Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, celebrates the new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar and in 2025 that falls on 29th January. Millions of people worldwide will be celebrating with special meals, decorations, parades and family parties. To mark the new year, families create Chinese New Year crafts that they can use to decorate their homes, including Chinese lanterns, sun catchers and paper dragons.
The Year of the Snake
Chinese New Year marks the start of a new zodiac cycle and 2025 is the Year of the Snake. This is the sixth animal in the zodiac cycle and is said to represent calmness, wisdom and introspection. So if you're having a baby in the Year of the Snake, it's said they'll grow up to be calm, intelligent, curious and have good communication skills. And if you've not found out the gender of your new arrival, why not use our Chinese Gender Predictor Tool to see if you might be having a girl or a boy?
Chinese New Year Crafts
Chinese Dragon puppet
This Chinese New Year Dragon craft may test your drawing skills a little (unless you download the printable template) but the kids will have lots of fun making it and using it afterwards.
You'll need:
• Paper/thin card
• Scissors
• Colouring pens or pencils
• Crepe paper/feathers/sequins
• Lollipop sticks
Instructions:
1. Draw out the head, legs and tail on thin card or paper and let your little ones loose with the colouring pens and pencils.
2. Cut a strip of paper or thin card and create a concertina that will be the dragon's body.
3. Cut out the head and tail and stick them onto the paper, then glue the legs onto the lollipop sticks and stick them onto the paper too.
4. You can create flames using crepe paper, or just let your little one's imagination run wild with feathers, sequins, or anything you have lying around!
Chinese Dragon Mask
This easy Chinese Dragon Mask from Baker Ross will entertain little ones for longer - they'll enjoy getting messy with the paints when they're decorating, and can then use it for imaginative play once it's ready!
You'll need:
• A paper plate
• Colouring pens, pencils or paint
• Scissors
• Sequins
• Black elastic
Instructions:
The instructions below give you an outline, but you can use your imagination and make the dragon look however you want!
1. Take a large paper plate and turn it upside down then use a pencil to draw the shape of the dragon’s head and cut it out. Hold the mask up to your child's face and mark where the eyes should go then cut out two eye holes.
2. Draw the outlines of the horns and nostrils and let your little ones colour in the dragon's face and decorate it with sequins or gems.
3. Cut a small hole in each side of the mask and thread the black elastic through the holes then tie in place to finish the mask.
Paper plate snake
If you've bought a pack of paper plates to make the dragon mask, why not use another to make a snake? In honour of the Year of the Snake, this hanging mobile is another easy Chinese New Year art craft that's ideal for toddlers.
You'll need:
• A paper plate
• Colouring pens, pencils or paint
• Scissors
• Eyes
• String or elastic (if you want to hang them)
Instructions:
1. Let your little one loose with the paint or colour pencils and ask them to decorate the plate, front and back.
2. Draw a swirl shape on the bottom of the plate, or simply start cutting. Begin with the tail, cutting around the edge of the plate, and then in and around in a spiral shape until you reach the middle which will be the head.
3. Stick two eyes on the top, or draw them on.
4. Cut out a forked tongue from a piece of card and stick it to the bottom of the head so it's peeping out.
5. If you want to hang it, make a hole in the top of the snake's head and thread a piece of string or elastic through, tie a knot underneath and it's ready to hang.
Glass Jar Chinese Lanterns
This simple craft needs just a handful of products, many which you might have lying around already. You can use washi tape, crepe paper, or even the cellophane from sweet wrappers. Kids can get creative with sticking it on to make their own pretty lantern.
You'll need:
• A clean glass jam jar
• Crepe paper or washi tape
• Glue
• Battery tea lights
Instructions:
1. If you're using crepe paper, tear it into smaller pieces, put glue on the glass jar and get your little one to stick the paper all over the jar. If you're using washi tape, tear off strips and let them stick it on.
2. Pop your tea light on the lid of the jar (you could sellotape or glue it on) and turn the jar upside down, then screw it onto the lid.
Chinese Lanterns
You'll need:
• Square piece of plain paper (as large or as small as you like)
• A ruler
• Pen and pencil
• Scissors
• Coloured paper (red is a traditional colour)
• Drawing pin
• Gold tassels and thread
Chinese lanterns are traditionally made of paper and bamboo, then a flame is placed inside and they're released during festivals to bring good luck and prosperity. Of course, this can cause a fire risk and potentially a danger to animals so we'd recommend treasuring your Chinese lantern inside, perhaps using a small battery-operated tea light to create a beautiful glow.
Follow this step-by-step guide to how to make a Chinese Lantern.
Chinese Rattle Drum
This Chinese Rattle Drum from Blue Peter is a bit more complicated so great for older children, though little ones will love the noise it makes!
You'll need:
• Cardboard tube
• Pencil
• String
• Beads or Kitchen foil
• Red or gold paper
• 2 balloons
• Sticky tape
• Push pin
• Scissors
• Glue
• Decorations - coloured paper or ribbons
Instructions:
1. Take an empty tube and roughly measure a 5cm wide section using a ruler. Cut out that section using scissors.
2. Make one hole about halfway down on three sides of the tube. Because the walls are sturdy, use a push pin to make a small hole, then push a pencil through to widen the hole until it's big enough for you to thread the string through.
3. Take some string and thread it through the hole on the left side. Tie a knot on the inside of the drum so that it can no longer be pulled out. Then repeat this on the right side.
4. Tie a bead or a small ball of kitchen foil onto the end of both pieces of string. These will beat the drum, so make sure the string is the right length for the bead to hit the centre of the drum.
5. For the handle, wrap a pencil tightly in red or gold paper and use sticky tape to secure.
6. Push the handle through the final hole, then use sticky tape to attach it in place.
7. Cut two balloons in half using scissors, then stretch each half over each end of the tube.
8. Decorate the drum with ribbon or by wrapping it in the paper.
Chinese New Year Shaker
If smaller tots want to get in on the music-making action, this simple Chinese New Year Shaker is bound to please.
You'll need:
• 2 paper plates
• Crushed pasta or rice
• Confetti, gems, sequins etc to decorate
• Red paint
• Glue
• Stapler
Instructions:
1. Remove the outer edges of the plates by cutting around them to leave just the inner circle.
Paint each plate red and allow to dry.
2. Place the plates on top of each other with the painted sides facing out. Staple around the edges, leaving a space.
3. Pour in the crushed pasta or rice and staple up the hole.
4. Put glue on the tip of a lollipop stick and stick it in between two of the staples to create a handle.
5. Let the kids go wild with the sequins, glitter and gems, then let it dry.
Toilet roll Chinese Lanterns
Another easy Chinese lantern craft, you just need a few items for this and even the littlest ones can get involved.
You'll need:
• Toilet roll tubes
• Red paint
• Glitter
• Strips of paper
• Glue or tape
• Scissors
Instructions:
1. Fold the cardboard tube in half to create a short square shape, then cut down from the fold to create about 4 slits. When it's unfolded, you might find you need to add an extra cut into each side to allow it to fold out into the lantern shape.
2. Get the paints and glitter out (and whatever else you want to use to embellish it!) and start decorating.
3. Once it's dry, glue the end of a rectangle piece of paper onto each inner side to create the handle of the lantern.
Cherry Blossom Scroll
This beautiful Chinese New Year art craft idea from Baker Ross will be one to hang on the wall! Even better, you only need a few items to make something that looks far more complicated than it is.
You'll need:
Black, red and white acrylic paint
A4 white card
Paper straw
Cotton buds
Lollipop sticks
Twine or string
Instructions:
1. Mix one-part acrylic paint with two-parts water in a squeezy bottle to make a watery paint mixture. Shake before use.
2. Create a branch shape with the watered-down black paint onto A4 white card.
3. Using a straw, blow the paint in the direction of the branches to create a more smudged effect. Allow to dry.
4. Using the red and white paint, mix a selection of different pinks and use the cotton buds to dab cherry blossom dots onto the branches.
5. Glue two lollipop sticks to each end and tie the twine or string to the top to make a hanger.
Chinese Lunar New Year birth animals
To introduce kids to the idea of the Zodiac cycle and animals, why not find out what their zodiac birth animal is. You could talk about what each animal represents and see if your kids think they're like their animal or not. Then why not try creating Chinese New Year art activities around your child's birth animal? You could create a tiger from a toilet roll, or a super simple rabbit from a handprint.
Rebecca Lancaster is a Digital Writer for Mother&Baby, drawing on ten years of parenting her two children to help others navigating their own parenting journey. As a freelance writer, she spent ten years working with leading lifestyle brands, from travel companies to food and drink start-ups, and writing everything from hotel reviews to guides to the best British cheeses. She’s particularly interested in travel and introducing her children to the excitement of visiting new places, trying different foods (less successfully) and experiencing different cultures.