Featuring easy step-by-step instructions discover our selection of fun Lunar New Year children’s craft ideas and activities themed around this colourful and exciting Chinese festival.
Lunar New Year 3D ‘Fire Horse’
Celebrate the ‘Year of the Fire Horse’ with this fun children’s art project transforming a plain paper plate into an impactful 3D display piece. Use stockroom cupboard art and craft materials to maximum effect!
What you will need:
- White Paper Plates
- Coloured Tissue Paper
- Coloured Cellophane
- Coloured Card
- Colourcraft Acrylic Paint
How to make:
Step 1
Gently fold a paper plate in half and draw the profile of a horse’s head starting from the ridged rim of the plate at the top with the nose finishing just above rim.
Step 2
Keeping the plate folded in half cut along the line leaving the top of the head still connected.
Step 3
Paint the head using red acrylic paint and paint a mixture of yellow and red acrylic to create a ‘fiery’ effect around the ‘frame’ edge. Leave to dry.
Step 4
Extend the length of the ‘nose’ by cutting out nose and nostril shape from coloured card. Cut out ears and mane from coloured card to add 3D elements.
Step 5
Use strips of coloured tissue paper and cellophane to create a flame effect around the head.
Step 6
Make the head stand out from the background using a thin strip of sturdy card attached to the back of the nose and bottom of the rim of the plate.
Lunar New Year ‘Fire Horse’ Marionette Puppet
This galloping horse puppet is a dynamic yet simple children’s art and craft activity which reflects the power and energy of the Lunar New Year ‘Year of the Fire Horse’.
What you will need:
- Recycled Sturdy Cardboard Rolls
- Acrylic Paint Assorted
- Coloured Card Assorted
- Bio-glitter Shaker Pots
- Tissue Paper Assorted
- Cellophane Film
How to make:
Step 1
Paint the cardboard roll (inside and out) using acrylic paint. To get a flat colour I’d suggest painting a couple of thin layers. Make sure you allow each layer to dry completely before applying the next.
Step 2
Using card cut a head and neck shape (L17cm), mane (L10cm) tail ( L11cm) and leg shapes (L14cm) from coloured card measuring against the cardboard tube ‘body’ to get proportions (I’ve added the approx. size of the shapes I’d created NB. these also include extra length for sticking each piece on the inside of the tube). Simple folds in the card shapes give the model more movement and look more 3D eg. between the head & neck, ears folded in slightly and the legs folded so the horse looks like it is galloping!
Tip: to get a symmetrical shaped head fold a piece of paper and along the fold draw your ‘half shape of the head & neck, cut out the shape which once folded ‘out’ will give a symmetrical shape. Get the shape you want on some spare paper and then trace onto the card.
Step 3
To turn this into a marionette puppet get a long length of string and pass it through the roll and join to the other end. Allow plenty of length to make the puppet ‘gallop’! This needs to be in place before sticking the head, tail etc in the roll so the string is central to the body for balance.
Step 4
Next stick the head, legs and tail onto the inside of the edge of the cardboard roll.
Step 5
Bend a little of the base of the mane to one side to make a flap to stick down the shape and allow it to stand upright. Add the ‘fire’ to the horse using pieces of coloured tissue paper and cellophane film torn/cut into flame shapes and added to the feet, mane and tail.
Lunar New Year Giant Pinwheels
What you will need:
- Wooden Craft Lolly Sticks
- TTS PVA Glue
- TTS Glue Sticks
- Heavy Duty Single Hole Punch
- A3 Coloured Card
- TTS Metallic Pens
- Paper Fasteners
- Classic Ready Mixed Paint Sticks
- TTS Assorted Oil Pastels
- Paper Drill
How to make:
Step 1
For this paper craft you need a square piece of paper. Take your A3 piece of paper and either measure and cut off the excess or take the bottom left-hand corner of the paper up towards the top left edge, line up and fold. Cut off the excess paper to the right-hand side of the edge of the folded paper to give you your square.
Step 2
Add decoration to the paper to make your own unique pinwheel. Use the offcuts of paper you’ve just created to experiment with materials and designs focusing on Lunar New Year symbols eg. Firecrackers, plum blossoms, mandarin oranges, fish etc. (I’ve used ready mixed paint sticks and oil pastels, metallic pens to create these simple designs).
Step 3
Build up your designs using the art materials covering the whole area of the paper. Ready mixed paint sticks are brilliant as they give good strong colour and dry very quickly, you can also blend/layer colours as I’ve done on the blossom.
Step 4
Fold the paper into 4, cut approx. halfway up each fold.
Step 5
Using a glue stick add a blob of glue in the centre of the paper. Take the first triangular piece into the centre and stick the point over the glue, next stick every alternate triangle into the centre adding a blob of glue over the piece below.
Step 6
Add a hole to the centre of your pinwheel using a paper drill. Next cut a small circle of card adding a hole in the centre with the paper drill/hole punch (to enable the paper to turn smoothly so the pinwheel can spin!) and put the paper fastener through it. Make a handle using two jumbo lolly sticks stuck together and a hole punched in one end using a heavy-duty hole punch.
Step 7
To assemble, put the card circle threaded onto paper fastener through the pinwheel also threading on the lolly stick handle at the back. Fold out the paper fastener to secure it all together. Finally blow gently on the pinwheel and watch your work of art spin!
Chinese Dragon’s Head Egg Box Model Puppet
Built using a recycled egg box and paper plate, create this moving children’s Lunar New Year model. Children can create their own character whilst exploring joining, paper cutting and folding skills, adding colour, pattern, texture and sparkle using a range of art and craft resources.
What you will need:
- Acrylic Paints Assorted
- TTS PVA Glue
- White Paper Plates
- Glitter
- Coloured Card Assorted
- Tissue Paper Assorted
- Black Permanent Marker
- Pom Poms Assorted
- Felt Squares Assorted
- Recycled Egg Carton
How to make:
Step 1
Fold a paper plate in half to make the dragons mouth and cut the end off a recycled egg box to make the head. Stick together using PVA (or under supervision low melt glue gun for a quicker stick).
Step 2
Paint the egg box head part of the head in a layer of white acrylic followed by 2 layers of yellow acrylic paint onto the head and paper plate. NB. Leave each layer of paint to dry thoroughly before adding the next.
Step 3
Paint the inside of the mouth red leaving spaces for white ‘teeth’. Once fully dry, draw around the teeth for definition using a black permanent marker.
Step 4
Paint an extra layer of white acrylic on the eyes, once dry, add stripes on the eyes using either black acrylic paint or permanent marker.
Step 5
Add a ‘nose’ by using a line of pom poms (one small and 2 large) and 2 smaller pom poms on each side for the nostrils glued into place using PVA. For extra dimension add curly whiskers using a pipe cleaner bent into shape sandwiched between the nose pom poms. Next create a ‘beard’ using layers of tissue snipped on the ends and cut to shape.
Step 6
Add extra decoration to the sides of the head using tissue paper and coloured card shapes for added dimension.
Step 7
Use glitter to add extra shimmer and shine. Use around the eyes, add to the head, mouth etc to exaggerate detail. Cut out ‘teeth’ from white card and stick to the underside of the top ‘lip’ for an extra ‘toothy’ grin.
Step 8
Turn into a hand puppet by adding thumb and finger hold loops made from card on the back of the Chinese dragon’s head adding to the top and bottom of the paper plate.
Large Chinese Dragon Moving Puppet
Children will love creating this large dancing dragon using pivot joints! Make it wiggle, jiggle and crawl. A fun children’s Lunar New Year craft with simple step-by-steps instructions.
What you will need:
- TTS Ready Mixed Paint
- White Paper Plates
- Paper Fasteners
- Coloured Card Assorted
- Assorted Polystyrene Balls and Eggs
- Bubble Wrap
How to make:
Step 1
Fold a paper plate in half and draw the profile of the dragon’s head you want to cut out, once happy with the final shape, cut along the line and unfold to see the head shape you’ve created.
Step 2
Make 3D ‘nostrils’ and eyes using polystyrene shapes (eyes a small egg shape, nostrils a small polystyrene ball) ball cut in two, then cut a little off the bottoms of each of the halves to create a flatter gluing area, glue in place using PVA.
Step 3
Paint the ‘face’ and 3 other paper plates (for the body) with a mix of green & yellow ready mixed paints. Leave to dry.
Step 4
Use a piece of bubble wrap to ‘stamp’ the dragon’s scales. Wrap a piece around the end of a cardboard roll, recycled yogurt pot, recycled plastic bottle etc. Secure the wrap using an elastic band. Dip the stamper into ready mixed paint (I’ve used red, blue and yellow so I could mix purple and orange as I stamped) and stamp a pattern on all plates. Leave to dry.
Step 5
Gently curve the three ‘body’ cardboard plates in half (don’t fold into a crease to keep the rounded shape of the dragon’s ‘body’) and across the middle of the curved plate use a strip of thick A4 card (approx. 15cm) to attach one side of the plate to the other creating a sturdy domed shape. Either staple, use PVA or low melt glue gun for this job. These strips of card are also used as handles to hold the assembled dragon and wriggle the body from side to side to make it move!
Step 6
Once the 3D shape using the strip of card has been created on each plate, take one plate and using a hole punch make a hole one at each ‘end’. This makes the central ‘moving piece’ of the body, (tip: use a couple of layers of clear tape in the area to hole punch to strengthen and reduce the chance of tearing). Take the other two plates and punch one hole in each. Use split pins (paper fasteners) to join the pieces of the body together in a line making pivot joints.
Step 7
Once all 3 plates are connected stick the head on to one end (a low melt glue gun is good for this to ensure a good strong hold).
Step 8
Using coloured card cut out further decorative shapes to add to the head and body eg. decoration on the head, spines, a tail with a spike on the end, add glitter, feathers for eyelashes and dragon’s eyes to complete the puppet!
Lunar New Year ‘Squish’ Dragon’s Head
This simple, fun children’s art activity is a great opportunity to explore ready mixed paint, pattern, colour mixing, 2D & 3D, collage and cutting skills whilst creating an individual and colourful dragon’s face celebrating the festival of Lunar New Year.
What you will need:
- TTS Ready Mixed Paint
- A3 White Cartridge Paper
- Dragon Glue-On Eyes
- Red Card
- Cellophane Foil Assorted
- Coloured Feathers
How to make:
Step 1
Choose a range of ready mixed paint colours generally associated with Lunar New Year eg. Red symbolizes happiness, good fortune, success, protection from evil, Gold/Yellow: wealth, prosperity, abundance, Green: growth, renewal, health, Pink/Orange: youth, love, enthusiasm, warmth.
Fold a piece of A3 paper in half and open out. On one side of the paper add blobs of the colours chosen. The beauty of this activity is that no two children’s pictures will ever be the same as how much paint you add, next to what colours, how the paint moves/blends etc makes very individual pictures/patterns.
Step 2
Fold the paper over to enclose the paint, rub gently with your hand to help blend and spread the paint, then peel apart and open out to reveal the beautiful colours, patterns and shape of the head created. Perfect for dragon’s skin! Leave to dry before the next step.
Step 3
Next to make the dragon’s head more 3D fold the paper back in half and cut roughly along the edge of the paint line approx. 2/3rds of the way up the paper (not all the way up to remove the background we just want to be able to push the lower half of the head out to make it 3D!)
Step 4
Use PVA glue to add details of the dragon’s eyes and eyelashes etc using a variety of collage materials to add character, texture and colour.
Step 5
Practice cutting skills whilst creating 2 sets of card ‘flames’ to finish off your fire breathing dragon. NB. Use the edge of closed scissors to run along the length of each ‘flame’ to curl and add dimension. Stick to the top and bottom piece of the mouth. Combine with other papers/foils eg tissue, coloured cellophane, curling ribbon etc to add further colour, movement and dimension.
Step 6
To make the mouth/nose stand out more using a glue stick or PVA glue you can stick a sturdy strip of card to the underside of the bottom of the nose and mouth which will ‘push’ and hold the mouth open.
Lunar New Year Positive Messages Fortune Cookies
This Fortune cookie craft is a fabulous opportunity to explore culture, creativity and spread positivity in your classroom. Whether children are writing or receiving ‘kindness’ messages or positive affirmations delivered in a ‘role play’ Fortune cookie this activity will raise a smile and confidence.
What you will need:
How to make:
Step 1
Paint both sides of a paper plate with acrylic paint using colours associated with Lunar New Year. It may take a couple of layers of each colour to achieve a good ‘flat’ finish. Leave to dry.
Step 2
Promising the arrival of spring and new beginnings, the delicate Cherry blossom is the perfect decoration for this craft whilst encouraging creativity and boosting children’s fine motor skills. Firstly use a fine paint brush (or like me a piece of twig!) to paint/draw a ‘sketchy’ effect tree branch onto the plate using black acrylic paint. Allow to dry (the beauty of acrylic paint is that it really doesn’t take long!).
Step 3
Either using white acrylic paint or a rough mix of white and (mixed) pink acrylic use your finger to print petals for each blossom. Using cotton buds add additional darker pink paint to make the centre of the flower a deeper colour. Add further detail to the centre of the blossom using black acrylic.
Step 4
Cover the whole surface of the paper plate with the decorative finish ready for the final step.
Step 5
Fold the plate in half and stick together at the top (leaving the sides open to allow messages to be placed inside) this can be done using either a glue gun or stapler. To form the cookie shape push the base of the folded ‘cookie’ up towards the top whilst gently pulling the two corners to meet in the middle.
Step 6
Write positive messages and push them gently inside ready to be discovered and shared!
Written by Nicky Mountcastle.
Nicky is a Content Editor for TTS for Art & Commodities. With a love for art & craft from a young age Nicky trained in Art & Design and has enjoyed a variety of creative jobs throughout her career. Making, discovering and sharing ideas is one of her favourite things to do!
