I tried to make a render with a lantern once. I had a hell of a time getting the "GLOW" lighting right and the comments I got were helpfull. One was to create an object (simple sphere) make it invisible with the transparnet settings in the MAT room and parent a bunch of lights to it radiating outwards. I havent tried it yet, but it sounds good.

"Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."
  --  Mark Twain --