EASY CHINESE NEW YEAR DIY CRAFTS

Celebrate Lunar New Year with these easy Chinese New Year DIY crafts

I believe in getting all the good luck you can get! So I love celebrating Chinese New Year as well as New Year’s Day and incorporating all the good luck foods and traditions of both. 

This year, 2024, is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac calendar. And since I was born in the Year of the Dragon, I consider this my especially lucky year.

Here are four fun and easy Chinese New Year DIY crafts to celebrate the coming year — for Year of the Dragon or any other year.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DIY DRAGON NAPKIN RINGS

Chinese New Year DIY crafts: Dragon napkin rings

What you’ll need for DIY Chinese dragon napkin rings:

•  Plain wooden napkin rings
•  Dragon charms (I got these from Amazon for about $2 per charm)
•  Gold spray paint
•  Glue gun and glue

How to make dragon napkin rings:

1. Spray paint napkin rings gold and allow to dry.
2. Glue on dragon charms.
3. Apply a second coat of gold spray paint to make the color uniform.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DIY CRAFTS: PAPER FORTUNE COOKIES

What you’ll need for DIY fortune cookies:

•  Red and gold paper or card stock (I used some recycled paper from Christmas as well as new red and gold card stock)
•  Glue gun and glue
•  Plain white paper and pen

How to make paper fortune cookies:

1. I used this very helpful tutorial to make mine. I used a jar lid about 3 inches around as my template, and then cut all my circles out first.
2. Next, I wrote my fortunes. I tailored my fortunes to my guests, including funny ones for engineers, fishermen, photographers, lawyers, bacon lovers and babies — all of which were gathered around my Chinese New Year table. You can find a world of inspiration through Google.
3. Finally, I followed the tutorial instructions to make my cookies. We played a fun game to match the fortunes with the intended recipients. These were the star of the party (plus the delicious food!).

CHINESE NEW YEAR DIY CRAFTS: COCKTAIL PICKS

I made three different styles — Lucky Cat, dragon and red and gold beads. You can use these as your inspiration for all kinds of fun cocktail picks. Here are more of my own ideas for fall and Christmas.

Supplies (These were my supplies for all three styles. You can mix and match as you like):

•  Blank cocktail picks like these gold metal ones or these simple wooden ones
•  Lucky cat beads (I got mine from JoAnn’s)
•  Dragon beads (I got these from Amazon)
•  Red and gold beads (I got mine from JoAnn’s)
•  Jewelry glue (my favorite is Dazzle Tac from JoAnn’s)

How to:

1. Place a small amount of jewelry glue onto the end of the cocktail pick.
2. Slide the bead onto the pick and set it on the glue
3. Hold it for a few seconds before putting it down to dry completely.

Tips: Make sure that your beads have a hole that is big enough to fit onto your pick. I take a pick with me to the store and stick it into the bead to make sure it’s going to fit. Also, if your bead is really heavy, like the dragon beads were, you may to use more glue.

CHINESE NEW YEAR TABLE RUNNER

Supplies:

•  Chinese style fabric. I got this Dragon-embroidered fabric from Etsy 
•  Matching thread
•  Sewing machine
•  Iron

How to:

1. Measure your table and add about 6 inches to either side to determine the length of your runner. 
2. Press and then hem the edges all around your runner.

CHINESE DRAGON CHILDREN’S OUTFIT

I made my grandson a Chinese New Year outfit for our party. I used the same fabric as the runner to make a simple pair of pants, and then sewed on a dragon patch to a red sweatshirt. Super adorable, and he loved the shiny fabric and dragon embroidery.

We had a wonderful Chinese New Year party, and I hope we’ll all have the best good luck in 2024!