The Best 60 Chinese New Year Crafts and Activities for Kids [Updated for 2025]

A Chinese New Year party with kids can be an explosion of color, culture, and joy. If you are looking for ways to engage your children or students in this global celebration, you have come to the right place. This list of 60 Chinese New Year Crafts and Activities for Kids is curated specifically to help you celebrate the Year of the Snake in 2025.

From slithering snake crafts to glowing lanterns and sensory bins, we have categorized these ideas to make planning your celebration easier than ever.

What is the Lunar New Year?

The Lunar New Year, often referred to as Chinese New Year, is one of the most significant holidays in Asian culture. While it is a massive event in China, it is also celebrated widely in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, and by millions of people in the United States and Europe.

For educators and parents, this holiday is a fabulous opportunity to introduce kids to geography, history, wildlife, and the concept of global citizenship. It’s about sweeping away the bad luck of the past year and welcoming the good fortune of the new one.

When is Chinese New Year 2025?

Mark your calendars! The Chinese New Year in 2025 falls on Wednesday, January 29th. The festivities typically last for two weeks, culminating in the stunning Lantern Festival on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025.

Welcome to the Year of the Snake (2025)

The Lunar New Year follows a 12-year cycle, with each year associated with an animal sign. The order is: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

2025 is the Year of the Snake.

In Western culture, snakes can sometimes be seen as scary, but in the Chinese Zodiac, the Snake is associated with wisdom, charm, elegance, and transformation. People born in the Year of the Snake are believed to be intuitive, strategic, and calm under pressure. This makes it a great year to teach children about wisdom and thinking before acting!

60 Chinese New Year Crafts & Activities

We have broken down these 60 ideas into categories: Snake Crafts (for 2025), Classic Decorations, Sensory Play, and Cultural Activities.

Part 1: Slithering Snake Crafts (Special for 2025)

Since 2025 is the Year of the Snake, these crafts are the stars of the show!

1. Paper Chain Snake: Cut strips of green and yellow paper. Link them together to form a long chain. Add a triangle head with a forked tongue.
2. Paper Plate Spiral Snake: Paint a paper plate green. Cut it in a spiral from the outside in. Hang it from the ceiling so it “boings” up and down.
3. Sock Puppet Snake: Upcycle an old green sock. Glue on googly eyes and a red felt tongue. Great for storytelling!
4. Bubble Wrap Printed Snake: Use bubble wrap dipped in green paint to create a textured snake skin pattern on paper.
5. Snake Headbands: Create a cardstock headband with a snake rising from the center or wrapping around the head.
6. Playdough Snakes: A classic fine motor activity. Challenge kids to roll the longest snake possible.
7. Beaded Pipe Cleaners: Thread pony beads onto pipe cleaners. Bend them into wiggly snake shapes.
8. Toilet Roll Snake: Paint several toilet paper rolls. String them together horizontally to make a jointed, moving snake toy.
9. Accordion Fold Snake: Use two long strips of paper and fold them over each other repeatedly to make a bouncy body.
10. Snake Bookmarks: Cut a corner bookmark and decorate it to look like a snake biting the page corner.
11. Leaf Art Snake: Go on a nature walk, collect leaves, and glue them in a line to create a nature snake.
12. Mosaic Snake: Draw a snake outline and have kids fill it with torn bits of green and gold paper (great for pincer grasp skills).
13. Yarn Wrapped Snake: Cut a cardboard S-shape and wrap it entirely in green yarn.
14. Fingerprint Snake Family: Dip thumbs in paint to make the head and pinkies to make the tail on paper.
15. Popsicle Stick Snake: Glue 4-5 popsicle sticks in a zigzag pattern and decorate.

Part 2: Classic Red & Gold Decorations

Red symbolizes good luck and joy, while gold symbolizes wealth.

16. DIY Paper Lanterns: The quintessential craft. Fold red paper in half, cut slits, open, and staple into a cylinder.
17. Firecracker Bundles: Paint toilet rolls red, string them together vertically, and add gold glitter. (Used to scare away the Nian monster!).
18. Tissue Paper Cherry Blossoms: Glue crumbled pink tissue paper onto drawings of branches.
19. Good Luck Banners (Fai Chun): Use red paper and black paint to practice writing simple Chinese characters like “Fu” (Good Fortune).
20. Paper Fans: Accordion fold red paper and decorate with gold drawings.
21. Dragon Puppets: Use an egg carton painted red. Attach sticks to the front and back for a movable puppet.
22. Chinese Knots: Teach older kids simple macrame knots using red satin cord.
23. Gold Coin Tree: Cut circles from gold paper and glue them onto a tree branch outline.
24. Paper Cutting Art (Jianzhi): Fold red paper and cut symmetrical designs. Unfold to reveal patterns.
25. Fortune Cookie Notes: Write kind messages on strips of paper and hide them inside paper circles folded to look like cookies.
26. Dragon Mask: Use a paper plate cut in half as the base for a dragon face with streamers.
27. Handprint Dragon: Use handprints as the scales of a long dragon body on a mural.
28. Cupcake Liner Fireworks: Flatten colorful cupcake liners and cut fringes to look like fireworks exploding in the sky.
29. Red Envelope (Hongbao) Making: Fold red paper into envelopes and decorate with gold markers.
30. Lantern Festival Sun Catchers: Use contact paper and red tissue squares to make translucent lanterns for the window.

Part 3: Sensory & Educational Activities

Learning through touch and play is essential for younger children.

31. Red Rice Sensory Bin: Dye rice red with food coloring. Hide gold coins and plastic zodiac animals inside for kids to find.
32. Zodiac Matching Game: Print pictures of the 12 animals and play a memory match game.
33. Tangram Puzzles: Introduce these ancient Chinese shape puzzles. Challenge kids to make a snake shape!
34. Chopstick Practice: Put pom-poms in a bowl and have kids transfer them to an empty bowl using chopsticks.
35. Calligraphy Station: Set up black paint and brushes. Let kids experiment with brush strokes.
36. Noodle Play: Cook spaghetti (representing longevity noodles) and let toddlers explore the texture.
37. Chinese Shadow Puppetry: Cut silhouettes of the zodiac animals and use a flashlight against a sheet to tell stories.
38. Counting Gold: Use chocolate gold coins or plastic tokens for math games.
39. Scrub the House: Give kids spray bottles and rags. Explain that cleaning “sweeps away bad luck” before the New Year.
40. Playdough Mooncakes: Use mooncake molds or cookie cutters with playdough.
41. Zodiac Race: Act out the legend of the zodiac race. Who can crawl like a rat or slither like a snake?
42. Five Elements Sensory Bottles: Create bottles representing Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water (the five elements of the zodiac).
43. Dragon Dance: Use a bedsheet or parachute. Have kids hold it up and march to drum beats.
44. Listening Game: Play traditional Chinese instrument sounds (Erhu, Pipa) and ask kids to describe the feeling.
45. Smelling Jars: Fill jars with scents of the holiday: ginger, star anise, orange (for luck), and tea.

Part 4: Food & Cultural Traditions

Food is the heart of the Lunar New Year celebration.

46. Dumpling Making Party: Kids can help mix the filling or pleat the dough. (Dumplings look like gold ingots!).
47. Mandarin Orange Tower: Stack oranges in a pyramid. The word for orange sounds like “wealth” in Chinese.
48. Tasting Tray: Introduce lychee, dragon fruit, and persimmons.
49. Tea Ceremony: Host a calm tea party (using decaf tea or juice) to teach respect and pouring skills.
50. Long Noodle Lunch: Eat noodles without cutting them to ensure a long life!
51. Tray of Togetherness: Create a snack tray with 8 compartments (8 is a lucky number) filled with dried fruits and candies.
52. Fortune Cookie Decorating: Dip store-bought fortune cookies in chocolate and sprinkles.
53. Spring Rolls: Let kids roll up veggies in wrappers.
54. Rice Cake (Nian Gao) Tasting: Try the traditional sticky sweet cake.
55. Learning “Gong Xi Fa Cai”: Practice the pronunciation. It means “Wishing you prosperity.”

Part 5: Printables & Quick Games (The Final 5)

56. Zodiac Word Search: Create a simple word search with the animal names.
57. Cootie Catchers: Fold paper fortune tellers with zodiac animals inside.
58. Color-by-Number: Use a “Year of the Snake” coloring sheet.
59. Pin the Tail on the Snake: A festive twist on the classic party game.
60. Zodiac Bingo: A fun group game for the classroom using zodiac images.

The Legend of the Zodiac (For Storytime)

No craft session is complete without a story. While the kids are working on their Snake Headbands or Paper Lanterns, tell them the legend:

Legend has it that the Jade Emperor beckoned all animals to bid him farewell before he departed from Earth. He promised to name a year after each animal in the order they arrived. The Ox was the strongest and fastest, but the clever Rat hitched a ride on the Ox’s back and jumped off at the finish line to win first place! The Snake arrived sixth, reportedly hitching a ride on the Horse’s hoof and giving it a fright at the finish line!

How to Wish Someone a Happy Lunar New Year

When your crafts are done and your party begins, teach your children how to greet guests.

• “Happy New Year”: Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Shin Nee-an Kwai Le)
• “Wishing you prosperity”: Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái (Gong See Fah Tsai)

The most important themes to emphasize are Happiness, Wealth, and Longevity.

Conclusion

Celebrating the Chinese New Year is about more than just red paper and glue; it is about connecting with a rich cultural history and teaching children the value of tradition. Whether you are making a simple paper chain snake or hosting a full dumpling party, these 60 Chinese New Year activities will ensure you welcome the Year of the Snake 2025 with joy and excitement.