Today, I’m sharing an easy way to create floating candles for Halloween in your home. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and typically I like my Halloween decor to be creepy but chic. This year, I wanted to bring a bit of magic and wonder to our dining room decor and decided to add some floating candles.
My husband and I both share a love for Harry Potter. I remember being in awe of the dining room at Hogwarts the first time I saw it. So magical and special with all those beautiful floating candles!
I fell in love with these Floating Candle String Lights from Pottery Barn but didn’t love the price tag attached to them. Instead, I decided to try and make my own and headed to Pinterest for inspiration.
Floating candles for Halloween
First things first. This tutorial is NOT for you if you’re looking to recreate the dining hall of Hogwarts in Harry Potter with loads of floating candles. The cost would be extremely high to get the effect you are looking for.
Instead, I suggest checking out this tutorial by Chris Loves Julia to see their DIY Harry Potter-Esque Hanging Candles. It’ll be more economical to make them using paper towel or toilet paper rolls.
If you’re looking to add just a touch of magic to your Halloween decor or have a small space you want to highlight like an entryway or bay window, this is the tutorial for you!
I am NOT a big DIYer and I wasn’t looking to take on a big project. And while it’d be truly stunning to cover a ceiling with floating candles, it wasn’t something I wanted to tackle this year.
While searching Pinterest, I wasn’t able to find exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something fairly easy and quick to execute but also looked realistic. A lot of the tutorials I saw were using tea lights and paper towel or toilet paper rolls to create tons of candles. Not the look I was going for.
MAterials
- Flameless LED Taper Candles (batteries and remote are included)
- Clear Fishing Line
- White Thumbtacks
- Hammer
- Scissors
Researching the Best Way to float candles
This tutorial really is the easiest way to add floating candles to your Halloween decor. No need to create “candles” when you’ve got these flameless LED taper candles from Amazon.
These candles checked all the boxes for me: Realistic looking, batteries included, flicker mode, AND they come with a remote making it super easy to turn them on and off at night. Something most of the tutorials I found were missing. I consider a remote a must-have for ease and convenience. All you have to do when your candles arrive is to install the batteries and get ready to hang!
While researching the best and easiest way to hang my candles from the ceiling, I came across a few different methods. In order to get the candles to hang straight, the DIY tutorials using toilet paper and paper towel rolls pierced the roll either 2 or 4 times. This allows you to string the fishing line through to balance the weight and hold the tealight in place.
Since I wasn’t making my own candles, this option didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I was hoping to use one string per candle to hang them with and have them hang straight.
Another tutorial that also used faux candles from Amazon, pierced the tip of the flame in order to run the fishing line through to hang the candles. I considered this but was worried about causing too much damage to the candles. Plus, I was looking for an easier way and this seemed like more work. Thankfully, these candles hang straight with just one piece of clear fishing line. Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
How to hang your floating candles for halloween
Cut a piece of fishing line to length. I varied mine so each candle hung from a slightly different height. Hanging them at different lengths gives them that magical, Harry Potter-esque vibe.
Tie one end around the base of the flame where it meets the top of the candle. Loop the other end around the base of the thumbtack. Pro tip: Use your hammer to drive the thumbtack part of the way into the ceiling before you add the candle. This allows you to use both hands to loop the other end of the fishing line around the thumbtack before driving it the rest of the way into the ceiling. Cut off any excess string if needed. Repeat until all candles are hung just the way you want.
That’s it! You’re all done!
floating candles for Halloween
There you have it! An easier way to create floating candles for Halloween. If you’re looking to add a touch of magic and wonder to your space, give these a try! They are seriously one of my favorite Halloween decor items in our home this year!
Have you tried a DIY for floating candles before? I want to hear how it went!
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