Chinese New Year is approaching and we have been making a few fun crafts to help us learn more about this celebration. My boys love learning about different places around the world, and different traditions. Craft is always an easy way to introduce these!
For this Chinese New Year craft, we made a Chinese lantern design using a paper plate and some handy glue products from Bostik. This simple idea can be customised and decorated however your child prefers, and works for any age from toddlers and up!
Paper Plate Chinese Lantern
To make your paper plate Chinese lantern craft you will need:
- 1 red paper plate
- 2 strips of black or gold paper
- 1 black pipe cleaner
- 1 pack Bostik glu dots
- 1 pack Bostik foam pads
- 3 small pieces of yarn or wool
- A few small shiny beads
- Gold glitter
- Gold, red, silver sequins and embellishments of your choice
Learning about Chinese Lanterns
Before we got started making our own paper plate Chinese lantern, we took a look at lots of pictures of Chinese lanterns for inspiration and talked about the colours and designs that we saw.
We noticed that we saw a lot of red and gold, and the children guessed that these are the lucky colours for Chinese New Year. We learned that Lanterns are used for the Chinese Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the Chinese New year, marking an end to the New Year festivities.
How to make the paper plate Chinese New Year lantern craft
We got started by using some of our Bostik foam pads to stick the black strips on the top and bottom of our paper plate to create the basic lantern shape. The foam pads are sticky on both sides and give a little more depth and a 3d feel to your craft. We used these to stick these two strips onto the rim of the paper plate
Next, we used a black pipe cleaner (cut in half, since you don’t need a large piece) to create a handle shape at the top of the lantern. We stuck the pipe cleaner onto the back of the paper plate using the Bostik glue dots, which stick very firmly.
We created some beaded decorations to hang down from the bottom of the lantern by threading a few silver beads onto three pieces of white wool, and then sticking these down at the bottom of the lantern – again using the glue dots. Before sticking the wool strips, I would recommend to tie the wool to secure the beads in place. Threading the beads onto the wool is great fine motor practice for little ones, and was quite challenging for R (Age 3) so younger toddler will need help with this bit.
Now your basic Chinese lantern shape is complete, and it’s on to the most fun part where children can unleash a little more creativity and personality – decorating the front of the lantern.
I provided the decorations, with plenty of gold and red, and let R decorate his lantern in his own way. Whatever style they choose to add their decorations, I think it will look great and if you have an older child they could plan something more intricate like a Chinese dragon, or even copy down some Chinese characters like these for Happy New Year
R used the glue dots to stick his sequins and gold string. We also added some extra glue dots onto the paper plate and then shook glitter onto them to create some glittery dots all over the lantern.
And ta-da… once they’re done decorating the front, your paper plate Chinese lantern craft is all ready to display!
Have fun with your kids making this simple Chinese lantern craft to celebrate Chinese New Year!
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Or follow our new Chinese New Year board on Pinterest for even more
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We are part of the Bostik Craft Blogger Network. Affiliates included in the post.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
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