We first made Wassail lanterns two years ago, and it’s hard to convey in words how lovely, and right, they looked as the children processed with them down to the orchard, and skipped from tree to tree. Our only mistake was to hold the lantern making session on the same day as the Wassail, which led to some time-management issues for us, and some lanterns that were still soggy from the glue! So this time, the Wassail’s going to last all weekend.
Saturday 12 January. Wassail lantern-making craft sessions
Open to families – accompanied children of all ages.
Trumpington Village Hall
11 – 1pm OR 2 – 4pm
£2 per lantern made. (+ £1 for an LED tealight, if you need one)
Tea, coffee, small cakes available to buy.
Come and make a lantern from colourful tissue paper, twigs and a lot of glitter, to hold during the Wassail the next day. All materials supplied.
Sunday 13 January
Join our Wassail celebration of the apple trees and help to ensure we get a good year’s apple growing in 2013. The Wassail will start at 3:30pm. Bring a light and wrap up warm to enjoy music, singing and some traditional mulled apple juice with which to toast the trees, and wish us all a good harvest. All ages welcome, free admission, donations gratefully received.
Trumpington Community Orchard 
HI! Thank you for teaching us to make lanterns! We’d like to make some more at home. I have a question: what sort of glue is best?!
Thanks!
Tim
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Hi Tim I am glad you enjoyed the lantern making session. We were using PVA glue (the while glue that is usually used in schools). We watered it down adding about a third cold water, so that it could be painted all over the tissue paper. The more you paint the paper with glue, the more transparent it will be when it dries.
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Thank you! That is more or less what we did, but also added flour … made a Buddha-shape out of wire mesh and put the tissue over it … worked okay! Thanks again for your help
tim
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I’d love to see some photos of the Buddha lantern it sounds great. Glad it worked. The addition of flour is a good tip.
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I’ve got photos — not sure they do it justice though and, I don’t think you can attach photos to these messages 😦
I reckon the flour is unnecessary. Gave it a different look though (basically the look of patchy dried flour)!
Thanks again for your help!
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Tim can you upload them to the orchard facebook page, please?
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Sadly I can’t figure out how to add a photo — I can add text but there is no option to add a photo on your timeline 😦 Maybe I’m just no good at facebook
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