Halloween crafts for kids can be both fun and easy, and one adorable option is transforming a flameless tea light candle into a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. With this cute pumpkin tea light craft, you can create a spooky yet safe decoration for the season.

The best part is how quick and easy this craft project is to make! Let’s explore the step-by-step process of making this delightful Jack-O-Lantern tea light craft, perfect for adding a touch of Halloween spirit to your home.

Text at top reads Tea Light Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Craft above completed pumpkin with smiley face made with an orange tea light candle. On a gray wood background with pieces of candy corn.

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Jack-O-Lantern Tea Light Halloween Craft

Jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins make great fall decorations because they work for Halloween and beyond. Plus, they aren’t super scary.

In fact, one of the reasons I love this project so much is because of the adorable little face!

You can create these tea light pumpkins together as a family activity too. Kids can help trace the stem and leaf patterns and cut them out.

Children can also work on their fine motor skills when placing the self adhesive rhinestones with their fingers or a pair of tweezers. (Adults will likely want to use a craft knife for this.)

We highly recommend using hot glue to assemble this project because it is more durable and dries quicker. Plus, some crafting materials are just tougher to sticker together with other types of glue.

Always discuss how to safely use a hot glue gun with kids and supervise them. We recommend using a low temp glue gun.

If you need an alternative to hot gluing, we recommend using this tacky craft glue. Your project will take longer to dry and may be more fragile when handling.

White woman's hand holding finished Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin tea light craft with ghost and bat tea light craft projects in the background.

Plan a whole day or week of pumpkin themed activities! Along with this project, you could read pumpkin picture books together and work on learning the parts of a pumpkin with our printable activity.

When they are done, use them to decorate your table full of delicious Halloween party food, like this pumpkin mousse.

Another idea is to use bakers twine to create a banner with them. You could also turn them into hanging decorations or fridge magnets.

Love homemade Halloween decoration ideas? Don’t miss our monster eyeball light, tea light bats and tea light ghosts!

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Tea Light Craft Supplies

Orange Battery Operated Tea Lights
Brown and Green Craft Foam
Googly Eyes
Black Rhinestones, Self-Adhesive
Low Temp Glue Gun and Glue Sticks (or tacky craft glue)
Craft Knife
Scissors
Pencil
Halloween Tea Light Patterns PDF

How to Make Tea Light Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins:

Download, print and cut out the Halloween Tea Light Patterns. You can also draw or cut the pieces freehand.

Remove the battery operated tea lights from the packaging, pull the tab in the back and make sure the flame lights up before proceeding. Place the on/off switch at the 6 o’clock position and set it down.

Now, let’s create the faces! Each orange Jack-O-Lantern tea light gets two googly eyes and six medium rhinestones.

Glue two different size googly eyes above the flame (which will be its nose). The different sizes give it a cute look.

For help accurately placing the self adhesive rhinestones, use the tip of a craft knife.

Trace the Jack-O-Lantern stem pattern onto brown craft foam and the leaf pattern onto green craft foam. Cut them out with scissors.

Brown and green craft foam cut into a stem and leaf. Hot glue gun used to glue them onto back of orange tea light.

Make sure that the tea light candle’s on/off switch is at the bottom and glue the stem and leaf to the back with a hot glue gun.

Did you make this project with your kids or students? We’d love to see it! Take a picture of it, then visit our Facebook page and show us!

More Halloween Activities:

Jack-o-lantern Tea Light Craft

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Create an adorable Jack-o-lantern pumpkin with this Halloween tea light craft project.

Instructions

Download, print and cut out the Halloween Tea Light Patterns. You can also draw or cut the pieces freehand.
Remove the battery operated tea lights from the packaging, pull the tab in the back and make sure the flame lights up before proceeding. Place the on/off switch at the 6 o’clock position and set it down.
Now, let’s create the faces! Each orange Jack-O-Lantern tea light gets two googly eyes and six medium rhinestones.
Glue two different size googly eyes above the flame (which will be its nose). The different sizes give it a cute look.
For help accurately placing the self adhesive rhinestones, use the tip of a craft knife.
Trace the Jack-O-Lantern stem pattern onto brown craft foam and the leaf pattern onto green craft foam. Cut them out with scissors.
Make sure that the tea light candle’s on/off switch is at the bottom and glue the stem and leaf to the back with a hot glue gun.

Notes

Drying time will vary depending on glue used.

Darcy Zalewski

Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.