Christmas calls for a little bit of extra ‘Ohhhh’ as the magic builds and ice lanterns are a total show stopper.
They couldn’t be easier to make and they cost nothing!
Christmas Eve is the perfect time to make ice lanterns.
Wrap up warm and head out for a foraging walk to collect berries, holly, ivy and evergreens or plunder the garden for rosemary sprigs and cotoneaster berries.
It’s a good time to stop and reflect, to take a breather from the bustling business of Christmas preparations and to reconnect with yourself, your family and your environment.
How To Make Ice Lanterns
To make these glorious decorations you will need two bowls or cups with one being larger than the other.
Suspend the smaller one inside the larger using tape to hold it off the bottom.
Fill the gap between the two with water (you will probably need to put some inside the smaller receptacle too to stop it floating away) and then push berries, leaves and flowers between the two bowls.
You could add glitter, tinsel and Christmas decorations if you like but there is something very lovely about an all natural decoration made from foraged finds.
Pop your beautiful ice lantern creations into the freezer or leave them outside overnight to freeze if it’s cold enough.
When they have frozen solid remove the bowls or cups. You may need to dunk them in warm water to do this, don’t make it too hot or you may crack your bowls.
Pop a nightlight inside, find somewhere special in the garden to put them and enjoy; hopefully they will help the man in red and his faithful herd to find your home with that sack of gifts!
When they melt, all you will be left with (especially if you have used all natural ingredients) will be a little pile of Christmas.
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Edited and updated in November 2016
Thank you for taking part. These are so beautiful. I have never seen anything even similar to these and so easy to make too.
I love this and will be making them with the boys. Just need to find some berries. Non of the bushes have any, may have to use my cranberries!
ooooh i love these, brilliant. You know how I love ice creations. xx
Very very oooooh.
It depends how big they are and how cold it is outside! All you’re left with is a little pile of Christmas once the ice has melted!
What a neat idea! Must give this a try.
Oh, love this so so much
🙂
Pointed to this post by Actually Mummy. A wonderful idea and a future Country Kids post I feel!
Wow! how clever and looks glorious.
I love these – and they sound really easy to make with the kids too. Definitely going to give them a go after our next nature walk. Thanks so much for linking up with #NaturallyCrafty 🙂
These are beautiful. This is something we’ll have to try.
Fantastic idea to add to the many Christmas traditions. One clarification, is the light coming from inside the frozen Christmas decoration?