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Thursday, February 1, 2018

How to Celebrate the Chinese New Year



The Chinese New Year starts on Friday February 16 this year. It will be the year of the dog.  The Chinese follow a lunar calendar, and the year of the dog will run through Feb 4, 2019.   


I am an ambassador and affiliate for Oriental Trading.  While they do send me products to use in my party posts, all opinions about the products are 100% my own. 



You will notice that there is a lot of red and gold when celebrating the new year.  They are considered lucky colors.  Don't use the color white though, it is considered to be the color of death.  



While black is not considered a lucky color in Chinese tradition, I loved this black, red and gold tablecloth. It seemed thicker than most plastic party tablecloths, and had a pretty shine to it.  





I ordered the pack of chopsticks.  We use them frequently at our house, (sushi!) so I thought it would be fun to use them at this party too.  They were very nice quality, and had pretty designs on them. 



Every year is a different animal based on the Chinese Zodiac.  I thought these zodiac place mats were a lot fun, and also educational. What animal are you? It is based on the year you were born. 


Another tradition is to give gifts of money or coins in red envelopes




There were several different designs in the year of the dog goody bag pack.  I can't decide which one is my favorite. 




The year of the dog mini take out boxes are the perfect size to take home a few fortune cookies, or other small treats.



The centerpiece is in red and gold lucky colors, and each piece has a different symbol on it, like luck, and fortune. 


The garland I hung is called the good luck garland.  I thought that the paper lanterns (they light up) were very pretty.  Lanterns are very important when celebrating the new year. 



While we probably won't break ours, I really liked this dragon pinata




You may also notice a lot of dragons during the new year celebration.  The dragon is the symbol of the Emperor of China.  This particular dragon decoration has strings attached so it can be hung from the ceiling.  I had plans on hanging it that way.  The only problem was when I went to do it, I remembered I am just barely 5 feet tall, and can not reach the ceiling. 




Mandarins are considered to be very lucky, and served for the new year. 


Hopefully we will receive a good fortune! Mine actually came true pretty quickly.  Almost immediately after reading I would soon get good news, my son who has not had a hair cut in about 4 months, told me he was going to get one on Saturday. :) 










We love Chinese food in our house. Often we choose single size servings of our favorites for dinner.  One the menu today was sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 


Here are a few other Chinese New Years items that I did not use at my party, but you might also enjoy. 











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