20 Best Chinese Lunar New Year Activities And Crafts For Home And Classroom

Chinese New Year Activities Crafts Kids

 

When celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year with kids and family, we always have fun with the Chinese New Year Guide’s crafts, activities, and stories. I want to take kids to explore the culture and stories behind craft projects and activities so they keep thriving in curiosity. 

Chinese New Year (in English) is officially Lunar New Year for Chinese and for many Asian countries celebrating it. Lunar New Year is also known as Spring Festival in Chinese culture. 

The first day of the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is the first day of the first month on the Lunar Calendar. It is the beginning of the year. Therefore, everything you do during the 15-day celebration is important. That includes what you do and what you say. 

The key is to do the right thing and say the right words so it can bring you and your family positivity, prosperity, and success in the new year. Here is the Chinse Lunar New Year Guide which provides important insights and can keep you on track to start the new year with positive energy and high spirit. 

In this round-up, you will see twenty parent- and teacher-tested kids-approved craft projects and activities. Now you can use them to celebrate Chinese New Year with kids for each one of the 15-day Lunar New Year celebrations. With these carefully curated resources, you are covered for a full course of cultural engagement with language play. 

Without further ado, let’s begin! 

Coloring Activities • Music and Tales

Year of the Rabbit coloring activities introduces one of the twelve Chinese animal birth signs or zodiac animal signs to children. 

Features: Culture. Chinese language with English and Pinyin pronunciation support. 

Music and Tales has a coloring activity that features the Year of the Rabbit that your kids will enjoy and work on. 

Download the Music and Tales Coloring Activity here.

Miss Panda also has a coloring activity that features Year of the Rabbit with three language combination versions

Download the Year of the Rabbit coloring set by Miss Panda here.

Lucky Word Sign 

If there is one lucky word sign you want to have this is the one that is a must-have. This one-word lucky sign has everything positive in it. Fu is the classic and most popular Lunar New Year sign you will see everywhere you go during the Lunar New Year celebration. 

Active Learning Features: Eye-hand coordination. Motor skills. Chinese Culture. Chinese language. Cultural experience. 

Download the Chinese New Year Lucky Word Sign activity here.

Auspicious Greeting Paintings

This set of coloring creative decoration activities has no compare. Each coloring design has a cultural concept and a story based on literature. Lee Yi-Lun is a renowned artist and art educator based in Taiwan who created this beautiful coloring activity set for Miss Panda Chinese. Lee’s calligraphy pieces and paintings have been invited for featured exhibitions in Taiwan, China, and beyond. This is a scarce collection that reflects Artist Lee’s deep love for creating children’s art with cultural depth.

Active Learning Features: Chinese Culture. Chinese language. Cultural experience. Coloring. Imagination.

Download the Chinese New Year greeting paintings here.

Papercutting Art Activities

Papercutting art creation is creative, calming, and requires concentration. The concentration for this paper craft project is on the kids. The interesting thing is I constantly see children go into the flow state with a total focus on paper cutting. In class. At events. Mind and hand. I hope this set of art activities brings you and your children great joy with a cultural experience.  

Active Learning Features: Chinese Culture. Chinese language. Cultural experience. Motor skills. Concentration practice.

Download the Chinese New Year Papercutting project Here.

Photo Frame Activity • MamaBabyMandarin

What’s on your fridge? For our family, when the kids were young the fridge door is a place to play, learn, and read. Jeanna at MamaBabyMandarin created the Year of the Rabbit photo frame printable to celebrate the Lunar New Year with all of us. This great activity is created by MamaBabyMandarin

Active Learning Features:  What are the twelve animal signs in Chinese culture?

Download the Photo Frame Activity by MamaBabyMandarin here.

Lucky Dumpling Recipe: A Cooking Activity

What is a dumpling to you? In your family culture. What are Chinese dumplings? What do they look like? What is the cooking method? With so much information out there it can get confusing. Here I am making it simple and clear so you can see, read, say, and MAKE authentic dumplings. The recipe is passed down from my grandparents. My grandfather is from Beijing and these dumplings are a  must-have for the Lunar New Year. 

Active Learning Features: Five senses. Observation. Inquiry. Experimenting. Mind and Hand.  

Download the Lucky Dumpling recipe Here.

CNY Activities for Littles • Xiao Panda Preschool

For little ones, celebrating a festival event with hands-on activities helps them to connect abstract concepts with solid examples. Learning is an experience for learners of all ages.  The practice of hands-on activities caters to all types of learners from visual, auditory, tactile, to kinesthetic. Learning by doing is more than a concept. It is a practice and its positive impact is scientifically proven. You can find ideas for pretend play, sensory play, sorting, matching, singing, reading, and games in this resource. This set of activities is created by Xiao Panda Preschool.

Active Learning Features: Hands-on, eye-hand coordination, cognitive learning.

Explore the Chinese New Year resource by Xiao Panda Preschool Here.

Twelve Chinese Animal Signs

What are the 12 Chinese animal birth signs? Some call them Chinese Zodiac signs. In Chinese, they are called the 12 Animal Birth Signs – shí er shēng xiao 十二生肖. They come in order and each has its own personality and characteristic traits. 

Lunar New Year is celebrated widely in Asia and the 12 Chinese animal birth signs have some variations in some countries. For example, the Year of the Rabbit is the Year of the Cat in Vietnam and Nepal. Explore and compare the differences between countries.

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Critical thinking. Math skill. Social skill.

Explore the twelve Chinese animal signs here 

Round Lantern Craft for the Lunar New Year • Fortune Cookie Mom

What is the best part about celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year? The preparation, the decoration, and the 15-day of celebration are all features of this fascinating cultural festival that is celebrated by one in eight people in the world. Lantern Festival marks the completion of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.

What do you need to join the finale of the celebration? This round lantern craft project is created by Fortune Cookie Mom.

Active Learning Features: Culture. Language. Motor skills. Eye-hand coordination.   

Download the round lantern craft by FortuneCookieMom here.

Storytime Interactive Fun

Kids enjoy stories by looking at reading books with you, looking at illustrations in books, and listening to audiobooks, and video resources. Here is a 12 Chinese animal birth signs storytime for young learners. 

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Listening skill. Critical thinking. Imagination.

Watch the happy lunar new year storytime here.

 

Riddles Game for Lantern Festival 

The finale of the Lunar New Year comes with marvelous lantern displays and a fun riddle game that can be traced to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – CE 25).   Why Riddles?  The traditional Lantern Festival Riddles are to challenge people who play the game and to see their knowledge of classical Chinese literature. 

I have riddles in both English and Chinese so you can select the ones that work the best for your children. Some of them are silly, therefore, laughter is guaranteed. 

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Problem-solving. Critical skilling. Logic skills.

Download the Chinese Lantern Festival riddle game here.

 

Read Celebrating Chinese New Year • Author Eugenia Chu

Celebrating Chinese New Year: History, Traditions, and Activities – A Holiday Book for Kids is written by award-winning author, Eugenia Chu. Eugenia is also the author of Brandon Makes Jiao Zi, Brandon Goes to Hong Kong and Brandon Goes to Beijing. 

In Celebrating Chinese New Year you will be learning about traditions, fun facts, and cultural activities like dumpling-making, lantern creation, and Chinese zodiac calendar design.

Active Learning Features: Reading. Crating. World culture exploration.

Check out Celebrating Chinese New Year here.

Read First Mandarin Sounds: An Awesome Chinese Word Book 

Language is an important part of the culture. As you guide your children to explore the tradition, fun facts, and history of the Lunar New Year also bring the Chinese language into the celebration. First Mandarin Sounds is teaching readers the thirty-seven essential sounds of Mandarin with everyday and playful words so the sounds stick. Mandarin is different and the sounds of Mandarin are friendly and possible to grasp for learners of all ages.  

Have fun with words in two languages. English and Chinese! Read First Mandarin Sounds An Awesome Chinese Word Book with its audio support. Read, play, and learn!

Active Learning Features: Reading. Listening. World Language Experience.

Check out First Mandarin Sounds Chinese Word Book here.

CNY Crafts and Activities for Kids • Spot of Sunshine

Here is a collection of Chinese New Year fun for kids. From lucky banners, BINGO printables, messy art, lanterns, and papercutting art to Lion maks and the mystery box and many more…you will find your children learn as they play and do..

This lineup is created and curated by the homeschool educator and teacher at Spot of Sunshine.

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Motor skills. Critical thinking. 

Explore this collection of resources by Spot of Sunshine here.

 

Learn Everyday Chinese with Songs, Rhymes, and Play 

Celebrating the lunar new year with families is a tradition in Chinese culture. From the Lunar New Year’s Eve family reunion dinner to the continued celebration and activities with families, the communication between families is highlighted. For kids with Chinese heritage, knowing simple everyday Chinese can help during family gatherings and talking with relatives who are more comfortable with Mandarin.   

Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! streaming audio album is a good tool to guide children to acquire simple daily Chinese. There are over 100 commonly used Mandarin expressions introduced in story format with songs, rhymes, and games. It is bilingual in English and Chinese and no Mandarin background is required to start learning now. It has assisted thousands of parents around the world kicking off their Mandarin learning journey from the very basics with laughter. I also want to note that many non-native parents even used this album to prepare their children before they enter Chinese immersion schools. 

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Listening skill. Social skill. Brain workout. 

Listen, play and learn now with Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda – Start Here!

 

Chinese New Year Connect the Dots • EdKids 

What is the best way to learn the Chinese Zodiac animals? Play games, rhyme, and learn with activity pages like connect the dots. I call these activity pages because they require active thinking, tracing, writing, and ordering. More importantly, they are fun. This set of connect-the-dots printables is created by EdKids.   

Active Learning Features: Language. Hand-eye coordination. Focus practice. Fine motor skills. Visual skills. 

Download Chinese New Year Zodiac Connect the Dots by edkids here. 

 

Chinese New Year Greetings and Crafts Playbook 

From decoration banners, red envelopes, bookmarks, and featured animal year cultural insight, to papercutting templates, dot the words, to puzzles and word games. This Chinese Lunar New Year teaching playbook is carefully designed and written to ensure the Chinese Lunar New Year key cultural essences are delivered to children with hands-on activities, active participation, engaging discussion topics, and their own creations. This playbook has an annual update till the twelve animals are completed.    

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Intercultural understanding. Diverse community building. Festival celebration.  

Check out the Chinese New Year Greetings and Craft PlayBook here. TC version here.

Chinese New Year Fifteen Days of Celebration • Our Chinese and English Journey Podcast 

Passing down Chinese heritage to children is a journey. It is about family connection, Chinese culture, and the Chinese language. In this episode, the interview conversation is encouraging for parents who are helping kids to acquire their heritage language, Chinese. It is a good peek for all parents with or without Chinese cultural background. 

What is highlighted in the interview is that it also included how the significance of each of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebrations. 

Take a listen with your kids. This is a treat and it helps your children to understand there are kids just like s/he who are also learning Mandarin and Chinese culture.

Listen to Our Chinese and English Journey Podcast here.  

Top Chinese Greetings for Chinese New Year • Playful Chinese Podcast 

What do the Chinese say to each during the Lunar New Year celebration? What are the expressions they say to each other when they see relatives, friends, neighbors,…etc.? In this episode of the Playful Chinese podcast, Abbie, Ellen, and Emily are sharing their discovery. 

Listen, follow along, and practice together. Subscribe for more!

Listen to Lunar New Year Greeting episode here.  Also available on Spotify.

Chinese Lunar New Year Guide: Tradition, Taboos, and Celebration 

This guide started as a story about my fond memory of the Lunar New Year when I was growing up. A cultural festival, like the Chinese Lunar New Year, can easily bring diasporas into nostalgia. I am one of them and I believe many of the readers have experienced the same so we lean in and celebrate together – online, offline, on-site, Facetime, Wechat, Line…

The Chinese Lunar New Year Guide: Tradition, Taboos, and Celebration has been growing each year because there is always more discovery. Parents and educators have sent in questions. Is it Chinese New Year? Is it the Lunar New Year? What is correct? What do you eat? What do you say? What is not allowed? What do I do when I get invited to a Chinese family for the CNY dinner? And…

What should I share with my kids when I have missing pieces in my own heritage culture because I am a mixed child with Chinese, Taiwan heritage or I am a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th… generation Chinese American? 

So this resource has been a treasure box for me, I continuously add “precious” to it for you. Little by little after researching and talking with friends, educators, and global education experts. I seek accuracy because it is a must. You will hear my whole family sing the Gong Xi song. Laugh, sing along, and celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year together. 

Read the Chinese Lunar New Year Guide: Tradition, Taboos, and Celebration.    

IG Story video RABBIT Lunar New Year Your Story by Amanda HB

Chinese Lunar New Year 15 Days of Celebration A Learning Guide with Task Cards

One educator sent in her feedback about this teaching tool, “This is a thorough and organized resource. My students loved this!” From the days before the arrival of the Chinese Lunar New Year’s preparation to the full 15 days of celebration, this learning guide gives a presentation with authentic visuals to show learners about this highly treasured and valued cultural festival and celebration. 

What do people do each day? What’s the meaning of each dish on the table of the reunion dinner? The tradition in China vs. the tradition in Taiwan. It is about comprehensible learning, active engagement, and inspiring curiosity. With task cards to explore, to make, to taste. More important, to experience.

Active Learning Features: Language. Culture. Intercultural understanding. Diverse community building. Festival celebration. History. Cooking. Logic skills.  

Check out the CNY 15 Days of Celebration Learning Guide here. SC version here.

Please enjoy and save these round-up resources for the Lunar New Year. Use them to guide your children throughout the fifteen days of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at home, at school, or at the library. Do you want to receive an update about Miss Panda’s resource like this one? Sign up for future updates here.

Happy Lunar New Year! Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy, and prosperous year!

 

 

 

 

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