Have you ever thought about reinventing your Christmas lights with a Halloween aesthetic? This quick, easy egg carton Halloween craft is a must-try for the holiday!

Egg Carton Halloween Craft: How to Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic

I’ve always been a low-key lunatic when it comes to Halloween. Last year I declared October “pumpkin month” and cooked one pumpkin recipe a day until my husband literally wailed “Noooooooo!” on October 26 over pumpkin quesadillas. (If you need some alone time, drop a comment, and I’ll send you the recipe. The rest of the family will mysteriously flee to Panera for dinner.)

Growing up, my mom totally indulged and encouraged my maniacal enthusiasm for holidays, and crafting is our shared love language. So while I thought about celebrating pumpkin month again this year, I realized marriage counseling would be a costly side effect, and an eco-friendly, egg carton Halloween craft might be a more innocuous creative activity.

On that note, what are we doing today? We’re going to “glow up” a strand of your Christmas lights, giving them a playful Halloween aesthetic by adding adorable cardboard candy corn light covers.

When it comes to holiday spending and cheap, mostly plastic decorations, the statistics are pretty ghoulish. According to Rocket Homes, the average American spends $269 on Christmas decor each year, and USA Today reports that we spend $102.74 on Halloween annually (though this number also includes candy and costumes for Halloween).

Here’s why this egg carton craft is a must-try and good for the planet:

It uses things you likely already have on hand: Christmas lights, craft paint, and an egg carton.
You get to repurpose decorations for more than one holiday without buying anything.
You’re reusing items from the waste stream instead of heading to the craft store.
The new Halloween aesthetic is adorable, and it likely won’t cost you a thing.
This is a great, quick craft to share with the kids in your life (and a chance to teach them about recycling and reusing).

Materials to Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic

At least two matching paperboard egg cartons (ask a neighbor if you don’t want to hit the grocery store)
Heavy-duty, sharp scissors
Small paint brush
Junk mail to use as a protective surface while painting
Glue gun or double stick tape (to tighten the candy corn fit if needed)
Orange, yellow, and white paint*
Strand of Christmas lights

Notes: If you’re buying paint for this project, milk paint or casein paint is a great, eco-friendly option. You can find it at some big art stores but also order casein paint online from Blick’s Art store. Otherwise, using what you already have is always the best option.

How much time do you have? I did candy corn because this is my busy season, and I didn’t have much time to spare. You could also turn the egg carton cups into ghosts, mummies, bats, or little Frankensteins, and it would be adorable.

Finally, are the points of your egg carton imperfect? Don’t worry about it. Mine had several small holes that I just painted right over, but leave the hole at the top if you have one.

Paperboard egg carton (“cups” remaining and “points” removed)

Instructions on How to Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic with Candy Corn Light Covers

Transforming your holiday lights into Halloween lights is quite easy. Here are some instructions to walk you through the process.

Separate the “points” from the egg carton

The hardest part of any egg carton Halloween craft is taking apart the cartons. If you’re using the “points” and the “cups,” this will be more time intensive. The “cups” are the part of the carton in which the eggs sit. The “points” are the paper board parts between the eggs. You can see the egg carton in the photo above where the points have already been removed and you can see through the egg carton between the cups.

Because I was in a hurry and only using the points, I actually did not deconstruct my cartons. (Bonus: they could still hold my eggs afterward!) Like a straight savage, I just wedged my scissors into the carton as low as they would go and snipped off the points. Martha would be horrified.

Level out the bottoms of the points

Once you’ve freed the points of your egg carton, you’re going to want to roughly level them out. Snip along the bottom edges to remove any rough spots, but there’s no need to get obsessive about this part. Once they’re on the lights, it will be impossible to notice any imperfections as they won’t be lined up side by side at the same angle.

Add small holes to the points (if needed)

If the points of your egg carton did not come with holes in the top, make a small X-shaped incision with a Xacto knife or poke a small hole in the top with a meat thermometer or small screwdriver. Are the holes too big? We’ll get to that in a few steps.

Paint the candy corn colors

Time to paint your candy corn! I worked from the white part down, and no, I didn’t measure first. The paint will dry quickly, but you can use a hairdryer if you’ve got a deadline. Remember to thoroughly rinse your brush between colors.

Add candy corn decor to holiday lights

Once your egg carton candy corns (or whatever cute design you’ve come up with) dry, it’s time to put them on your strand of Christmas lights.* Gently but firmly push the light bulbs through your decorative covers, and boo! Happy haunting!

Notes: I liked the way mine looked when spaced every other light bulb, personally, but if you made extra candy corns, you may like it better with one per bulb. If your candy corns are too loose, you can fix the problem by removing them, adding a dab of hot glue (AND LET IT COOL) or folded piece of double stick tape to the hole to shrink it, and then squeeze it back on the light.

The adorable Halloween aesthetic of your lights is perfect for a mantle, doorframe, entry table, or last-minute Halloween tablescape.

Once the holiday has passed, you can remove the candy corns and save them for next year. Alternatively, if you used casein paint, you may be able to remove the bits of glue and tape and then compost the egg carton decorations. As I’ve written before, I’ve read that casein paint is compostable, but I still feel like I need to 100% confirm that.

DIY Candy Corn Halloween Garland Alternative

If you don’t have an extra strand of holiday lights on hand, you could also turn the candy corns into a Halloween garland for a slightly different look that still offers a fun and simple Halloween aesthetic with repurposed materials.

Add a ribbon loop to the hole on each egg carton candy corn piece with a hot glue gun. Then thread the pieces together along a piece of twine. You can tie a small knot around each ribbon loop if you’re having trouble getting the candy corns to remain evenly spaced along the garland.

All photos via Reese Moore Photography

If You Liked Egg Carton Halloween Craft: How to Revamp Your Christmas Lights for a Halloween Aesthetic, You May Enjoy:

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About the Author

Reese Moore

Reese Moore is a photographer, content creator, and pickle connoisseur who divides time between Charleston and Lake Lure. When she’s not behind the lens shooting stunning images for Reese Moore Photography, Reese loves to spend her time wandering the woods with her dog Gatsby or adventuring with her husband Logan in their Airstream Basecamp.

Candy Corn Christmas Light Cover For Halloween Aesthetic

A simple and eco-friendly DIY to repurpose holiday lights and create a Halloween aesthetic with candy corn light decorations.

Materials

At least two matching paperboard egg cartons (ask a neighbor if you don’t want to hit the grocery store)
Orange, yellow, and white paint*
Strand of Christmas lights

Tools

Heavy-duty, sharp scissors
Small paint brush
Junk mail to use as a protective surface while painting
Glue gun or double stick tape (to tighten the candy corn fit if needed)

Instructions

The hardest part of any egg carton Halloween craft is taking apart the cartons. If you’re using the “points” and the “cups,” this will be more time intensive. The "cups" are the part of the carton in which the eggs sit. The "points" are the paper board parts between the eggs. You can see the egg carton in the photo above where the points have already been removed and you can see through the egg carton between the cups.
Because I was in a hurry and only using the points, I actually did not deconstruct my cartons. (Bonus: they could still hold my eggs afterward!) Like a straight savage, I just wedged my scissors into the carton as low as they would go and snipped off the points. Martha would be horrified.
Once you’ve freed the points of your egg carton, you’re going to want to roughly level them out. Snip along the bottom edges to remove any rough spots, but there’s no need to get obsessive about this part. Once they’re on the lights, it will be impossible to notice any imperfections as they won’t be lined up side by side at the same angle.
If the points of your egg carton did not come with holes in the top, make a small X-shaped incision with a Xacto knife or poke a small hole in the top with a meat thermometer or small screwdriver. Are the holes too big? We’ll get to that in a few steps.
Time to paint your candy corn! I worked from the white part down, and no, I didn’t measure first. The paint will dry quickly, but you can use a hairdryer if you’ve got a deadline. Remember to thoroughly rinse your brush between colors.
Once your egg carton candy corns (or whatever cute design you’ve come up with) dry, it’s time to put them on your strand of Christmas lights.* Gently but firmly push the light bulbs through your decorative covers, and boo! Happy haunting!

Notes

If you’re buying paint for this project, milk paint or casein paint is a great, eco-friendly option. You can find it at some big art stores but also order casein paint online from Blick's Art store. Otherwise, using what you already have is always the best option.

I liked the way mine looked when spaced every other light bulb, personally, but if you made extra candy corns, you may like it better with one per bulb. If your candy corns are too loose, you can fix the problem by removing them, adding a dab of hot glue (AND LET IT COOL) or folded piece of double stick tape to the hole to shrink it, and then squeeze it back on the light.

Egg Carton Halloween Craft: Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic

Materials to Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic

Instructions on How to Give Your Christmas Lights a Halloween Aesthetic with Candy Corn Light Covers