Lantern festival is here again! Oh, that’s not really what it’s called. It’s actually Mid Autumn festival. I guess we call it Lantern festival because we don’t experience Autumn here. And it’s much easier to remember, with all the lanterns decorating the shopping malls!
With @rpattwell’s latest post on DIY and lantern festival around the corner I was reminded of the lanterns I made with my kids when they were kids.
Justine was in a Chinese school which encouraged the students to have a part in festivals such as this. Every year they would hold a lantern-making competition and the students would carry their lanterns and walk around the vicinity of the school.
Not every student participated in the competition (including Justine) but when she was 8, I decided “we” should. Now, you didn’t think the children were going to make the lanterns themselves, did you?
Of course, like everyone else, we had to make something out of the ordinary. Something no one would think of. We decided on a tortoise. Yes, a tortoise! And of course @branlee87 (he was 5 then) was going to make a lantern too, a crocodile! How exciting!
We bought all the materials we needed and got to work. Bran drew the template for the crocodile and helped me glue the paper onto the wire and paint the scales while I did the rest.
Bran with his crocodile, @reconstitution, and Justine
Justine’s tortoise wasn’t as easy as I thought. Bending the wires for the shell was tough and cutting the different coloured paper to size and then gluing them onto the wire wasn’t easy either. But we did it!
Justine with her tortoise and Russell
I’d never attended the event before because I had no readon to. But this year I was ready to cheer Justine on when she won!
You can’t imagine the utter shock I felt when I saw the other students’ entries which were obviously made by their parents who had mechanical skills! They had lanterns with wheels and moving parts! 😱
I’m sure the judges knew the lanterns weren’t made by the students. Anyway, Justine did win 4th place! Yay!
Receiving her prize
A beaming Justine and joker Brandon
Getting ready for their walk
We didn’t take part in any more competitions but in her final year at the school we decided to give it one more go. This time we made a globe!
As usual, everything seemed easy enough when planned and imagined. It’s never as easy as it seems. It took hours to shape the wire and even longer to draw the map and put on the glitter! Justine helped with whatever she could (until past bedtime!) and I continued until the next morning, the day of the event! 😰
But it was worth the effort. Her globe really was one of a kind and impressed everyone including the judges. Although she didn’t win top prizes she got a consolation prize!
A very tired Justine
I think recognition for both her entries is something to remember and treasure, don’t you? But really, no words can express how glad and appreciative I am for the invention of the camera! 😅
