Chinese New Year Party Ideas - "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" (Happy New Year)

Chinese New Year party ideas are to celebrate the Chinese New Year which is on the 23rd January 2012 and it will mark the beginning of the year of the dragon on the Chinese calender.

The Chinese new year is the second new moon after the winter solstice and is celebrated by people all over the World with celebrations sometimes lasting up to a month.

The celebrations are all based around bringing good luck from decorations to the types of food that is eaten.

If your family wants to get together to celebrate this occasion there are certain party traditions, decorations and even dress that can let luck shine on you all year around!

Chinese New Year celebrations are also about bringing all of the family together which makes for one BIG party. So make sure you use the Pink Heaven Occasions party planning guide to make sure you keep on top of this Holiday event.

Wherever you are in the World you can celebrate Chinese New Year with these party supplies from the USA or UK!

INVITATIONS

A Chinese New Year party idea for party invitations is to make a red lantern out of card.

To do this you will need a large rectangular piece of card which you then need to fold in half length ways. Then make about twelve cuts, starting at the fold line leaving a couple of centimeters before the edge of the paper.

Then unfold the paper and staple the shortest two edges together, making a lantern shape. You can then cut a strip of card and staple either end of the lantern to make a handle.

The party details can be wrote along the bottom or top of the lantern. It may be easier to do this before you have stapled the lantern together.

"Gung Hay Fat Choy!" (guests name)

Let this year bring you lots of luck by attending (family name)'s Chinese New Year celebration.

Traditional dress should be worn and we will play good luck games whilst eating traditional and good luck foods.

So please join us for the fun and celebrations of bringing in the New Year on 26th January at (time of party)."

If you want to make some easy but professional looking invites then the Pink Heaven Party Angel recommends creating extraordinary free digital invitations in minutes at Smilebox.com! You can even add your own photos, video clips and music.

DECORATIONS

There are plenty of Chinese New Year party ideas for decorations, many being simple good luck Chinese New year traditions:

Red is going to be your main color for decorations as it is said to ward off evil and bad luck.
Make some more lanterns and hang around the party room. Also get some real lanterns to hang up in your garden or outside your front door.
Use some of these Chinese New Year decorations if you are in the UK.
Use traditional Chinese New Year flowers such as Peach Blossoms and Chrysanthemums to brighten up the room.
Leave doors and windows open, where you can, as this lets the old year out and bring in luck to the new.
Another tradition is to keep all your lights on to ward away any evil spirits.
Use a gold tablecloth and some of this red table ware (UK) with a Chinese dragon or maybe even an Ox as the centerpiece. Also add some chop sticks next to each table setting for a fantastic party decoration idea.
Get some small Chinese flags to hand out to every guest as they come in.
Decorate the table with red and gold confetti.
On the back of every guests chair hang a red or gold rosette for a touch of elegance to your Chinese New Year Party Ideas.

PARTY COSTUMES

A fun Chinese New Year party idea would be for everyone to come in traditional Chinese dress. For females this could be a Chinese Cheongsam (which basically means "long dress").

With a high neck and closed collar these dresses are usually brightly colored and covered in beautiful patterns. Or they could wear a silk Chinese Kimono gown or dress up as a Geisha Girl.

If there are any males at your party they could wear a Chinese ceremonial suit or Pien-Fu. Other ideas would be a Samuri, Sumo or Ninja.

If there are some who do not want to wear the full traditional costume you could suggest that everyone wears a least one red item of clothing to help bring them good luck for the coming year.

Also make sure you add a brightly colored fans as accessories. Other accessories could include a red purse, some costume jewelery and a hair stick.

FOOD AND DRINK

The most obvious Chinese New Year party idea for food would be to order a Chinese take away but there are some other foods some of which are traditional foods that not only bring you good luck but they also taste delicious:

A Chinese Dragon shaped cake
Noodles
Clams and Spring Rolls (both bring wealth)
Fortune Cookies

Tangerines and Oranges (for luck and wealth)
Fish is also served to symbolize a wish for abundance in the coming year
Lettuce Wraps (signifying rising fortune)
Sticky Rice Cakes (signifying a rich sweet life)

Also serve a Tray of Togetherness. An eight compartment tray featuring each of the following:

Candied melon (symbolizing good health)
Red melon seed (joy)
Lychee nut (strong family)
Kumquats (prosperity)
Coconut (unity)
Peanuts (longevity)
Longan (many good sons)
Lotus seeds (fertility)

On Chinese New Years Day a vegetarian dish named Jai is served as the main course. It is a dish said to purify and cleanse the body and soul and consists of many different root vegetables that are served like a stew.

ENTERTAINMENT

Chinese New year activities are plentiful so celebrate the arrival of the New Year with some of these Chinese New Year party ideas for party entertainment:

Mah-jongg Tournament - Mah-jongg is a traditional Chinese game that was introduced in the late 1800s
Chinese Paper Lanterns - For instructions on how to make see 'Invitations' above
Dragon Masks - These can be made from card or paper mache and then painted in bright colors
Costume Making - How about letting the little Pink Heaven Party Angels create their own Chinese dance costumes, such as lion dancer, and perform a dance.
Clay Modeling - Make some Chinese dragons or Chinese symbols out of clay that you can bake in the oven then paint. These would also make great favors.

FAVORS

Keep the luck growing all year round by putting into one of these red Red Takeout Favor Box (USA) some of these Chinese New Year party ideas for party favors:

Chopsticks
Personalized chocolate (UK)
An Ox or Chinese dragon soft toy
A Lai See Hong Boa packet (a red packet with an even amount of money tucked inside)
Chinese dragon key ring
Scented candle
Clay model (see activity above)
Small lantern
Fortune cookie

A lot of these favors (UK) can easily be picked up from dollar stores or pound shops or online.

Remember, if you can't find what you are looking for here then why not ask the Pink Heaven Party Angel, who is there to answer all your party questions. Or why not help others with their party planning problems by answering their questions!

Then once you've thrown your party let everyone know about it at YOUR parties, readers can then rate your party and give their comments. Your party could then help others searching for the perfect party idea, whilst giving your ideas the fame they deserve!

Return to top of Chinese New Year Party Ideas