
One of my biggest tips for saving money on seasonal decor is to buy unembellished lanterns, candle holders, cake plates, chargers, etc. at the end of the season in the clearance section. Micheals, JoAnn, and Hobby Lobby have plain items that really could be used year round in their seasonal lines of decor. Swoop these up, and embellish them yourselves for each season! Follow along to see how to make a lantern for Christmas.


Materials Needed:
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~Wired edge ribbon, or a ready-made bow
~Floral picks or bits of faux pine and berries

Step 1-Embellish with pine and berries
Gather picks, or remnants of faux pine and berries, and affix them to the lantern. Personally, I don’t like to attach anything permanently, because I like to reuse objects over and over for each season. For this lantern, I was able to just poke the stems in the opening, and they stayed. But if your lantern doesn’t have an opening, or the picks won’t stay by themselves, just attach with floral wire.

Step 2-Add a bow
Add a bow. You can either make one, or purchase a ready made bow. My bow method is very simple, but there are about a billion bow making tutorials out there!
For my method, pull out about 18″of ribbon. DO NOT CUT, leave the rest of it attached to the spool. Make a loop about 12″ into the pulled out ribbon, and secure with wire. Leave the wire attached to the spool as well.

After winding the floral wire around the first loop, be sure that the wire comes up on the left side of the loop (this will be the center of the bow). This is where you will start the loop to make the left side of the bow. Make a second loop, and wind the floral wire around it, again be sure to come up in the middle of the bow. Continue wrapping the wire around the base of the loops until the bow is secure, and cut the wire off of the spool, but leaving a 12″ length to attach it to the lantern. Cut the left tail off of the spool of ribbon. Cut each tail in a diagonal for a finished edge.

Step 3-Attach the Bow
Attach the bow to the lantern with the length of wire left hanging off of the bow.
That’s it! It only takes about 10 minutes, and now you have a Christmas lantern that you can change up for many Christmases to come, and use plain or embellished for each season!
Here’s another easy bow making tutorial!
This one is extra special!
Want some more easy DIY Christmas decor?
Make these mercury glass ornaments!
Or this cute footed tray!
Get everything you need!

So pretty, Danielle! I love that you can change out the decor for any season. Such a good tip! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Kim! I’m cheap, and I don’t have much room to store things, so I have to repurpose again and again!
So pretty, thank you for sharing. I have a lantern which needs a makeover for Christmas too. Now I have the inspiration to do something about it.
Oh good, Carol! I’m glad it inspired you! I hope you make one!
Very cute! I love lanterns.
Thanks so much, Sharon! They are a home decor staple!
So cute! quick and easy too! thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, Kimberly! It is so fun to embellish a plain one!
Such a fun Christmas upgrade! I love being able to take seasonally neutral decor and make it fit with any season!
I do too, Morgan! Thanks so much!
This lantern looks amazing, thanks for this tutorial!
Thanks so much, Josiah! It was very quick and easy to do!
I love how it’s so simple and beauitful!!
Thank you so much, Mary. I prefer simple, but someone could always add more ribbon or greenery to make it more extravagant!
I’ll have to remember to do this to my lanterns this weekend! Great ideas Danielle!!
I hope you make some! They only take a few minutes, and you can probably use what you already have in your Christmas stash!
This is so festive and easy! Love it!
Thanks so much, Marie! It is so easy!
What an absolutely stunning lantern! Especially with that bow, it looks so beautiful.
Thanks so much! It was very simple to do and only took about 10 minutes!
I love lanterns Danielle! Such a great cost effective way to make it Christmassy!🥰🌲
Oh thank you, Esther! You know me-it’s got to be cost effective!
I absolutely love this bow!! So cute!
Oh thanks so much, Christin! It’s super basic!
You can certainly see your expertise within the article you write. Pierette Zachariah Charmaine
Thanks so much!