Going on a Lantern Walk

As the days grow shorter, darker, and colder, the gnomes in Super Sam's forest are hard at work preparing for winter. This week, though, they took a brief respite from their labors for some festivities, and celebrated the light that would carry them through the deep dark of winter with a lantern walk.

We spent several days making lanterns for our own lantern walk. Because I am brave, or possibly because I am crazy, we went with the very messy (but oh so fun) paper mâché method of lantern-making. Yes, it was messy. Yes, I did have my moments of regret, like when Edward upended deliberately his bowl of flour and water in the name of having a Ggood Time (he and I have slghtly different definitions of "Good Time" here), and he had to take a break for a bit. Yes, even the boys were a bit hesitant about getting their hands goopy, at least in the beginning.

Towels and paint shirts went a long way toward containing the mess (and my sanity), and their hesitancy didn't last long. It wasn't long before Vance and Edward were happily, messily constructing luminaries of their own.

Phew!

On the night of our Lantern Walk, we prepared a crock pot full of warm, creamy soup, then bundled up to brave the cold. Our lanterns were lit with LED candles, and the boys even held themselves back long enough for me to snap a couple of pictures.

Then we were off, wandering about neighborhood, singing songs and lighting our way with our homemade lamps. Before we got too cold (or too cranky) we returned home and warmed up with hot soup. Such a fun night!