# Jack-O-Lantern Tree



## HalloScream (Jul 31, 2011)

I'm considering a Jack-o-Lantern tree this year. My idea is to use plastic jack-o-lantern pails. I'm thinking about cutting the eyes, nose and mouth out and placing a tea light inside. Will the tea light light up the cut out Jack-O-Lantern face good at night?


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## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

I think if you get a strong enough light, there is no need to cut out anything....


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## HalloScream (Jul 31, 2011)

I want the eyes, nose and mouth to light up.


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## Oak Lane Cemetery (Sep 5, 2011)

I've used led tea lights in some of my funkins and the work fine. Just has to be dark to see them well


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## bobzilla (Nov 15, 2008)

I'm liking your idea!
Looking forward to what you come up with


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

That'll be beautiful. I did a Halloween Tree last year and was so happy with it. Have fun!!


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

What a great idea! Not sure how bright LED battery-op tea lights would be- or how long they'd last. They would certainly work for one night. If you wanted your display to last longer I think I might opt for running electric indoor/outdoor lights instead.


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## wdragon209 (Sep 3, 2013)

That sounds like a great idea- and cheap, too. I can't wait to see the outcome of it!


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

I hung mine using c7 light strands. It's fairly awkward to get them placed and then you have extra lights. It would be nicer just to have lights IN the JOL pails like you are thinking. Only I leave them up for the whole months, so turning them on each night would be impossible. 
However, the C7's do go along with the whole crazy thing I have going on in my yard.

The good news is that the plastic bails that are already on most of the plastic JOL pails will hold them. I used similar system holding blow molded owls up in my tree for several years without ever having any fall.










Last year, I switched over to those rigid plastic type JOLs. They are a bit awkward to hang. I think the plastic pails would be easier for you.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

love those owls.


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## spookydave (May 14, 2014)

hilda that looks great! we did that 1 year at the old house and the lights not in a j o l I changed out for c7 black light bulbs, looked pretty cool.


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

It's a little time consuming- but if you want to black out individual mini bulbs between stuffing a few lit ones in each jack-o-lantern, just get the right size black rubber tubing and cut pieces long enough to securely sleeve the individual lights.


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

I used the paper lanterns from Dollar Tree. I wanna say I have about 50 now. The only drag is you have to put them together, put batteries in each one & turn them all on individually. Though I'm sure they could easily be strung with string lights, I've just never done it. I had a buttload of batteries one year & the patience to turn them all on & off. At the end of the night I just break them down & store them flattened in a couple of Ziplocs.

The pics aren't great but you get the idea.


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## Spats (Sep 21, 2006)

RCIAG,

I can imagine what that setup looks like when lit, and lemme tell ya, that is really cool.

If I was to attempt a Jack Tree (which is the original Halloween Tree, thanks to Uncle Bradbury), I wouldn't want glowing pumpkins, but faces. The only way I can think to manage that would be to use either funkins, slowly building up a collection over the years, or make paper mache Jacks, which would be more susceptible to the weather.
With the funkins, I'd use a string of large LED christmas lights, the biggest bulb on the market. I'd remove a few bulbs so that I had one every two feet or so, and tape off the empty sockets.
I'd then secure the light string to each funkin with a little craft wire pushed into the 'flesh' of the funkin. I'd use the same wire to form small loops in the top of the funkins, and then I'd attach large S hooks to those loops for hanging.

This rig would give me something very weather resistant, fairly dependable and easy to turn on or off with one action. It would also give me the effect I want; a scattering of faces glowing and turning in the branches.

It's a dream for now. I don't have a decent tree in my front yard at the moment for such a project. Still, one day...


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## disembodiedvoice (Sep 24, 2011)

I have been searching this idea for the past month or two trying to come up with a good option, so I'm super excited to see this thread. I was going to go the funkin route but that gets expense to have enough pumpkins to make it look good, then I thought of the pails but like HalloScream said I would want to cut the eyes ect. out to have it glow better. I was looking at tea lights or actually votive candles that have a remote or a timer to be able to turn them off so I can burn them for a few nights not just Halloween. I have found a few good options of those that have decent reviews, most of those are the ones with timers...stay on for six and off for 18 hours. 
anyone who has done this before , it can get windy in Oct. do you have any ideas to keep them from blowing all over the place?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

We hung some of the plastic pails in our tree last year. I used tea lights. Bought a bulk bag of a hundred and it lasted me the last couple weeks of October. Had to go out each night and light them, but it looked good and lasted a few hours.


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## HalloGeekHalfrican (Sep 1, 2013)

That sounds really cool! I may have to steal your idea and create my own mini-tree this year!


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

I love all the pics in this thread /snags them for my inspiration folder

Been thinking this over for this year as well, I want to try out the plastic pails and throw a glowstick or a couple glow items in there to see what it looks like. You can get the glowsticks fairly cheap and I would only want it for the big night to be lit up. 

I like the convenience of using string lights so you can get turn them on but we have tons of squirrels in my trees and they always chew my wires >< So I can never do the cool lit trees with string lights thing. 

So my alternative to it and cheaper idea vs tealights would be the glowsticks. Once I get to that project I will post my results


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## LoveAndEyeballs (May 17, 2014)

I hung the pails in our tree last year, and didn't have time to add lights to them, but that was the idea! I tested out the battery operated tea lights, though, and they worked well. You could always use the brighter LED JOL lights.


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## bayoubrigh (Jan 12, 2007)

Just an idea to keep them in place in the wind is use some zip ties or short pieces of picture wire around the attachment. I've hung quite a few things in our tree out front and those work well all October. Just a pair of wire cutters in November to get them off. Hadn't had any blow off yet!


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## IshWitch (May 19, 2006)

If using string lights, get one that is dark like this labeled "black" lights (really just a dark bluish purple), purple or even green lights and if c6 or c7, change the bulb at the pumpkin site to yellow or orange. If using a mini string might need to do a group of 3 or so for enough light in the jol and loop them together with a twist tie. This lights your pail and also gives a bit of color in between. I would love to use the paper lanterns but they go bad even in the screen porch if it is too rainy.


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## Buckeyelights (Jul 12, 2011)

On a similar note, I'm planning a skull head tree. I have 16 or 20 (forget the number) skulls that'll be lit, each with a single C-7 bulb. Each bulb will be individually controlled with a Light-o-rama controller, so I can turn them on and off, or fade them up or down to the music.


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## LittleBlueBMW (Oct 9, 2010)

I used flicker C6 bulbs, imitation flame, in combination with the small carved funkins.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

I'd been contemplating the Halloween Tree idea for a while, and never really had the time to actually get up in the tree and do it right.

However, last year, we did a small scale version with several little battery operated mini-jacks, and some larger foam versions lit with standard C7s, and the kids really seemed to like it.

It went over well enough that I'm giving consideration to expanding it this year, if time allows. 

My apologies for the picture quality, but I have not figured out how to take photos at night.


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## Great Pumpkin (Aug 23, 2007)

I used the plastic pumpkin treat-or-treat pails. Here are a couple of pictures...


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## Screamentor (Jun 16, 2014)

We've been doing the plastic lighted pumpkins in the trees for the last few years now. We just get the ones from Walgreen's on sale. They're sturdy and inexpensive. Hook them up to the extension cords with stations all along the cord, to use less cords. Those are usually the first thing we add to the yard (as you can see there is nothing else done, yet). The kids love them and they add a great glow to the trees.


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## Ragged Grin (Nov 5, 2012)

It would be cool to do something like this with little scarecrows similar to blair witch perhaps. Maybe a small pumpkinhead or nesling a tealight at its; chect area.


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## Ragged Grin (Nov 5, 2012)

my kingdom for a light up keyboard


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## Mad Mad Mark (Oct 24, 2009)

Hi . I have been doing this very thing for years and the effect is very dramatic ! I don't cut out the eyes etc. looks better as is and I fill them with a bit of sand and push regular tea-lights down into the center. I hang them with heavy fishing line. At night they glow and flicker and spin and look great! Never had a problem with using real tea-light candles the sand creates it's own sort of "Holder" For extra safety I make the sand a little wet with water. At night the Jack o lanterns look like they are floating!!!


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## divinedragon7 (Jul 20, 2009)

I've done this for a few years, I use those cheap pumpkin ToT carry around. For the light it depends on where you want to put them. One tree we have is very close to a street light so a tea light doesn't make them glow noticeably. For the tree away from other light sources they work fine but if you need a bit more of a glow get some of those cheap tap on tap off lights from the dollar tree. The only problem with them is that you need to take more care in positioning them in the pumpkins to insure the face it lit.


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## Jerseyscare (Oct 2, 2012)

I continue to HATE all the members here! I've been doing a Pumpkin Tree, in my dogwood, (leaves turn to a reddish color), climbing a ladder to attach the little pumpkins (the small treat holders) to branches with twist ties, somewhere close to 100, unlighted. I explain, apples come from apple trees, so why wouldn't pumpkins come from pumpkin trees! But, NOW I've got to think about should I light them UP, adding more power cords. I hate you ALL. And to teach you ALL a lesson, I will NOT visit this site, for the rest of the day, or the next 4 hours, or for at least 1 hour, who I am I kidding....I cant' log off, 10/31 is coming fast and I need MORE to do!


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## im the goddess (Mar 10, 2012)

LittleBlueBMW said:


> I used flicker C6 bulbs, imitation flame, in combination with the small carved funkins.


Your tombstones are amazing, and I love the lighting you used.



disembodiedvoice said:


> I have been searching this idea for the past month or two trying to come up with a good option, so I'm super excited to see this thread. I was going to go the funkin route but that gets expense to have enough pumpkins to make it look good, then I thought of the pails but like HalloScream said I would want to cut the eyes ect. out to have it glow better. I was looking at tea lights or actually votive candles that have a remote or a timer to be able to turn them off so I can burn them for a few nights not just Halloween. I have found a few good options of those that have decent reviews, most of those are the ones with timers...stay on for six and off for 18 hours.
> anyone who has done this before , it can get windy in Oct. do you have any ideas to keep them from blowing all over the place?


Disembodiedvoice, where did you find the remote control votives or the ones that stay on six and off for 18? I have searched the internet, and hadn't found them yet. I need some for lanterns in the trees. Thanks in advance.


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