Mason Jar Lights

What You Need:

• Mason jars
• White Christmas lights (LED lights are ideal)
• Access to electrical outlet

What You Do:

1. Have your child line up the Mason jars in a row. At minimum, she should have three jars, but the maximum number really depends on how long your Christmas lights are.
2. Let her unscrew the lids and set them aside.
3. Help her lay out the Christmas lights. If you haven't used them in awhile (i.e. since last Christmas), they'll likely be tangled. Show her how to carefully and patiently untangle the lights.
4. Let her find the power plug on the Christmas lights.
5. Have her take the opposite end of the lights and drop it into the first Mason jar.
6. Help your child slowly put about two feet of the Christmas lights into the jar. You can be the judge of how much is too little or too much -- the key is to fill the jar with lights without cramming them in too tight.
7. Time to move on to the next jar. Show your child how to leave a little bit of slack between each jar. Carefully help her fill the second jar with about as much lights as the first.
8. As your child is filling jars, brainstorm with her where you both will want to display this project. Remember that for this to work, the lights will need to be plugged in to an electrical outlet.
9. Measure approximately how much of the Christmas lights you will need to reach the outlet.
10. Stop filling jars when this much of the lights are left.
11. Let your child plug the lights into the outlet.
12. Voila! Bask in the glory of your cheap, simple and delightfully charming craft.

Note: Standard Christmas lights have a tendency to overheat, so cooler-running LED lights work best for this craft to reduce the risk of burns and fire danger.