Chinese New Year Party Ideas
Are you bored of the same old black and white New Year parties every year? This time around, countdown to the New Year in Chinese style! A Chinese New Year is the most vibrant party you’ll ever host. Dancing dragons, exploding fireworks, and lots of hope of good fortune, there’s no better way to ring in 2014 that this. According to the Chinese New Year calendar, 2014 is the year of the horse. I have gathered a few party ideas to get the ball rolling.
Invitations
Here’s an invitation idea that you’ll love! Attach chopsticks to your invitations to evoke the theme and glue confetti on them. Get your guests talking long before the party actually starts. Another wonderful idea is to create invitation in the shape of horse; this will definitely get your guests thrilled to be invited. How about a red paper fan with New Year greetings in Chinese wording? I’m sure your guests will love to receive them. Some designs and patterns you can include in your personalised invitations are horse, fireworks, lanterns, confetti, and garlands. Don’t forget to tell your guests to wear red at the party so the whole vibe glows as the party begins. Crimson clothing is said to protect against evil and bad luck.
Decorations
Get ready to create a festive ambience to party the night away as Chinese New Year decorations really take the décor up a notch. Red and gold colours have significance in Chinese culture. Red denotes fortune whilst gold symbolises wealth, so make sure to incorporate these two colours in abundance when decorating. Here is how I’m planning to decorate my place.
Lanterns: When it comes to lighting up your venue, choices are endless. Hang plenty of red lanterns with happiness quotes written on them in gold colour. Circular colourful lanterns create a festive vibe and resemble the full moon in the night sky. Along with rounded, you can go for other shapes like snake, dragon, monkey, stars, and of course, horse. The idea is to fill the ambience with colours and lights.
Paper Umbrellas: The use of umbrellas originated in China in 11th century and from then onwards it stands as a symbol of Chinese culture. Chinese parasols can be used in many ways in the ornamentation. Hang them upside down from the ceiling to create a lively aura. Decorate your cupcakes and drinks with little paper umbrellas. Make wreaths with little umbrellas and hang them on the door. Get your creative horses racing and possibilities are endless!
Banners and Garlands: To bring fortune and luck, purchase red banners with some happiness and good luck Chinese quotes written on them and hang them both inside the venue and outside. You don’t have to really visit the craft store, as everything is available on EBay and Amazon.
Firecrackers: Firecrackers are wrapped in red paper to ward off bad luck and then exploded to scare way the evil spirits. Make sure you have some firecrackers at hand and if you’ve an outdoor venue, arrange a fireworks display (keep safety in mind).
Oranges and Tangerines: You can also use tangerines and oranges for decoration. Put them in a glass bowl with some sunflowers in the middle of the tables. They will work as perfect centrepieces. Oranges and tangerines symbolise prosperity and good fortune.
Table Setting: Be selective when it comes to the table setting, as this is the part where your guests will spend most of their time. Cover the tables with red tablecloth and place gold vintage dinner plates and cutlery. Place a centrepiece in the middle of the tables like a dragon or a horse figure.
Food
Noodles: A large shared family style meal is a common practice in China during New Year. The main item in your menu has to be noodles as their length represents longevity.
Fish: Fish is also considered as a favourite item of a Chinese New Year party menu and make sure to serve the whole fish. Including the head and the tail means the next year will bring a happy beginning and a joyful end. And since there’ll be some leftovers, it also symbolizes wealth and abundance.
Mandarin Oranges: Mandarin oranges have to be a part of your menu because their name is a homophone for luck. Families exchange little golden tangerines during Chinese New Year to wish good luck to each other.
Customs and Traditions
If you really want to go the Chinese way, why not incorporate some traditions and customs too.
- Make sure all the windows are open. It makes way for the fortune to come into your home and let the old year leave.
- Before any decoration, make sure to sweep the floor prior to the New Year as it cleans out any bad luck and makes your place ready to receive the positives.
- To usher in the New Year in style, have your very own Lion or Dragon Dance with loud beats of drum. It symbolizes the power to fight back the evil.
Party Favours ad Gifts
- Hand out red and gold envelopes with money inside to all the little ones attending the carousel. It is said to bring affluence and good luck.
- What better than fortune cookies when it comes to giving party favours. Have these cookies engraved with the initials of the name of the receiver to suggest that the New Year will bring a lot of fortune to them.
- Give jade bracelets or pendants to guests suggesting beauty and power. There’s a reason why Jade is used in Feng Shui too.
- Give out a bamboo plant to guests as a symbol of luck and growth. Place a bamboo plant in glass vase and fill marbles, stones, and decorative rocks to keep the bamboo in place.
- If you’re planning to give sweet treats as favours, oranges, chocolates, cupcakes, brownies, and tangerines are to be preferred. Avoid pears, as they’re symbolic of separation and death.
This New Year, make your celebration stand apart! Incorporate these Chinese traditions and decorations in your party to make it even more fun.