Lunar New Year is on Sunday and we are so excited to celebrate in some simple and nostalgic ways. Growing up I received red envelopes from my Chinese grandparents and so we continue to keep their heritage alive through this time of celebration. We are planning to gift the kids a red envelope and a little gift and then we will go out for Chinese to share a meal together.
+ Red envelopes: you can buy these online or at Asian grocery markets. I snagged these at Target at their Lunar New Year booth in the store. In the past I also liked to keep some on hand to use as envelopes for cash gifts or gift cards.
+ Chinese Zodiac place mats: last year my mom brought the kids some of these Chinese Zodiac place mats from a Chinese restaurant. I laminated them so we can use them year after year. We use them at home with a Chinese meal. I also like to keep them in our basket of seasonal books (Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day currently) so the kids can look at them, play with them, and we can talk about their Chinese Zodiac.
+ Chinese Zodiac stuffed animals: my mom buys each kid a stuffed animal for their Chinese zodiac. We have a monkey, pig, boar, and a rabbit (for baby born this year).
+ Books: our favorite books include Bringing In The New Year, Dim Sum For Everyone, Round Is A Mooncake, and Fortune Cookie Fortunes. I also just saw It's Chinese New Year, Curious George that I have added to our wish list.
With my oldest in school and me not having the most energy right now, we probably won't do any special projects or crafts. But in the past we have done some fun crafts. You can see more ideas here.