- gigi eligoloff
Light up 2021 with our glow lantern craft classes

January is a long dark month at the best of times, but this year it has the added edge of being in Lockdown #3. We're missing friends, family and trips out (beyond our local areas) and, we're especially missing the Christmas lights that made our afternoon strolls so magical. There is even some science behind why Christmas lights make us happy:
"Although there could be a number of symptomatic reasons why someone would want to obsessively put up decorations early, most commonly for nostalgic reasons either to relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect.
In a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood.
Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!"
- Steve McKeown, Psychoanalyst, founder of MindFixers and owner of The McKeown Clinic
And on that note, we feel that leaving them up longer (or in this case, re-using them and keeping those happy warm glows in our homes) will extend our dopamine hits that little bit longer!
With that in mind, we've created five light up craft video classes to get your children involved in, to light up 2021. Hang them in your windows, put them on the mantlepiece, or gift them to someone you love - but let's get together and put a warm sparkly glow into the start of this year with our battery operated magic lanterns! To get an idea of the classes, we've put together a little teaser for you to watch below:
1. Shadow Puppet Theatre
Age: 3+
Materials
Large cardboard box
Paper
Sticks
Tape
Scissors
Marker pen
Mark making materials
Optional: Tissue Paper
A torch
2. Nature Lantern
Age: 1+ (younger children will need guidance)
Materials
Milk Carton
Scissors
Glue
Leaves/flowers/anything natural!
A battery powered tea light
3. Morrocan inspired Lantern
Age: 2+
Materials:
Jar
Foil
PVA glue
Tissue Paper
A battery powered tea light
4. Paper Bag Lanterns
Age: 1+ (younger children will need guidance)
Materials
Paper bag
Scissors
Paper
Mark making materials
Glue
A battery powered tea light
5. Light up Landmarks
Age: 3+
Materials
Large piece of cardboard
Scissors
Marker pen
Fairy lights
Tape/glue
Optional: Outline of your favourite monument to draw around
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