DIY Mason Jar Lanterns

Light your driveway or pathway with these simple and beautiful hanging mason jar lanterns. Perfect for summertime, Halloween, Christmas, parties, weddings, and more.

Every Halloween we throw a Pumpkin Party, and it’s one of our favorite events of the year. Yummy soups and bread, kids playing football, carving pumpkins, and homemade hot chocolate, followed by a bonfire and s’mores. It’s a highlight of the fall season! We live in the country where it’s very dark, and I love to line our driveway with hanging mason jar lanterns. It adds light, and a very charming and cozy atmosphere.

DIY Hanging Mason Jar Lanterns

They’re perfect for any entertaining you’re doing through the summer, at Halloween, Christmastime, wedding or bridal parties. Even if it’s not a specific event, and you want to light your driveway or pathway, this is a darling way to do it.

Best of all, they’re easy to make! You can make as few or as many as you need. I line our driveway with them, but surrounding a patio or going along a sidewalk would work just as easily. Even outlining an area in a backyard would be a great way to utilize these fun lanterns.

Affiliate links of products I use and love are included below for your convenience. Please find my full disclosure here.

Supplies you need to make DIY mason jar lanterns:

Mason jars
Battery-operated fairy lights (one per jar)
1x2x8 lumber
1-inch staple gun
OR Hammer and nails
Wire
Needle-nosed pliers

How to make the post for the hanging lanterns:

hanging mason jar lantern post measurements

Cut the wood to length, to meet the measurements above. You can certainly adjust for your specific needs–shorter or taller.
Use a 1-inch staple gun to adhere the pieces of wood together.
Cut a notch at the end of the 14-inch piece to hang the lantern.
Cut a 60-degree angle at the bottom of the post so you can put it into the ground.

How to make hanging mason jar lanterns

The easiest way for me to add the wire was to cut two separate pieces–one to go around the top of the jar, and the other for the handle. The length of the wire depends on how tall you want your handle to be, and how wide your jar is–regular and wide mouth will differ in size. The one for the top of the jar just needs to be long enough to go around the jar, and to twist closed. The length of the handle needs to be long enough for the handle itself, but also to twist around the wire going around the top of the jar.
Bend the handle wire in the shape you want it to be. Hold it in place so the sides hang below the top of the jar. Wrap the piece around the top of the jar, going on top of the handle pieces. Twist the wire shut to secure it in place. Using needle-nosed pliers is the easiest way to do that. After that’s secure, you can wrap the ends of the handle pieces up and around itself toward the top of the wire, as you can see in the picture above.
Place a strand of battery-operated fairy lights inside each jar.
Place posts in the ground, then hang your lanterns!