your jar opening before you buy the candle, since some pillars are just barely too wide to fit.
7. Tissue paper lanterns that double as treat jars
Credit: Our Best Bites
Torn tissue paper, Mod Podge, and a holiday cutout turn an empty pickle or salsa jar into a glowing lantern. The cutouts are the fun part: a snowman, a tree, a star. A Cricut makes them neater, but the author freehanded one and it became the favorite. Fill the jar with treats first, then drop in a tea light once it is empty. Glass takes a real tea light safely.
8. Punched tin can lanterns
Credit: Welcome to Nana’s
Save your soup cans for this one. Fill a can with water, freeze it overnight so the metal holds its shape, then punch a star or snowflake pattern through the wall with a hammer and nail. The post includes two free printable Christmas patterns. A battery candle or a string of fairy lights goes inside, and the pattern throws itself across the wall in pinpricks of light. Metal is fireproof, so a real tea light works too.
9. Nativity silhouette paper bag luminaries
Credit: Songbird Blog
Plain white sandwich bags, a printed nativity silhouette, a black marker, and a scoop of sand. Trace the silhouette onto the bag, color it in, add the sand for weight, and set a flameless candle inside. The whole thing costs almost nothing and looks calm and deliberate on a mantel. Paper bags and real flames do not mix, so battery candles only here.
10. Paper bag luminaries with cutout shapes
Credit: Sunny Day Family
Trace a Christmas tree cookie cutter onto a paper lunch bag, cut the shape out with a craft knife, and tape a square of colored sandwich bag behind the opening so the light glows through in color. A battery votive finishes it. This is a good one to make with kids old enough to handle scissors, since there is no hot glue and no flame. The post includes a short video if you want to watch it done first.
11. A wooden lantern in two sizes, with free plans
Credit: The Garden Style
If you have scrap 1×2 boards lying around, this tutorial turns them into an open-frame wooden lantern with a rope handle, in a tall size and a smaller one. The trick is building two flat panels first, then joining them, which keeps the whole thing square without a fight. You will need a saw. Add pine sprigs and berries for Christmas, then use a battery candle, since wood and open flame are a bad pair.
12. An easy scrap wood candle lantern
Credit: Woodshop Diaries
This is the quick version of the wood lantern: scrap boards, square dowels, wood glue, and screws, built with two tools. It comes out tall and slim, sized for a battery candle or a small vase, and it makes a solid handmade gift. A router is optional for the decorative edges. Skip it if you do not own one.
13. A Christmas lantern from scrap wood
Credit: Woodshop Diaries
The same maker as the lantern above, but this is the fuller Christmas build: a scrap wood frame, a spindle on top, and a base sized for a candle. It asks for more tools, a table saw, a miter saw, and a drill, plus a nail gun if you have one. The payoff is a lantern that looks bought, not built. Battery candle only, and keep it away from the tree.
14. Christmas wine bottle lights
Credit: Cut Out + Keep
Paint a simple Christmas tree on an empty wine bottle, sprinkle glitter over the wet paint, glue wooden stars to the neck, and feed a short string of lights down through the opening. No glass drilling, no special tools. Clear or light-colored bottles glow best. Use LED lights, which stay cool, and keep the battery pack or plug outside the bottle.
15. A 3D paper tree lantern
Credit: Jennifer Maker
Cut cardstock and vellum panels on a Cricut, fold them into a standing tree shape, and light it from inside with fairy lights. The free SVG files come in four designs: snowflakes, poinsettias, Happy Holidays, and a blank one you can customize. You will need a cutting machine for this one, plus a scoring tool if you want clean folds. Paper means battery lights only, no exceptions.
16. A 3D papercraft lantern with a winter scene
Credit: Craft with Sarah
Layers of blue cardstock build up a snowy winter scene on each side of this lantern, and a battery candle inside makes the layers glow one after another. The free SVG works on most Cricut machines, including the Joy Xtra if you shrink it. The finished lantern stands about eight inches tall, which suits a shelf or a windowsill. Battery candle only.
17. Ice lanterns for the walkway
Credit: Ella Claire Inspired
Two cups, one inside the other, water poured between them, cranberries and pine tucked into the gap, then a night in the freezer or outside if it is cold enough. Pop the cups off and you have a hollow ice lantern. Set it on the walkway on Christmas Eve. Battery candles last longest, since a real candle melts the walls faster, and these only work where the temperature stays below freezing.
18. Fabric Christmas luminarias
Credit: Nourish and Nestle
Fusible interfacing and stabilizer ironed together make a stiff fabric bag, stenciled with white stars and finished with a zigzag stitch along the top edge. The glow through fabric is softer than glass, more like lamplight. You will need a sewing machine and an iron. LED candles only: fabric is flammable, and the author says so plainly in the tutorial.
Which lantern for which spot
Start with where the lantern will live, then work backward to the material.
The porch and the walkway want things that can take cold and wind. The jute ball lanterns, the punched tin cans, the mason jar lantern with the garland handle, and the ice lanterns all belong outside. Tin and glass hold up in weather. Paper bags will not, unless the porch is covered and dry.
The mantel and the dining table want glass and wood. The Christmas village lantern, the snowy mason jars, the tissue paper jars, and the scrap wood lanterns all sit happily indoors, where you can see them from the couch. If you want more ideas for the table, our 18 DIY Christmas centerpieces pair well with a lantern or two in the middle.
Kids’ rooms and anywhere near the tree call for battery light only. The paper bag luminaries, the 3D paper lanterns, and the fabric luminarias were designed for flameless candles, and that is how they should stay. Our 18 DIY Christmas candle holders has more flameless-friendly ideas in the same spirit.
Gifts go to the small, sturdy builds. The tissue paper treat jars, the wine bottle lights, and the easy scrap wood lantern all travel well and do not need explaining when someone opens them. The wine bottle in particular is hard to get wrong.
If you have mason jars left over after the lanterns, put them to work. Our 18 DIY Christmas mason jar crafts covers the rest of the jar ideas, and the 18 DIY Christmas snow globes use the same jars for a different kind of glow.
A quick word on safety
The rule is simple. Glass, metal, and ice can hold a real flame. Wood, paper, fabric, jute, and dried greenery cannot, so those lanterns get battery lights, always. Keep every lit lantern where you can see it, away from curtains and the tree, and blow out real candles before you leave the room or go to bed. Battery tea lights and fairy lights give you the same warm look with none of the worry, and for most of these builds they are the better choice anyway.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest DIY Christmas lantern to make?
The snowy mason jar luminaries. Coat a jar in glue, roll it in Epsom salt, drop in a tea light. Ten minutes, no tools, and it looks like fresh snow once the light is on.
Can I use real candles in a DIY Christmas lantern?
Only in glass, metal, or ice. A real tea light is fine in a mason jar or a tin can, as long as the rim stays clear and the lantern sits on a steady surface. Never use a real flame in paper, fabric, wood, or jute lanterns. Battery tea lights work everywhere and look just as warm.
What do I need to make a mason jar Christmas lantern?
A clean mason jar, a light, and whatever you want to dress it with: twine, greenery, Epsom salt for a snowy look, or tissue paper and Mod Podge for a glowing design. A wide-mouth jar makes it easier to set the candle inside.
How do you make tin can luminaries without denting the can?
Fill the can with water and freeze it solid overnight. The ice backs the metal from inside, so the hammer and nail punch clean holes instead of crushing the sides. Let the ice melt out and dry the can fully before you light it, or the base will rust.
Do paper bag luminaries need real candles?
No, and they should not have them. Battery-operated tea lights give the same soft glow with no fire risk, which is why every paper bag tutorial on this list uses them. Add a scoop of sand to the bottom so the bag stands straight.
How long do ice lanterns last?
It depends on the cold and the wall thickness. A thick-walled bucket lantern on a freezing night can last most of the evening, while a thin one with a real candle inside melts in an hour or two. Battery candles stretch the life a lot, since they add no heat.
Wrapping up
Eighteen lanterns, one rule: match the light to the material, and the rest is easy. Start with the jar or can you already own, make one tonight, and see how it looks on the mantel before you commit to a whole row of them. The best lantern in this list is the one you actually finish, so pick the build that fits your evening, not the one that impresses strangers. Then light it, step back, and enjoy the room.
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