It’s that time of year again – Chinese New Year – and there are so many possibilities! Chinese New Year is the perfect excuse to a) eat lovely food and b) get super crafty and inspire young minds – so what are you waiting for! Let’s get started! We’ve lots of easy crafts and resources that anyone can do – from age 3 and beyond. Best of all they require hardy any preparation and are either free or super cheap. Though for some of the Year of the Pig resources you will need a Mrs Mactivity Premium subscription, though at only £9.97 for 12 months, with access to ALL of our boutique resources, it’s a total bargain. Where to begin?
Chinese New year paper plate puppet craft
This one is so popular already and totally unique to Mrs Mactivity! Make your very own puppet craft for Chinese New Year using either a paper plate, or if you don’t have one handy, an A4 version is included in this pack too! Use scissors, glue and craft sticks to make a Chinese puppet show for children to play with – use funny voices, or tell a story about the Chinese Zodiac (includes year of the pig puppet and props)! Loads of opportunities for early literacy right here! Download your Chinese New Year Paper Plate Puppet Show Craft here!
Year of the Pig Mindfulness Colouring
How about a nice relaxing start with our Year of the Pig Mindfulness Colouring – simply print and go! This is suitable for all ages, and you might want to have a brief discussion about Chinese New Year first.
Chinese Willow Plates
If you’re the mood for something colouring based and you’ve got some paper plates handy (pick these up super cheaply in any supermarket or Home Bargains),then nothing beats making your own Chinese willow plates! Just use any shade of blue and create your own design. We had a quick look on google first for some inspiration – but really you can do whatever you want! Here is a design my son created…
Chopstick Fine Motor Skills Activity
Kids absolutely love having a go with chopsticks, and you can combine this with tempting them to eat something they’ve never tried before. Cook up some stir fried vegetables, chicken or prawns and combine it with some noodles or rice – noodles is probably easier for children to eat. Pick up some chopsticks – we got ours from a Chinese supermarket as they are specially designed for children – but they are easily available in pound stores and supermarkets – or just ask your local Chinese takeaway.
You could also make this into a tuff tray activity by cooking up a load of noodles and adding objects – my daughter loved making her own food items from play dough – prawns are really easy – and then adding them to the tray. Then challenge children to fish them out using chopsticks. Such a fun challenge!
Chinese Year New Bookmarks
Another super easy Chinese New Year craft idea from Mrs Mactivity! If you’re after a no mess Chinese New Year craft then this is for you! Print out these Year of the Pig bookmarks – you can either use our colour bookmarks to create something instantaneous or a black and white version for children to colour their own. Add a tassel or coloured pipe cleaner for a touch of glam!
Chinese New Year Tuff Spot Tray Ideas
Tuff spot trays make it really easy for children to access fine motor activities, and Chinese New Year provides plenty of inspiration for this! Use food colouring to dye rice and add to the tray. Use brushes or chop sticks to make shapes, or even Chinese characters! Or you can simply ask children to try to write their names in the rice.
Chinese New Year Friendship Weave Bracelets
One for older children – or do together with younger children! Make your very own Chinese New Year weave friendship bracelet – very easy but creative! These come in both colour and black and white so you can design your own. Add the charms at the end to seal the bracelet, or use a paper fastener to use again and again (supervise though).
Chinese New Year STEM Challenge
This is definitely one for all ages – and you can always add your own ideas too, or ask children for theirs! We’ve come up with some really fun challenges to really engage children with Chinese New Year – and also encourage them to work together to achieve a common goal. Cut out the cards and stack them up, then ask children to pick one from the top and give it a go!
Chinese New Year Paper Plate Fan Craft
This is SO fun to make, looks beautiful and something wonderful for children to take home to parents. Simple cut a paper plate in half, then paint it dark red on both sides – we used acrylic paints. When it’s dry, either use a gold pen, or gold paint with a small brush and add your own patterns. Chinese writing works well or just some zig zag style designs. Great for fine motor skills and stunning! Add two craft sticks at the bottom for handles for an extra flourish.
There are also plenty of Year of the Pig crafts with our friends at Red Ted Art – you should definitely check these out!
If you like these you’ll love the rest of our Chinese New Year resources! Take a look now.
