DIY Ice Lanterns Make Your Porch Look Like A Winter Fantasy

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A freeze is in the forecast, and opportunity awaits. Sure, winter's chill has plenty of downsides, but why not lean into the season with a fun, easy, and inexpensive ice lantern project? This festive lighting idea will help set the mood for the holidays before you even set foot inside your front door. Partially freeze water balloons that are hanging from a support, like a low tree branch or porch railing. Once you've peeled the latex covering away, you're left with a shell of ice and sloshing liquid within. Time it just right, and you'll be able to chip a hole in one side of the balloon-sicle to release the remaining water. Et voila, the cavity left over is the perfect space for an LED tealight.

To do this, you'll need a handful of balloons, water-resistant LED tealights like these Homemory solar tea lights, and a place to hang the water balloons. Fill several balloons with water (add food coloring if you'd like), and tie their necks as closely as possible to the body of the balloon. The key to each lantern's teardrop shape is hanging the balloons so that the water in the neck of the balloon freezes, as well. Leave enough of the neck to tie around a thin branch of a tree or bush.

You can also hang the full balloons from deck railings or a laundry line. When hanging them from thicker supports, tie a length of reliable string around the balloon's knot, and fasten the string around the railing or large branch. Arrange them so that the balloons don't touch each other or another nearby object that could affect their frozen shape.

The tricky part of making these stunning holiday luminaries is gauging how long it will take for the balloons to freeze only partway. You need just the right thickness of ice to form to be able to chip away a side opening without making the entire side crumble.

The size of your water balloon and the outdoor (or freeze) temperature both contribute to the amount of time necessary for a partial freeze. The best bet is to check on the balloons periodically — more frequently in colder temperatures. Still, count on several hours of sub-freezing temps unless you're in an exceptionally frigid area.

Once you've peeled the balloon away from the frozen form, set the ice form on a flat surface. Using a table knife, lightly peck at a point on the side of the ice form until you reach the liquid center. Pour out the remaining water, and carve away enough of an opening in the ice for a tealight to fit through. Place your fanciful ice lights in clusters on your porch or line a walkway or edge of your deck with them. Apartment-dwellers, we haven't forgotten about you, either. You can decorate your balcony with a team of flickering ice lanterns, too.