There are several things to look forward to when the Mid-Autumn Festival rolls around. A bright, full moon to admire when night falls, yummy mooncakes to devour with the family, and for the kids, making DIY Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns! If you need some ideas on how to make one (or more), keep scrolling for adorable DIY lantern designs that the kids will enjoy making. Of course, don’t forget to hang them up proudly at the entrance or front porch once they’re done. Then parade them around the neighbourhood on the day of the festival!
Easy Mid-Autumn Festival Lanterns For Kids To Make
Here are 15 creative Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns that you can easily craft at home with your kids.
1. Paper Plate Lantern
For a simple design using affordable materials, try this Chinese lantern with see-through windows made out of paper plates and some craft paper. If your kid likes painting too, they’ll get to do that with this design. Don’t forget to include a tealight candle by carefully dropping it in the lantern once done.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Paper plates
- Kitchen roll tube
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paint
- Pencil & ruler
- Red construction paper
- Yellow glass paper
- Gold ribbon
- Gold tassel
- Hot glue gun
2. Rainbow Pom Pom Lantern
Looking for a fun, contemporary take on the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival lantern? Your kids will love this rainbow-hued lantern that comes with matching fuzzy pom poms. No fancy materials are needed to make this vibrant lantern, besides an array of coloured paper and some basic stationery.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Coloured paper in rainbow shades
- Pom poms in various colours
- Scissors
- Utility knife
- Glue stick
- Pencil & ruler
- Cardboard paper
- Pipe cleaners
- Ribbon
3. Rabbit Lantern
As the mascot of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a rabbit lantern is the most common animal design. In fact, while you’re doing this craft together with your kids, why not tell them about the legend of the selfless Jade Rabbit that became immortal? Nothing like a good storytelling session and a fun DIY project to bond the family!
Supplies you’ll need:
- 6 paper plates
- 4 paper lace doilies
- Construction paper in black, white, and pink
- 2 pieces of string or yarn measuring 40cm each
- Wooden stick
- Scotch tape
- Glue
- Stapler
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- LED flameless tealight candle
4. Ang Bao Bunny Lantern
If you’ve got unused ang baos from last Chinese New Year, use them to make this bunny lantern. Small and cute, it’s a fitting size for toddlers who can’t carry a lantern that’s too unwieldy. To make the bunny’s facial features pop, why not try using coloured paper for the nose and whiskers instead?
Supplies you’ll need:
- Ang baos
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Black pen
- Beaded string (or white-and-gold twine)
- Googly eyes
- Hot glue gun
- Cardboard
- Utility knife
- LED tealight
5. Unicorn & Dragon Lanterns (Plus Free Printouts!)
Made a rabbit lantern before? Then give these two mythical creatures a go: the unicorn and dragon! Not good at drawing your own version of these creatures? Not to worry, because the video tutorial provides free printouts for each. So all you have to do is print them out and follow the instructions to create these adorable Mooncake Festival lanterns!
Supplies you’ll need:
- Unicorn printout (plus wings)
- Dragon printout
- 2 empty bottles
- Ribbon
- Scotch tape
- Double-sided tape
- Pen and ruler
- Scissors
- Colourful Sharpie markers
- Paint
- Coloured paper
- LED tealight
6. Colourful Straw Lantern
Got a bunch of unused straws (especially colourful ones) lying around the house? Put them to good use with this unconventional yet creative Mid-Autumn Festival lantern idea! Just glue similar-hued straws together to form one section of the lantern before combining them all to create a heptagonal lantern. Easy peasy!
Supplies you’ll need:
- Colourful plastic straws
- Craft wire
- Hot glue gun
- Paper knife
- Batteries
- Scissors
- Rubber band
- Red tassel
- Tealight (from an old lantern, if you have one)
7. Simple Red Lantern
For a sophisticated-looking lantern that requires minimal material, this video tutorial has got you covered. You’ll mainly need coloured paper and decorative tape (like washi tape) for the trimming, and that’s it! No complicated steps, but a finished product that would wow not just your kids, but the neighbours too.
Supplies you’ll need:
- 3 sheets of A4 coloured paper
- Pencil & ruler
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Decorative tape or washi tape
- Double-sided tape
- Twine
8. Recycled Box Lantern
Want to create a Mooncake Festival lantern the eco-friendly way? Then don’t throw out that empty cereal box or tissue box. Instead, upcycle them into a DIY lantern by following this video tutorial. Though brown paint is used here, feel free to let your child pick whichever hue they want to decorate their lantern with.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Recycled box
- LED candles
- Paint
- 1 dowel/chopstick/pencil/stick
- Tape
- Hot glue gun
- Hole puncher
9. Traditional Paper Lantern
Here’s an easy Mooncake Festival DIY lantern you’ve probably learnt making in school that you can now pass on to your kid. It’s a traditional paper lantern that uses super-thin paper and a simple folding technique to create a zig-zag exterior. Great for kids of all ages, especially younger ones!
Supplies you’ll need:
- A4 paper
- Cardstock
- Watercolour paint
- Scissors
- Hole puncher
- Wire
- Glue
- String
10. Easy Pastel Rainbow Lantern (Plus Free Printout!)
With little effort and minimal materials, you and your kiddo can team up to make this simple Mooncake Festival DIY lantern. All you need to do is cut out 10 strips following the printable template and place them in an interlocking manner. The lantern then comes together quickly and beautifully without any complicated folding or glueing method!
Supplies you’ll need:
- Lantern template
- 5 sheets of coloured A4 paper
- Scissors
- White glue
- Cardboard paper
- Circle stencil
- Bamboo skewer
- String
- LED tealight
11. Starburst Lantern
This Mid-Autumn Festival lantern is customisable for little boys and girls. How, you ask? By letting the kids choose the coloured papers they’d like to use for their lanterns! You might also want to staple both ends of the paper handle to the lantern, just to make sure it can comfortably support the weight of the battery-operated tealight.
Supplies you’ll need:
- 5 sheets of A4 coloured paper
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Pencil
- Plastic sheet
- Tape
- Glue stick
- LED tealight
12. Paper Cup Lantern
Have a few paper cups lying around? Turn them into a captivating lantern instead of letting them go to waste! It’s amazing what you can do with disposable paper cups and a few tools you can easily find in your home. The cherry on top is you can put up this lantern as a permanent display after the festival if you follow through with the tutorial by putting some glow in it.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Paper cups
- Craft knife
- Craft glue
- Scissors
- Double-sided tape
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Pen
- LED bulb (optional)
13. Paper Cup Fish Lantern
Instead of buying a typical fish lantern made of glass paper, why not try this paper cup version instead? Kids can easily replicate this Mid-Autumn Festival lantern simply by attaching some simple paper cutouts to a cup. There’s no need to limit yourself to a fully red lantern though—just use a mix of coloured paper if you prefer a lantern that’s more vibrant!
Supplies you’ll need:
- Red paper cup
- Black, white, and red coloured paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Black and gold markers
- LED tealight
- Red string
14. ‘Watercolour’ Lantern
For something that’s a little closer to the traditional Mooncake Festival lantern, give this DIY project a go. It’s not actually that complex to make, given the beautiful results. Though you’ll want to take care of the steps that require the use of a hot glue gun, and leave the fun stuff like drawing on the dry wipes to little ones.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Dry wipes
- Bamboo chopsticks
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Coloured markers
- Paintbrush
- Jute string
- LED fairy lights
15. Mini Chinese Lanterns
No doubt when it comes to lanterns, the bigger the better. But tiny ones have their charm too. These adorable mini mid autumn festival lanterns will surely steal some attention from their bigger siblings for being unique and cute! However, they are not to be taken lightly in terms of the work needed to put them into shape.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Red card
- Gold thread/cord
- Pencil
- Gold paint pent/marker/paint
- Scrap of cardboard
- Piece of white paper
- Superglue & PVA glue
- Double-sided tape
- Scissors
- Ruler
- X-acto knife & cutting mat
- Sewing needle & strong thread
- Awl
- Clothes peg
- Red crepe paper & acetate (optional)
Eat Mooncakes And Make These Mid-Autumn Festival Lanterns With The Kids
Besides eating mooncakes together, making Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns will be a fond memory that your children will cherish when they grow up. So be sure to make time for this activity with your kids. Whether you’ve decided to make a traditional Mooncake Festival lantern or a modern reinterpretation of it, your kids will be so proud to see their creations being displayed!
Attempting to make your own mooncakes this year? Here’s our round-up of easy baked, snow skin, and jelly mooncake recipes. If you’re pressed for time, don’t worry. You can always order the best mooncakes in Malaysia at the Shopee Mooncake Festival.
