Chinese New Year Party

 

Madelyn's 10th birthday this year happened to fall on the beginning of the Chinese New Year. It made for the perfect party theme! According the the Chinese Zodiac, 2011 is the Year of the Golden Rabbit.

Pre-party decorating! Sophia was eager to set the table and hang the few decorations that I had made. I had printed and hand-colored a Chinese Zodiac chart so that guests could see what their Chinese Zodiac signs said about their personalities! 

I also photocopied and hand-colored a dragon head and feet. I then created the winding dragon body with colored card stock and white centers for guests to write birthday wishes for Madelyn's "New Year"!

I found these two printables from the January edition of a series of books. The January Idea Book has fun ideas, crafts, recipes and printables for New Year's Day, the Chinese New Year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Artic and Antartic Animals, and much more. 

The books are great for both classrooms or homeschooling environments! I hope to collect all 12 months as well as the Season editions. I have the Winter edition which has a treasure trove of ideas to stay occupied for the cold months spent indoors.

My sister, Hannah, made the cakes for our celebration. She designed and created them herself. One had the Chinese symbol for Family and the other had the Chinese symbol for Happiness. Perfect choices for our family and friends that gathered this day in celebration! They were also as tasty as they were beautiful! 

Oh, and if you are wondering. My sister is looking for a job. Her passion is baking cakes and other tasty pastry confections and her dream is to find work in a bakery creating edible art.

Forgive the photos. I am sure they do not give them as much justice as they deserve.