Halloween Crafts: How to Make Paper Bag Luminaries

Halloween Crafts: How to Make Paper Bag Luminaries
Decorate the path to your door with these fun and easy to make paper bag luminaries!

Start by opening enough small paper brown bags for your luminaries. You'll need to place one about every two to three feet along the path you're lining them with. Decide whether you want to line both sides of your trail, in which case you'll need twice as many. Use the 'lunch sack' size, and you can get a package of fifty for around a dollar.

If you want larger luminaries, you can use the next larger bag size. I don't recommend using anything larger than the sack that's bottom is about the shape of an ice cream carton. If you use any larger size grocery sack, the wind can easily blow the sides in, and even tip the sack over.

On the top two-thirds of the bags, carefully cut out designs. (The light will be shining through these from the inside later.) Keep your cuts fairly small; you shouldn't have any really big open spaces. Two or three smaller cuts will look better than one large cut.

For the designs on your luminaries, choose Halloween themed pictures. Cats with arched backs, pointed witch's hats, crescent moons, stars, and lightening zig-zags are all traditional images. You could also fashion your luminaries as jack-o-lanterns, by cutting out facial features in each bag. Be creative! There are no 'wrong' designs.

You can also cut the top edges of the bags with decorative scallops. If you have access to pinking shears, those will also make a nice edge to the top of your luminary bags.

The reason that you only make designs on the top two-thirds of the bag is that you're going to fill the bottom third with sand. You can borrow sand from the sandbox, (you'll be able to put it back later). You could also fill you luminaries with small rocks, driveway gravel, or even dirt. Anything heavy enough to weight the bag down will work, as long as it's not flammable.

Line your luminaries up along your path, to get the spacing correct before you light them up. Then, place a small candle in the center of each one's sand. Candles are traditional in luminaries, but you should also consider non-fire light sources, especially if you have small children around, or expect it to be windy. 'Break and shake' light sticks are an inexpensive alternative, and they even come in a variety of colors.

Be sure to clean up all your luminaries in the morning, so that they don't become litter in your neighborhood. If you fold up your bags carefully, you can even store them to be used again next year.

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