Looking for a different theme for a children’s party? Infuse a little Chinese culture into your event and throw a party to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
The Chinese calendar follows the lunar year and the Chinese New Year is celebrated on a new moon in late January or early February. The celebration continues for 15 days, culminating with a lantern festival on the full moon. Traditional celebrations include parties, parades and firecrackers. Each year in the Chinese zodiac is represented by one of 12 different animals. For example, 2005 is the year of the rooster, 2006 is the year of the dog and 2007 is the year of the boar.
Create party invitations in the shape of Chinese lanterns, dragons or Chinese lions. These are all symbols associated with this holiday. On the invitation, suggest guests wear red since it is considered a lucky color.
Decorations for the Chinese New Year include vases of flowers and plates of tangerines and oranges. Messages of good fortune are written on red paper and are hung on the walls during the New Year’s celebration including sayings like “May you have good health” or “May the stars of good fortune and happiness shine upon you.” For more party decorations, add Chinese paper lanterns and pictures of Chinese dragons. “Gung Hay Fat Choy” is the traditional Chinese greeting for this holiday, so greet guests with this saying when they arrive for the party.
Great craft activities for a Chinese New Year party include making dragon masks and paper lanterns. To make dragon masks, use paper plates, markers and construction paper to create dragon faces. Use a loop of construction paper on the back of the plate to make a handle so you can hold up the mask. Print out some pictures of Chinese dragons to give everyone ideas for decorating their own. Crepe paper streamers can be attached to the mask as the dragon’s body and to flow behind it in the parade.
To make a paper lantern, use brightly colored pieces of rectangular paper. Fold each piece of paper in half, lengthwise. Starting at least ½” from the end of the paper, make several cuts into the folded side of the paper, ending the cuts before the edge. Unfold the paper and use tape to secure the two short edges of the paper to one another. Attach a piece of string or yarn across the top of the lantern to make a handle.
Once everyone has a dragon mask, have a dragon parade. March around the house with the dragons and use party poppers to simulate the fireworks of a traditional Chinese parade. Another fun activity is to provide a chart of the Chinese zodiac so guests can figure out the animal associated with their birth years.
While some Chinese fare may be too adventurous for children, most kids will eat Chinese appetizers such as egg rolls, wontons and paper-wrapped chicken. Accompany these with rice, fried rice and orange slices for a fun and tasty meal. Of course, fortune cookies are the perfect end to a New Year’s feast.
Making homemade fortune cookies is another fun activity that older children will find intriguing. Recipes and instructions for the cookies are readily available on many web sites.
It is traditional to give children money on the Chinese New Year, so consider a red envelope with even a few coins to send home with each guest. Other fun favor ideas include chopsticks, books with Chinese stories or zodiac animal figurines.
