Happy Lunar New Year!

Decorating Ideas

Make these easy and decorative paper lanterns!

Use our masks and our China coloring pages for individual fun or for a party

We also have a dragon papercraft for your residents to enjoy

Decorate with the color red!

One Chinese New Year custom is to hang red paper decorations in windows and elsewhere. It is believed that this tradition derives from an ancient legend involving a beast called Nian (the name is a Chinese word for “year”), who was known to be terrified of the color red.

Red also symbolizes power, happiness and vitality, so you’ll want to use red wherever you can in your decor. For example, string up red paper lanterns, or place pretty red flowers in vases all around the room. 

But be sure to use gold accents!

Although traditional Chinese New Year decor is red, it is accented with gold. Gold represents wealth, good fortune, and prosperity.

It is also a new year tradition to write messages wishing good luck, good fortune, wealth, prosperity, and longevity and to place those messages where people will find them. For an added touch, write the messages in gold ink on red paper. You can even make the invitations red with gold writing.

Celebrate with these Chinese New Year Dishes:

Food is one of the things that the Chinese take the most pride in. And of course, a lot of care and thought is put into the menu for the most important holiday of the year.

As with Chinese New Year activities and decorations, the dishes are created to give blessings for the next year. Both the names and looks are symbols of wishes for prosperity, happiness, and auspiciousness.

• Spring Rolls
• Dumplings – the more you eat, the more your luck grows!
• Steamed Fish
• Steamed Chicken
• Nian Gao “rice cake” or “New Year cake”
• Hot Pot
• Chow Mein
• Tofu
• Sweet and sour pork
• Peking Duck
• Dim Sum

Activities

Here’s a link to our printable Activity Booklet that can be done solo!

Crafts

5 DIY decorations for Lunar Chinese New year

Make Your Own Chinese Lantern

Sweep away the bad luck!!

Clean your home before the start of the Chinese New Year—as is traditionally done to sweep away bad luck from the current year. Then, when guests arrive, have them remove their shoes at the door to encourage a clean and smooth transition into the new year.

YouTube Links

Travel

Music

• 3 hours of relaxing Chinese music
• Another playlist of traditional music for an hour

Foods

• 8 Lucky Lunar New Year Foods (informative and humorous)
• Chinese Street Food DAN DAN NOODLE Tour in Sichuan, China
• What is Real Chinese Food?