Dixie Cup Christmas Light Garland

Our early learning program is in the daylight basement of a church. Early learning programs across the country tend to be relegated to basements, windowless mobile classrooms and other makeshift spaces. Luckily those of us in the field are a creative bunch. We do a lot with very little.

With the short northwest winter days, you can imagine that our classrooms can get pretty dark and gloomy this time of year. Nap time tends to be especially dreary. I wanted a fun way to bring in some soft light. I decided that a strand of holiday lights was the best option. But I wanted to soften them up and add festive color at the same time.

I found this image on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do with Christmas colors.

I had the kids collect their paper drinking cups instead of putting them in the trash. I bought a stack of 4.5″x 6. 5″ scrapbook paper, traced the arch of a cup onto a piece of cardstock to make a pattern and then cut out enough scrapbook paper to glue onto the cups to cover every-other light on the strand.

Soon I had a stack of cups like this.

The paper didn’t quite cover the entire cup because I used the smaller paper size. It was less expensive that way. But you could use bigger scrapbook paper to ensure yours covers the entire cup. I have a gap in the back of each one, which doesn’t bother me. I just turned the gaps to the back so that they are not visible.

I punched a small hole in the bottom of each cup with a pen and poked the light through. The cups fit over like little lampshades.

I used twinkling lights (just a few in the strand blink on and off) and hung them along the window in the classroom. The kids love the lights! You should have heard the “ooohs” and “aaahs”. They add holiday sparkle during the day and just the right amount of light during nap time.

Such a fun, easy way to add some light and holiday cheer to a classroom, a child’s room or another room in your home.

Want to see more great holiday crafts? Check out the link party by clicking below.