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How to Make Three Different Holiday Party Lights

Lee Meredith, contributor

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Lee Meredith

Gift your loved one a nostalgic photo lantern using recycled Christmas lights!

Photo: Lee Meredith

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Need some last-minute holiday decoration ideas for your holiday guests? Or something special to bring the host of the gathering you'll be heading to? If you have some extra strings of colored lights around the house, I have a few ideas for you! These ideas would also be cool for a New Year's party, and you can reuse light strings taken off the tree!

All of these projects use strings of Christmas lights, which are not meant for extended use, and should only be turned on when someone is in the room. Of course, be safe and smart when craft projects involve electricity! These ideas are only meant to use for your holiday gatherings and once in a while for fun, not everyday use.

Bright Idea #1: Photo lantern

This one can definitely be given as a gift or can be used as party decor in your own home, and you can personalize it with photos of family and friends or choose to use patterned paper (like origami paper) or fabric instead of photos.

You'll need:

• One string of Christmas lights
• One clear CD-R/DVD-R spindle case for 100 discs
• Scissors and/or X-Acto knife
• Photos or whatever you want to cover the outside
• Glue or double-sided tape (I recommend the tape)

As for the length of your light string, it can be any length because whatever doesn't fit in the lantern can be used as an extension cord to plug it in, and excess can be wrapped around a table leg or something. If you don't want any lights outside the lantern, use a super-short string.

First, you need to cut out a tab in the bottom of the plastic case for the light cord to fit through. My plastic case was easy to cut into with normal scissors.

The tab actually doesn't need to be this big—about 1/2 inch wide should be fine.

Then I bent the piece back and forth several times, thinking it would snap off, but it didn't, so I sliced it off with a blade. Cut out the tab in whatever way works best for you.

Careful with that blade!

Now cover up that plastic with pictures (or paper, fabric, etc). If using photos as I did, gather a bunch of them in varying sizes.

If you don't want to cut the photos, you'll need some small ones to fill spaces.

Glue or tape the pictures onto the case. If your particular case is slightly slanted like mine is, the photos will need to overlap a bit or there will be cracks between them.

The case coming out at a slight angle makes the photos not line up perfectly.

You can choose whether or not to cover the top—I chose not to so more light could get out.

Be sure not to cover the cord hole with a picture!

When you're done covering the case, you can fill it with lights. I snapped the spindle off my case base, and just put the lights straight into the case. But you could leave the spindle on and wind the lights around it, which is a neater option. With the cord running through the case hole, put the case together, and you're done.

If you want to, you could cover your top with a photo cut to a circle or with patterned paper or fabric cut to size.

Now plug it in and watch the photos glow!

These all-red lights give the lantern a warm look.

You can get various looks by using different colored lights. Multicolored lights will make for a fun, party light, whereas white lights will give it a more elegant look.

These blue lights give the lantern a cool tone.

I tried a different kind of look using some old proof prints from a college photo class:

Using real negatives instead of photos would make a great light!

Bright Idea #2: Hanging colander light

This one might not make for the best gift, but it'll look great as holiday party decor! When you run to the store for some last-minute food items, grab a couple of cheap colanders and you're set!

You'll need:

• Two matching colanders with handles
• One string of Christmas lights
• A ceiling hook or somewhere to hang the light

As with the first project, you can use a long light string and just have whatever doesn't fit outside of the light, running to the outlet. But if you don't want any light outside the colanders, use a super-short string and use an extension cord to hang the light and plug it in.

You could use metal colanders for a different look.

Place the lights in one colander, and put the other one on top, with the light string running out the top by the handles. Wrap the string around the two handles and loop it under itself, then repeat another wrap and loop.

Pull the string tight to securely hold the handles together.

If you lift the string with the colanders hanging, they should be securely held together by the string. If not, wrap and loop/knot a third time.

Hopefully when you hold it up, the colanders will stay together with the lights contained inside.

If everything is secure, you're done, that's it! If not, you could use tape or glue to secure whatever needs to be secured. Hang the light string, or the extension cord, by the ceiling hook, plug in, and enjoy your cool new party light!

As with the first project, you can get different looks by using different colored lights.

Bright Idea #3: Glowing light balls

This concept can be used wherever you might already have lights hanging, or you can string some new ones over a window or around a room for party decor. Or you can give this idea to a holiday party host with the lights strung around a portable plant gift.

You'll need:

• Styrofoam balls (as many as you want to use)
• Christmas lights
• Light-hanging supplies if needed

My Styrofoam balls are 1-1/2 inches, and they work great—I wouldn't go much bigger than that or the light might not show through, but you could go smaller. This project would look great with balls of varying sizes!

Okay, there's not much to it—just stick the balls on the lights!

The lights should pierce into the balls pretty easily.

Again, different colored lights would look cool, too. The white lights make for a simple, winter classic kind of look.

If you are using colored lights, you might want smaller balls so the light will show through better.

I didn't have enough balls to cover every light, so I spread them evenly throughout.

This concept would also look very cool on your tree lights!

Happy holidays to everyone out there in craft land!!

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