Chinese Paper Lantern Craft

Bring a little colour and culture into your classroom with this fun and easy paper lantern craft! Children can create their own lantern while connecting the activity to celebrations, traditions, recycling and the environment.
Thailand – Loy Krathong
Use the lantern craft when learning about Loy Krathong and Thai traditions. Talk about the lights and lanterns that are part of celebrations, then allow children to make their own paper lanterns to decorate the classroom.
Chinese New Year
The craft is also a lovely activity to accompany a Chinese New Year unit. Discuss the importance of lanterns during Chinese celebrations and let children create traditional red lanterns to make a festive classroom display.
Recycling & the Environment
This activity is a great opportunity to talk about reusing and recycling paper. Encourage children to use recycled paper or paper that has already been printed on one side, turning something that might otherwise be thrown away into a colourful decoration.
Creativity & Fine Motor Skills
Children practice colouring, cutting, folding and joining paper as they create their lantern. Once finished, the lanterns can be displayed around the classroom or hung up as part of a celebration-themed display.
A simple craft with lots of opportunities for cultural learning, creativity and environmental awareness!
Credits & Copyright
© 2026 Sonyja Murphy. All rights reserved.
This educational resource was created by Sonyja Murphy.
Illustrations in this resource were created with the assistance of AI (ChatGPT by OpenAI) and have been edited and arranged as part of this original educational work.