DIY Ramadan Paper Lantern Favor Boxes
Every year for Eid al Fitr, my family hosts an open house party. For this year’s party, I decided to make some DIY paper lantern favor boxes for our guests. I filled each one with cookies from one of my favorite local bakeries. I’m really glad I picked up the cookies instead of baking at home because with the long nights of Ramadan, preparations for Eid al Fitr can get really hectic.
The great thing about this paper lanterns template is that you don’t have to use it just for favor boxes. You can also make these paper lanterns as lanterns by placing battery operated candles inside. Due to their small, personalized size, they’re best suited for a table or mantle.
These paper lantern favor boxes are purple and gold for the colors of Ramadan/ Eid al Fitr but this is also a great craft template for wedding season – or any other holiday really! The colors can be customized to any theme by simply changing up the paper!
Materials
- Printable template
- Purple cardstock, solid and/ or patterned
- “Punch all over the page” punch or decorative punch (optional)
- Yellow cellophane
- Scissors
- Bone folder (optional)
- Hot glue gun
- Glue stick
- Small hole punch
- Twine
Steps
- Download and print the template onto purple cardstock paper. Cut out template, including windows.
- Use a bone folder to crease the template and fold the tabs. (A bone folder is optional but results in much stronger and cleaner folds. The cleaner your template is folded, the better the lantern will sit.)
- For solid colored purple cardstock, use a decorative punch such as a punch all over the page punch to make a design on the top portion of the lantern. This step can be skipped if using patterned purple cardstock as the design of the punch and the design of the paper will likely get muddled.
- Cut out rectangles of yellow cellophane to cover the lantern’s windows. Use a glue stick to secure the cellophane to the lantern template. (Tip: to speed up this process, fold the cellophane and cut multiple rectangles at once. Alternatively, hot glue only the side tabs of the lantern template, not the base, then cut out one long sheet of cellophane and glue to all the windows at once.)
- While the glue stick dries, use a small hole punch to make holes at the top of the lantern. (Tip: fold the template and then punch so your holes are aligned.)
- Use a hot glue gun to assemble the lantern.
- Thread twine through the holes working your way around in a circle. Pull the twine taut and the lantern should come together. Fill the lantern and tie off the twine completely. Adjust any flaps of the lantern if needed. (If filling the lantern with baked goods, like cookies, be sure to line the lantern with parchment paper first to avoid grease stains on your paper lantern.)
When choosing favors, please keep in mind these lanterns are paper and cannot hold heavy items. If filling with battery operated luminaries or cookies, please remember to hold the lantern from the bottom when carrying for support, not just from the top.