Coke Bottle Luminarias & more!

Have you ever seen Coke bottle luminarias? Neither had I, so I made them!

December is the time for blinking lights and the feeling that anything is possible. Especially when it comes to those sentimental holiday commercials unleashed upon us every season.

We’re talking lots of lights, Santa with a twinkle in his eye and something magical taking place.

That’s the inspiration for these Coke Bottle Luminarias.

I wanted to capture that happy spirit for my holiday decorations!

I used the mini-glass bottles and inserted battery-operated floral lights to achieve this look, and I’m impressed with the results! Oh, they look so beautiful at night, and they stay lit for hours!

Here’s how to make them…

and just to prove how excited I am for candy canes, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees, I have a bonus project at the bottom of this post!

Supplies for Coke Bottle Luminarias

Empty Coca-Cola bottles – washed and dried.

LED Light Strand, 15 Lights, batteries included (can be found on Amazon or in the floral or wedding department at the craft store)

Glue tabs

Floral wire, cheap scissors (if you want to make these to hang)

How to make a hanging version

Wrap the floral wire around the top and twist tightly to secure.

Then wrap again and twist a loop, continue the wire to the other side and create another loop. Twist in place several times and cut. Next, cut a piece of the floral wire and twist it on to each loop.

If you want to get even more creative, add beads or embellishments.

Here are the lights.

You’ll find a lot of versions of battery-operated lights at the store.

What I didn’t like about those is that they are all have thick green cording and a clunky battery-pack. I found these floral lights and they worked perfect because they are airy and dainty.

The wire is practically invisible when inserted in the bottle, and they come with batteries, which are replaceable. These lights last for hours!

And I liked that the battery pack is small and round and fits nicely on top of the bottle.

Insert the light strand inside the bottle.

Dealing with the battery pack

Use the glue tabs on the bottom of the battery pack to secure it to the top of the bottle.

You can remove the pack if needed, the glue tabs are strong but you can still separate the items.

And there you have a Coke bottle luminarias!

See how nicely it hangs? This is the one with the wired top.

To turn off the lights, simply move the switch at the top!

And here they are outside.

They would work great to line a walkway or serve as a centerpiece.

If you don’t want to the floral lights, you can use glow sticks! They are more affordable and will light up in different colors. I really wanted this firefly kind of look, so I went with the floral lights!

And you can use any other kind of glass bottles or glass containers, same concept!

OK, now for the second Coke bottle holiday idea!

Drumroll, please….

I bring you – Holiday Wish Bottles! I put the tutorial in this pinnable graphic!

Thanks for checking out my tutorial to make Coke bottle luminarias!