CHINESE NEW YEAR CRAFTS FOR KIDS

I thought it would be fun to celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow February 5, 2019 with my boys. We are going to make the house festive with homemade decorations and make a few Chinese dishes too! These colorful Chinese paper lanterns, fans and dragons are quick and super easy to make, plus inexpensive!

CHINESE PAPER LANTERN

SUPPLIES:

Different colored craft or construction paper
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Tape
Piper Cleaners
Optional: Markers and Stickers

HOW TO MAKE A PAPER LANTERN:

Lay a piece of paper flat on the table and fold in half.
Draw a line across the length of the paper about 1 inch down from the top of the open edge.
Next, mark a line every ½ inch along the line you just drew. Then draw lines at each mark straight to the folded edge of the paper.
Then, cut along these lines from the folded edge down to the marked line. Cutting strips a 1/2 inch.
Open the paper up and place the edges together in a cylinder shape with the cut strips vertical. Tape the edges together on the inside at the top and bottom.
Next, add a handle by taping the piper cleaner or strip of paper inside the top of the lantern.
Keep in mind that you can decorate the lantern by using a smaller piece of paper on the inside to add color and color your lantern with marker or even decorate with stickers.
You can sit your lanterns on a table top or hang them from string to decorate.

***Important: These lanterns are not meant to be used with flame or around hot surfaces such as a light bulb.***

CHINESE PAPER FAN

SUPPLIES:

Paper Plate
Popsicle Craft Sticks (Large)
Markers
Stickers
Glue or Tape

HOW TO MAKE YOUR FAN:

Cut a paper plate in half.
Decorate your plate aka fan using markers, paint or stickers.
Glue craft sticks together at one end at about a 90 degree angle, then attach to the back of the plate. (We used hot glue so we didn’t have to wait long to use.)
Let glue dry and then enjoy a cool breeze from your fan.

***The Playful Parent did a paper fan homemade Monday in 2017. See this article for further details and ideas on paper fan making.***

CHINESE PAPER DRAGON

SUPPLIES:

Cupcake Liners (Mini work best)
Googly Eyes
Pipe Cleaner
Craft Paper
Scissors
Glue Stick

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DRAGON:

You can do step 1 & 2 as a part of preparation or as steps with your child in making the dragon depending on their skill level. For the first step cut 8-10 cupcake liners in half.
Next, you will make your dragons head by cutting a small square and rectangle using a cup liner. I did this by folding the liner in half and cutting out the shapes I needed.
Now for the fun part! Using a glue stick, glue down the cupcake liners onto the craft paper. I suggest using a darker color like black so that the colors of the dragon body pop. Make sure to glue the liners down one at a time, making a “S” shape.
Lastly, glue your dragons head down at the top of the S. Decorate with horns, eyes, fire and whiskers using googly eyes, piper cleaners and craft paper.

(We got this idea from I heart Crafty Things)

EXCELLENT BOOKS FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR