It’s the holiday season in Santa Fe, which means that luminarias are lighting up the town.  From the Plaza to the cozy east side, luminarias create a charm and warmth that you only find in Santa Fe. Traditionally, luminarias were made with paper bags, sand, and candles.  Now you can buy plastic bags (made to look like paper bags) that have either battery operated LED lights or electrical lights on a string.  These “new” luminarias are convenient and weather resistant but do lack a bit of the charm of the traditional candle lit ones.

Making traditional, candle lit luminarias is easy, and can be done relatively cheeply.  The following instructions are all you need to create your own cozy Santa Fe holiday estate.

Items:

12 tea candles

12 brown paper “lunch” bags

2 lbs of sand or kitty litter

 

Steps:

1. Turn down the top 1 inch or so of each paper bag. This creates a sturdy rim on the luminaria.

2. Place about an inch of sand/kitty litter in the bottom of each bag. On windy nights this is essential!

3. Place the candles in the middle of each bag and light!

It’s as easy as that! 

Make sure to keep the luminarias in a safe place that doesn’t pose a fire harzard or impede a walkway. Tea candle lights normally last a few hours, so if you want longer burning candles, replace the tea candle lights with wax candles.

Enjoy!

Matt and Ryan

Tags: adobe homes, homes in santa fe, Luminarias, Santa Fe Homes, Santa Fe living, santa fe style homes, southwest style homes