Halloween Luminaries

Halloween Luminaries – There’s no better way to welcome trick-or-treaters and guests to your home!

Materials Needed:

Small Brown Paper Bags
Pencil or Pen
Scissors
Orange Tissue Paper
Tape
Sand, Gravel or Limestone
Tea or Votive Candles
*Optional* Stencils

Once you’ve gathered your supplies, it’s time to get started!

Plan out what you’d like your luminaries to say. I’m going to make mine say “Happy Halloween”. Count the number of letters in your saying and lay out the same number of bags appropriately. (There are 14 letters in “Happy Halloween” if you want to do the same saying.)

Using a pen or pencil, draw each letter onto a bag. (*Optional* For those who are more comfortable using stencils, feel free to do so!)

Carefully cut out each letter with a scissors. Then, cut a small piece of orange tissue paper and tape inside the bag behind your cut out letter.

Fill each bag with two to three cups of sand, gravel or limestone.

Inside a candle in the middle of the bag. Place around your sidewalk or driveway, light the candles and enjoy!

(Note: It’s been raining here for over a week, so I had to take my luminary picture in our garage. I promise to update with better photos once the weather improves!)

Please Take a Moment to Read these Luminary Safety Tips:

Do not use candle luminaries during high wind.
Place the luminary on a nonflammable surface, such as pavement away from combustible materials.
Do not let children or pets play around luminaries.
At the end of the night, make sure every single luminary candle is extinguished. After several hours, a candle (especially a tea light) may be burning low enough that the bag no longer glows. The candle appears to be extinguished when in reality it is not.
As an alternative, consider using a glow stick or LED candle instead of real candles.

TOTAL COST AND TIME: It took me one hour to make four different luminary sayings (“Happy Halloween”, “Boo”, “Trick or Treat” and “You Look Great!”). I bought all my materials at Hobby Lobby. (I already owned the pencil, scissors, and tape. I borrowed some limestone from my dad.)