Hanging Witch Hats And Floating Candles For Halloween

This year I’m adding a bit of whimsy and wizard vibes with hanging witch hats and floating candles for Halloween! Each October, the kids beg me to add “MORE” for Halloween decor. I usually decorate the exterior of our home, a bit inside, but I swear the kids want me to turn our place into a Haunted House.

So I thought we’d meet somewhere in the middle and I’d turn our main dining area into a scene out of Hocus Pocus meets Harry Potter, where they can enjoy every meal under a sea of hanging witch hats and floating candles for Halloween. Game on, kids.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions and recommendations are my own.

DIY Hanging Witch Hats And Floating Candles

I’ve seen a few DIY floating witch hat projects done before and I’ve seen a few different styles:

Style 1: Floating Witch Hats (by themselves)
Style 2: Floating Candles (by themselves)
Style 3: Floating Witch Hats With Candles INSIDE The Hats
Style 4: Floating Witch Hats With Floating Candles Surrounding The Hats

While they all look great, style 4, with floating witch hats surrounded by floating candles, is my favorite look- more is more in this case, and the variation of hanging witch hats staggered with floating candles is such a festive Halloween decor setup! The floating candles light up the room when it’s dark, and really give that spooky glow to the witch hats.

creative spots To Hang The Floating Witch Hats And Candles

We opted to hang the floating witch hats and candles above our dining room table. As I previously mentioned, this is where my kids eat all day long, so I really wanted that Hocus Pocus / Harry Potter feel for mealtimes!

For those that have a covered porch, this would also be such a cute Halloween decor setup! Just keep in mind, the hats and candles will blow around, so you’ll have to secure them pretty snug.

Here are a few ideas for where to hang the floating candles and witch hats:

Front porch
Above the dining table
Above a kitchen island
Down a hallway (I love the idea of hanging witch hats and candles in the hallway between my kids bedrooms!)
Above the kids beds
Over the kitchen sink
Playroom ceiling
The foyer / entryway

How Do our floating Candles Stay Lit?

The specific floating candles I bought (linked at the bottom), were apparently invented by some genius who decided it would be super cool and Halloween-ish to have a remote control WAND! My kids went crazy over this thing! Before I could even get the witch hats up on the ceiling, my kids were running around with witch hats on their heads, jousting faux lit candles and embracing their inner Harry Potter with the wizard wand. Total Amazon win.

Halloween floating candles with wand and hanging witch hats

Notes for Hanging Witch Hats And Candles

There are a couple different methods for how to hang the floating witch hats and candles. In our specific floating candle set, it came with fishing wire already attached to the candles, plus little push pins to secure them AND little adhesive hooks.

I can’t speak to how secure the adhesive is because I didn’t want to risk damage to our ceiling paint, nor put a tiny hole in the ceiling, but I’m sure either method would be sufficient, especially inside. If hanging witch hats on the porch, then it’s better to use a stronger adhesive hook.

Since we did our Halloween decor setup inside, I simply used clear packaging tape on our white ceiling. It’s easy to use, easy to remove, won’t damage paint or put holes in the ceiling, and the witch hats are light enough where as long as you firmly press the tape to the ceiling, it should hold them in place.

And if you do choose to use the little push pins to hang the fishing wire in place, the holes will be very very tiny!

I actually did the ENTIRE project first in painters tape thinking it would be strong enough, but 80% of the floating candles and witch hats fell- so skip painters tape!

Note: Packaging tape will not work well outside for a porch setup due to variable weather conditions, added moisture, wind, etc. So I would suggest using the push pins or stronger adhesive hooks.

How To Hang Floating Witch Hats:

I decided to hang the floating witch hats first since they’re larger, and it would be easier to “fill in” the floating candles between the hats.

I decided on my layout- not too cramped, a bit staggered and whimsical, with room to add the floating candles.

(Our specific set came with 12 witch hats and a separate spool of fishing wire… I wish it would come pre-attached like the candles, but we have to make-do.)

The fishing wire was thin, yet structured enough to actually just fit THROUGH the top of the hat. There isn’t even an evident opening, but between the stitching is a good spot to poke it through. I recommend tying a knot around a craft bead (or anything similar) to secure the fishing wire inside the witch hat.

Or you could simply use packaging tape to tape the loose end of the fishing wire so it won’t slide out. (This is what we did in a hurry, and hopefully it works well!).

I cut a piece of clear packaging tape, a couple inches long, and secured the fishing wire to the ceiling, with some extra fishing wire hanging out (it’s clear so you won’t notice it).

Note: Although the painters tape did not hold, you could still put a piece over the clear packaging tape to matte the glossiness, but definitely not necessary.

How To Hang Floating Candles:

This was easy since the fishing wire was already attached to the candles (thank you time-saver!).

First, we put all the batteries inside each candle and wand (you don’t want to forget this part and then have to do it while they’re hanging from your ceiling!)

I decided on my layout- pretty whimsical with varying heights, dispersed amongst the floating witch hats.

I cut the fishing wire to the desired length- I like some variation in height here.

I cut a piece of packaging tape, a couple inches long, and secured the fishing wire to the ceiling, with some extra fishing wire hanging out.

Again, really press that packaging tape to the ceiling to give it a secure hold. Remember, it isn’t a strong adhesive so do your best to put some pressure in rubbing it flat and secure.

The Final Result!

Once it began to get dark, we pressed the little “on” switch to the remote control wand- easy peasy- and here is our dining room hanging witch hats and floating candles Halloween setup!