Question for the group - Have C cells, need D

I have an older lantern that I use for an area light when the power is off. Not all that bright, but it is better than darkness. It uses 3 D cell batteries. Last time I checked the batteries, they read 20% on my ZTS, so I decided to order some more the next time I placed an order with Amazon. (Don't bother telling me about the great deal you get elsewhere, I'm happy with what I paid and the service I get!) Unfortunately, I had a brain fart and ordered a 6 pk of C cells, instead of the D I need. Can I get by with just wrapping some tape around them to keep them centered, do I need to look for C to D converters, or should I just chalk it up to stupidity, find something else to do with the Cs, and order some Ds this time?

The Cs will work, you'll just have to be creative with rubber bands (to fit) and washers (to contact); this assumes your area light mostly just sits and isn't jostled around much, so a good enough fit will be good enough..

If you have to keep replacing your lantern cells, you might consider Tenergy NiMH Ds, much cheaper to just keep recharging the one set of batteries.

C cells are shorter than D cells, so a converter would be more practical than kludging something together. I bought some GP branded A -> C -> D converters last year to power my LED-converted incandescent 3D Maglite with Eneloops. It was so cheap I could definitely recommend it even if the A -> C converters are useless to you. But C -> D converters surely are available separately.