Your Complete Guide to Chinese New Year Activities
Must-See for the New Year! The Ultimate Guide to Chinese New Year: Fun and Exciting Activities to Make Your Celebration Lively!
1. Indoor activities chapter
Dumpling-making competition
Significance: Dumplings are traditional delicacies during Chinese New Year. Their shape is like ingots, implying attracting wealth and treasure. The dumpling-making competition can stimulate the enthusiasm of family members to participate, enhance interaction, inherit the Spring Festival food culture in a joyful atmosphere, and let family members feel the strong flavor of the year in cooperation and competition.
Procedure:
Prepare dumpling wrappers, multiple fillings (such as pork and cabbage, leek and eggs, etc.), bowls and chopsticks in advance.
Divide family members into several groups and set a time limit (such as 1 hour).
The competition contents include the speed and quantity of making dumplings, as well as the beauty and creativity of dumplings (such as making colorful dumplings and dumplings in special shapes).
After the end, everyone votes to select the winning group and give small prizes such as New Year red envelopes and exquisite tableware.
Playing mahjong
Significance: Mahjong is a traditional chess and card game. During Chinese New Year, family members sitting around and playing mahjong can relax and is an entertainment way to enhance family affection. In the laughter and joy, it shortens the distance between family members and makes the festival atmosphere more warm.
Procedure:
Prepare a mahjong table and mahjong tiles.
Determine the mahjong rules. You can choose common national standard mahjong, Guangdong mahjong, etc., or formulate simple rules according to family preferences.
Arrange an appropriate amount of chips. The chips are only used for game counting and do not involve money transactions.
After each round, everyone shares interesting things to let the joy continue.
Watching the Spring Festival Gala and guessing lantern riddles
Significance: The Spring Festival Gala is an important cultural feast during Chinese New Year. Guessing lantern riddles is a traditional folk activity. Combining the two can not only enjoy the wonderful programs of the Spring Festival Gala but also exercise thinking in guessing lantern riddles, add festival fun and inherit traditional culture.
Procedure:
Before Chinese New Year Gala is broadcast, prepare slips of paper with lantern riddles on them and paste the slips on conspicuous places in the living room, such as on the wall and next to the TV.
The contents of lantern riddles cover history, literature, common sense of life, etc.
When Chinese New Year Gala is broadcast, after every few programs, pause for a moment and let everyone guess lantern riddles.
Those who guess correctly can get small snacks and small gifts (such as New Year dolls). Those who answer wrong can also share their own thinking to increase interaction.
Playing Werewolf/Killer or scripted murder mystery game
Significance: Werewolf/Killer and scripted murder mystery game are popular social reasoning games that require players to exert logical reasoning and language expression abilities. Playing together with family members during the Spring Festival can break the age gap, improve family tacit understanding and make family relationships more harmonious.
Procedure:
For the Werewolf/Killer game, you need to prepare Werewolf/Killer cards and clarify the number of players and role allocation.
After the game starts, players draw roles and follow the rules to speak and vote during the day and act at night.
Find the werewolves through reasoning. The werewolves need to hide their identities and create confusion.
For the scripted murder mystery game, you need to select an appropriate script in advance and invite family members to participate according to the number of people in the script.
Players read the script, assume roles, and solve the mysteries in the script through evidence collection, communication and reasoning to complete tasks.
Looking at the family photo album together and recalling the past
Significance: The family photo album records the beautiful moments of the family at different stages. Looking through it together can evoke warm memories, let family members feel the preciousness of family affection, enhance family cohesion and let family affection heat up in memories.
Procedure:
Take out the carefully sorted family photo album and the family sits around the sofa.
Start looking through from the earliest photos in chronological order.
When turning to each photo, share the story behind the photo, such as the shooting location and interesting things that happened at that time.
Encourage juniors to ask questions and elders to answer patiently to let the younger generation know more about family history.
2. Parent-child games chapter
Hide red envelopes and treasure hunt game
Significance: Red envelopes symbolize the blessings of elders to juniors. The hide red envelopes and treasure hunt game can stimulate children's curiosity and sense of exploration, let children gain happiness in the search and feel the surprises and expectations of the new year.
Procedure:
Parents prepare multiple red envelopes in advance and put a small amount of cash or small gifts (such as candies and small toys) in them.
Hide red envelopes in safe areas indoors or outdoors, such as behind cabinets, beside flower pots, in tree holes, etc.
Give children clues, such as "The red envelope is hidden near something that can reflect your appearance" (hinting at a mirror), and let children find according to the clues. The child who finds the most red envelopes can get an extra big gift.
DIY handmade lantern
Significance: Lanterns are traditional decorations during Chinese New Year. Parent-child DIY handmade lanterns can exercise children's hands-on ability and creativity, let children understand traditional festival culture and at the same time enhance emotional exchanges between parents and children.
Procedure:
Prepare colored cardstock, scissors, glue, wire, candles or LED light strings.
Cut out lantern shapes with colored cardstock together with children, make lantern skeletons with wire and paste the cardstock on the skeletons.
Install candles or LED light strings at the bottom of the lantern (ensure safety).
After completion, hang the lantern in the room to add festival atmosphere.
Calligraphy competition of writing the character "Fu"
Significance: The character "Fu" represents good fortune and luck. The calligraphy competition of writing the character "Fu" can let children feel the charm of calligraphy and inherit traditional culture. In the competition, cultivate children's serious writing attitude and stimulate children's interest in traditional culture.
Procedure:
Prepare writing brushes, ink, red paper and inkstones.
Parents demonstrate writing the character "Fu" and explain the stroke order and writing skills.
Children try to write. They can write several pieces and choose the most satisfactory one to participate in the competition.
Invite other family members as judges to score from aspects such as font beauty, stroke standardization and overall effect, and select excellent works and paste them at the door or in conspicuous places at home.
Learn to say auspicious words
Significance: Auspicious words are an important way to convey blessings during Chinese New Year. Learning to say auspicious words can let children learn to express good wishes, cultivate language expression ability and inherit Spring Festival cultural customs.
Procedure:
Parents prepare some common auspicious words in advance, such as "Wish you prosperity and may a red envelope come your way", "Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true", "Peace year after year and surplus year after year", etc.
Teach children to say sentence by sentence and explain the meanings.
Then conduct situational simulations. For example, when children pay a New Year call to elders and elders give children red envelopes, children should say corresponding auspicious words.
Children who perform well can get small rewards.
Make small handicrafts with New Year flavor
Significance: Making small handicrafts with New Year flavor can let children deeply feel Chinese New Year atmosphere and give play to imagination and creativity. Parents and children complete handicrafts together, leaving beautiful memories and also adding unique decorations for the new year.
Procedure:
You can choose to make paper-cuts, Chinese knots, firecracker pendants, etc.
Take paper-cuts as an example. Prepare colored paper and scissors. Parents teach children simple paper-cutting skills, such as folding in half and cutting arcs. Design patterns together with children, such as zodiac signs and flowers, and then cut by hand. After completion, paste the paper-cuts on the windows.
For making Chinese knots, you need to prepare red ropes and weave together with children according to the tutorial steps. For firecracker pendants, you can roll red cardstock into tubular shapes and string them up with threads.
3. Outdoor activities chapter
Visit temple fairs and enjoy lanterns
Significance: Temple fairs combine folk culture, entertainment and food. Visiting temple fairs can let family members feel the strong festival atmosphere and experience traditional folk activities. Lanterns are colorful. Enjoying lanterns implies brightness and beauty and adds a romantic atmosphere to the new year.
Procedure:
Find out the holding time and location of local temple fairs. The whole family goes out dressed festively.
In the temple fair, taste special snacks (such as sugar-coated haws on a stick and sugar figures), watch folk performances (such as dragon and lion dances and acrobatics) and participate in traditional games (such as pitch-pot).
At night, enjoy lanterns of different shapes and take pictures to record beautiful moments.
Fly kites and go for an outing
Significance: During Chinese New Year, the weather is getting warmer. Flying kites and going for an outing can let family members get close to nature and relax. A flying kite implies flying dreams and symbolizes a positive and hopeful new year.
Procedure:
Choose a day with clear weather and moderate wind and go to an open space (such as a park or the suburbs).
Prepare kites in advance. You can choose traditional butterfly kites, cartoon image kites, etc.
Parents teach children kite-flying skills, such as running against the wind and releasing and taking in the line at the right time. In the gaps of flying kites, stroll together and enjoy the natural scenery and breathe fresh air.
Take a family photo
Significance: A family photo is a witness of family reunion and records happy moments. Taking a family photo during the Spring Festival has special commemorative significance. Looking through it many years later can evoke warm memories and let family members feel the preciousness of family affection.
Procedure:
Choose a background with New Year atmosphere, such as in front of the door with Spring Festival couplets pasted all over and lanterns hung, or a beautifully decorated park or scenic spot.
Family members wear festive clothes and line up neatly.
You can ask passers-by to help take pictures or use a mobile phone tripod or selfie stick.
When taking pictures, try different postures and expressions, such as making a heart shape together and laughing heartily, and capture natural and beautiful moments.
Visit relatives and friends and pay a New Year call
Significance: Paying a New Year call is a traditional custom during Chinese New Year. Visiting relatives and friends can enhance the affection between relatives and inherit the traditional virtues of respecting the old and loving the young. In the process of paying a New Year call, exchange the recent situation of life, convey New Year blessings and feel the warmth of family affection.
Procedure:
Prepare New Year gifts in advance, such as fruits, pastries and health products.
Arrange the order of paying a New Year call according to the closeness of relatives.
When seeing elders, bow or cup one's hands and say auspicious words (such as "Wish you good health and a long life").
At relatives' homes, take the initiative to help do what one can, such as setting the table and doing cleaning. Play with juniors and share interesting things.
Visit the New Year flower market
Significance: There are many kinds of flowers in the New Year flower market with beautiful implications. Visiting the flower market can let family members feel the vitality of the new spring, select favorite flowers, add festival atmosphere to the home and also place the longing for a beautiful life in the new year.
Procedure:
Go to the local flower market. Generally, there are various flowers in the flower market, such as peonies symbolizing wealth, lilies implying auspiciousness and Kalanchoe blossfeldiana representing longevity.
Select flowers together with family members and learn about flower maintenance knowledge. After purchasing, place the flowers carefully at home to make the home full of flower fragrance and New Year flavor.
4. Fun interaction chapter
Red envelope game
Significance: Red envelopes are a feature of Chinese New Year. Red envelope games can add to the festive joyous atmosphere and stimulate the enthusiasm of family members to participate. Through games, let family members feel the joy and blessings of the new year in laughter.
Procedure:
Prepare multiple red envelopes. Put cash in some of them and put slips of paper with tasks written on them (such as performing shows and imitating animals) in some others.
Hang the red envelopes in a scrambled order on a rope and let family members draw them in turn.
Those who draw red envelopes with cash will get surprises. Those who draw red envelopes with tasks can get small gifts after completing the tasks.
Tasks can be designed according to the characteristics of family members to increase fun.
New Year wishing tree
Significance: The New Year wishing tree carries the beautiful expectations of family members for the new year. Let family members write down their wishes and hang them on the tree to express their longing for the future. Looking at the tree full of wishes can enhance family cohesion and let family members work together to realize their wishes.
Procedure:
Prepare a small decorative tree (you can buy an artificial tree or make one with branches). Prepare colored slips of paper and pens.
Family members sit around, think about New Year wishes, such as progress in study, smooth work and family harmony, and write them on the slips of paper.
Hang the slips of paper on the tree with ropes or clips and place it in a conspicuous place in the living room. In the new year, look at the wishing tree from time to time and cheer for realizing wishes.
Snatching the character "Fu" game
Significance: The character "Fu" implies good fortune. The game of snatching the character "Fu" can enliven the festival atmosphere and enhance interaction among family members. Snatching the character "Fu" implies being full of good fortune in the new year and adding New Year fun.
Procedure:
Prepare multiple characters "Fu". Paste the characters "Fu" on the wall at a moderate height.
Family members stand at a specified distance. After hearing the command, they rush towards the character "Fu" to see who snatches it first.
To increase difficulty and fun, some obstacles can be set up. For example, place several dolls. Participants need to bypass the obstacles to snatch the character "Fu".
Those who snatch the character "Fu" paste it in their own rooms, implying bringing good fortune home.
Take funny family photos
Significance: Funny family photos break the traditional photo-taking mode and record the interesting moments of family members, adding joy to the new year. Looking through them many years later can bring endless laughter and make family memories more colorful.
Procedure:
Choose a place with sufficient light. Prepare some funny props, such as exaggerated glasses, wigs and cartoon masks.
Family members wear the props and pose in funny postures, such as imitating movie scenes and making faces.
Use the continuous shooting function of the camera to capture wonderful moments. Select the funniest photo and print it out. Make it into an album or place it at home to become a unique New Year souvenir.
Make a New Year vlog
Significance: Making a New Year vlog can record family activities during Chinese New Year and share happy family moments. Through shooting and editing, it can cultivate the creativity and teamwork ability of family members. Looking at it many years later can clearly recall the bits and pieces of the new year.
Procedure:
Determine the theme of the vlog, such as "Happy Spring Festival, Happy Family".
Family members divide tasks. Some are responsible for shooting, some are responsible for editing and some are responsible for providing creativity.
Shoot various activities during the Spring Festival, such as making dumplings, visiting temple fairs and paying a New Year call.
When editing, add festive music, interesting subtitles and special effects. After completion, share it on social media to share the joy of the New Year with relatives and friends.
5. Heartwarming interaction chapter
Give elders a massage
Significance: Elders work hard for the family. Giving elders a massage can express the care and gratitude of juniors. In the process of massage, warmth and love are conveyed, letting elders feel the care of the family and enhancing emotional exchanges between generations.
Procedure:
Prepare massage oil or massage cream. Let elders sit on a comfortable chair.
Juniors start from the head first and gently massage the scalp to relieve head fatigue.
Then massage the shoulders, arms and back with moderate strength. Ask elders about their feelings and adjust the strength.
During the massage, chat with elders and listen to them tell stories of the past.
Make glutinous rice balls together
Significance: Glutinous rice balls are traditional delicacies on the Lantern Festival. Making glutinous rice balls together during the Spring Festival implies family reunion and harmony. In the process of making glutinous rice balls, family members work together in division of labor, share the fun of making and inherit traditional food culture.
Procedure:
Prepare glutinous rice ball flour, fillings (such as black sesame filling, peanut filling and bean paste filling) and hot water.
Pour the glutinous rice ball flour into a basin. Slowly add hot water and stir it into flocculent. Knead it into a smooth dough. Divide the dough into small pieces, roll them into balls, press them into bowl shapes with fingers, put fillings in and wrap them up and roll them into glutinous rice balls.
You can be creative and make colorful glutinous rice balls, such as adding spinach juice and carrot juice to the dough.
After wrapping, cook them in a pot and the whole family tastes them together.
