Winter is coming or, is coming, is already here. This means no more cheerful sunny days, no more colorful flowers and no more cute little birds hopping around on tree branches. But despite all that, there are also plenty of fun things you can do in winter. For example, ice lanterns. Curious what these really are? Check out these projects to find out.

By ice lanterns we actually mean outdoor accent lighting that only works when it’s very cold outside. A simple method you can use involves plastic soda bottles, both small and large. Start with a two liter bottle. Fill it with about 1” of water and freeze it. Then place a smaller bottle inside. Center it and secure it in place with tape. Use greens and cranberries to fill the sides. Fill with water and freeze it. Remove the bottles and you got your ice lantern. Now all you have to do is add the Christmas lights inside. {found on ohmy-creative}.

Designsponge also suggests using two buckets for a similar project. First you fill the biggest bucket half full with water and then you place the small one inside. Put some rocks in to keep it in place. Add more water and then add olive branches. Put the whole thing outside to freeze. Then remove the buckets and place a votive candle inside.

Another interesting idea is using Christmas tree branches to decorate the ice lantern. You can either use buckets or a cake mold to make them. In both cases, you’d be using Christmas tree branches as decorations. You can tape them to the inside of the bucket or simply let them float randomly. Take them out in the garden or yard and put candles in. {found on onshore-again}.