Originally Posted by DWB

Very common in Asia. We set them off for just about any holiday possible. New Years there are usually 1000s of them in the sky.

You have to light them and hold them to the ground so the heat builds up inside. Think hot air balloon, but small scale. Just let it sit there and heat up. It will usually let you know when it's ready to fly, then just lift it and let it go.

If you want to have some more fun, tie strings of a few firecrackers to the bottom of it and light them as it starts to take flight.