Chinese New Year Party Ideas!

A Chinese New Year party is one of the most colorful parties you could ever host. Great decorations, delicious food, and fun activities guarantee that you will want to host this party every year!

Chinese New Year Invitations
Send your friends an elegant and personalized Chinese New Year invitation. Choose a traditional Chinese New Year design or glittering fireworks that are so popular at New Year’s celebrations in China. Try one or more of these ideas to go along with your invite, too:

If delivering your own invitations is an option, why not put the invitation on a Chinese take out food container? Fill the container with fortune cookies for an extra treat. Regardless of the type of invitation you decide on, your guests will be thrilled to celebrate the new year with you.
Or, attach your invitation to a set of chopsticks and include red star confetti in the envelope (fits the color scheme!).
Here’s an invitation idea that will really make your guests do a double take! This year, 2017, is the Year of the Rooser, so why not send an invitation in the shape of one? Use craft paper and write out the details on its body, making an incredibly unique invitation. Your quests will be talking about your party long before it ever starts.
Red is the color for the Chinese New Year. Send an invitation in this vivid color to bring your guests a bright and happy New Year! Suggest on the bottom of the invite that all your guests wear red to your party – everyone will be glowing from the minute it starts!

When determining the wording for your invite, make sure to include traditional Chinese phrases like "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" which wishes guests good fortune and happiness in the new year. With a festive invitation, your family and friends won't be able to wait to celebrate the Year of the Rooster!

Chinese New Year Decorations
The entrance to your party can look like a lovely Chinese garden. Since dragons are also a tradition during the Chinese New Year, place a few Chinatown dragons on the path leading to the party. Wonderful twinkle lights on bushes and trees strung with red and gold lanterns will give your entrance a festive look.

Wish everyone a Happy New Year with a personalized Chinese New Year banner hanging over your front door. It could even say “Gung Hay Fat Choy", too! Make the banner extra special and include a photo of you, the family, or a guest of honor on it. Next to the banner, include a rooster cut out. It is the Year of the Rooster after all!

Whatever you place on the walls, hanging paper lanterns are a must! Lanterns are both festive and elegant.

Chinese New Year Table Decorations and Menu

Red is the traditional color for the Chinese New Year and the perfect one for your tables. Use gold and black as accent colors. Choose fun Chinese paper goods with plates, cups and napkins that all coordinate.

Make sure you choose centerpieces that connect well to your theme and draw your guests' attention. Try a few of these ideas to make your tables POP:

Flowers always look fabulous on a table and vases of flowers are often used as centerpieces for Chinese New Year’s celebrations. Peonies, azaleas, narcissus, water lilies or any type of beautiful blossom are a wonderful decorating addition.
Sprinkle good luck coins on the tables as confetti. These table decorations serve double duty, too; guests can take them home as a lucky favor.

The Chinese New Year is all about celebrating with family and enjoying a smorgasbord of delicious food! If you like to cook, make chicken, fish and noodle dishes. There is meaning behind every food – noodles for longevity, lettuce for prosperity, oranges and tangerines for abundant happiness. Consult a Chinese cookbook to find out the meanings behind each dish.

In case you don’t want to spend your time cooking, call a local Chinese restaurant. No matter what you choose, be sure to order a lot since everyone will gobble it up. Needless to say, dessert will have to include fortune cookies. Even though they were invented in California, fortune cookies are a favorite with everyone. You can purchase them at a store, but why not surprise your guests with custom created fortune cookies, instead!

Chinese New Year Activities
A traditional Chinese New Year is steeped in custom, which means there are many New Year traditions that will keep your guests entertained throughout the evening. Try a few of these to give your family and friends a memorable experience and a taste of Chinese culture:

It’s tradition to write positive words such as health, prosperity or good luck on red paper scrolls and place them around the room. Provide supplies for your guests to write their own messages as they enter the party. Plus, this is another fun and easy way to decorate the room.
In the Chinese tradition, there is an animal with distinctive characteristics that corresponds to every year for the last 100 years. People born in 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 and, of course, 2017 were born under the sign of the Rooster. Do something special for the guests that were born in the Year of the Rooser, like having them run games or win door prizes.
Make a list of the 12 signs of the zodiac and the qualities that go with each one and have everyone guess which sign he/she falls under. Or better yet, pair everyone up and let him/her decide what category they best fall under. Laughter will fill the room as everyone tries to figure it out.

Whatever you decide, make sure your guests stay entertained throughout the evening by providing a variety of fun and engaging activities!

Chinese New Year Party Favors
Your guests can leave your party with more than just hope for a happy new year. It’s a Chinese tradition to give close friends and family crisp $1 bills in red envelopes as a symbol of good fortune in the coming year.

Passing out cash might get expensive, so why not let Party411.com create your own personalized money. With a picture of you on these greenbacks, everyone will remember your party long after it’s over. Try a couple of these ideas as well to leave your guests with good prospects for the new year:

Candy is almost as sweet as cash! Hand out a fun Chinese New Year candy bar wrapper personalized for your party. In milk or dark chocolate, it’s a delicious and sweet souvenir.
You can use Chinese food container boxes, then fill them with favors. Add a few fortune cookies, fans, and you are all set!
Another idea is to fill a favor bag with memory booklets, fortune cookies, and candy purchased from a local Chinese grocery store.
Fill a fun red grab bag for the kids to take home, too. Chinese yo-yos, temporary tattoos, and dragon fans would do the trick!

The Chinese New Year is a great excuse to have a party! Your guests will be so delighted with this unique theme they’ll want to know when you’re having another one. Let Party411.com help you with all your parties and your success will be guaranteed every time!