Outdoor Entertaining with Floating Tea Lights

Outdoor Entertaining and Ambient Lighting

Who does not like outdoor entertaining and a good party? 

Some of my favorite memories with my friends and family have been Fourth of July celebrations, life celebrations of birthdays, youth groups, graduations or weddings. It is simply fun to gather with friends and family, especially outdoors where it is quite refreshing and relaxing after a long day at the office.

Getting ready for a party or celebration can involve a lot of time, or simply be called with a moments notice to prepare.  In addition, the budget for party decorations can get expensive rather quickly.

It is nice when you have party decorations on hand and can use them over again if you wish to do so. 

One of the many things them that make outdoor gatherings special is the lighting and the different options available for lighting outdoors.  Some of my favorite outdoor lighting features are candle lit outdoor chandeliers and Edison lights to name a few.

However, my all time favorite is floating tea lights that are scattered in a pool, or around a pool, spa or even a rock waterfall as shown above.  Until recently, I have been on a quest to find them for quite some time.  I have found floating tea lights with big on-line retailers, but refused to buy when I discovered they were made with paper and obviously had bad reviews for sinking.

So, as they say, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" and we came up with our own DIY floating candle lights.  It was much easier than we thought. We also solved many of the problems associated with floating tea lights such as:

1).  Unlike the big on-line retailer, floating tea lights should not be made of paper to sink, but reusable for other parties and celebrations.

2).  Tea lights should not drift to the side of the pool or water but remain where they are placed.

3).  Able to accessorize for each holiday and celebration.

Supplies needed

Plastic clear bowls from Amazon.  We used 8 ounce bowls and it was suitable although I would have preferred a size larger to have added more decorative elements.

Any small decorations that you want to place around the bowl.  For Christmas, we used small ornaments, Valentine's Day red rocks, Easter small plastic eggs...

Fishing line, and fishing weights or galvanized nuts

Tea lights

Instructions

1).  Drill a small hole in the bottom of bowl.  We used a 1/16" drill bit.

2).  Determine the length for the amount of drop you will need in the water and cut your fishing line accordingly.  Add about a foot to the depth of the water, to allow you to tie off at each end.  Thread the line through the hole in the bowl.  Tie a loop or knot on the end of the line inside the bowl, to prevent it from slipping out of the hole; tie the weight to the other end.

3).  Using silicone calk, seal the drilled hole on the plastic bowl.

4).  Place tea light in the center of the bowl and surround with small decorative items for stability.

5).  Place in water and have a joyful celebration with family and friends

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