There are always lots to do when preparing for Chinese New Year. If you have not been involving your children, this is a good time to start. It’s not just the celebrations that’s fun and festive, the preparation period can be meaningful and fun too. Especially when done as a family, having everyone involved.
Here are some ideas on what you and your children can do together to prepare for Chinese New Year. Hopefully this sets a new tradition for your family and your kids will grow up with wonderful memories of family bonding time during this period.
Chinese New Year Preparations With Kids
1. Spring cleaning the home
Every family will play house clean-up before Chinese New Year. Even if you have young children, it’s still feasible to involve them in cleaning up. For toddlers, they can still play their part by clearing up their toys or play area. Teach them to arrange and keep things neatly.
They can wipe down surfaces or even do dusting and sweeping of the house. Those who can handle the vacuum cleaner can be set on the task.
You may want to declutter and get rid of things that have always been stored but of no use to you. This is the time to sit down and sort it out, including your children’s belongings. So you do your pile and the kids do their pile. It can be toys, books, games, etc., things that they have not touched for a long time, and that they have lost interest in.
If they are able to do more advanced chores, like loading the laundry to wash or packing things, by all means delegate those jobs. This is the time when having your kids chore-trained comes in really helpful!
2. Menu selection and preparation
Sit down with your kids and plan your reunion dinner menu as well as meals for Day 1 and 2 of Chinese New Year together. Be willing to add on some of their favourite or requested dishes in your pre-planned menu, if you already have one in mind. If you’re looking for inspiration on what to cook and recipes, check out some of these favourite family dishes from local celebrities on Women’s Weekly.
If you bake your own Chinese New Year cookies, let them contribute their wish list on what they would like to have this year. When going for store-bought cookies, it’s still relevant to ask the kids which are their favourites so that you can consider adding them to your buy-list. If you need ideas, The Smart Local has some unique ones to offer.
When all’s done with the planning, let them contribute to some of the preparation work like writing or drawing pictures of the shopping list for the ingredients you’ll need.
This is a little educational time for them to learn spelling too. If they can’t write, then drawing is a good skill to pick up too. You need not use the list they’ve prepared (but don’t tell them), it’s just a nice thing to set them up to do. That way they feel that they are part of it.
3. Help with cooking or baking
Assign some jobs to them when you’re cooking or baking your goodies. There are lots of suitable jobs for children, like plucking or snapping of vegetables into cooking size, helping to measure ingredients that you need, washing the pre-cooked vegetables or meat, washing and drying utensils and containers, clearing up the counter top or kitchen where necessary, shaping of cookie dough (let them have fun and make some pieces even if they are out of shape), let them be your food taster, etc.
If you are fine with it, let them have a feel of cooking. Guide them carefully. Pick something with no splattering of oil. Or, teach them the process of boiling rice; how to wash, and how much water to put in to cook.
4. Put up decorations together
Spread the cheer by doing up the house with Chinese New Year decors together. Let their creative ideas be set free and you might be surprised what they can come up with. You can also engage them into making paper crafts to be used as decorations.
Either make the crafts together, or assign them with the project if they are older. Let them take charge and get their creative juices flowing. Having ownership of the decor project gives them a sense of pride and responsibility.
Enjoy The Together And Bonding Time
When preparing for the new year together, be mindful to let the little things go. There’s no need to get stressed up over them. There may be a little disruptions here and there while your kids are trying to help out. They may even make a mess instead of helping at first. Be prepared for that. Bear in mind we’re doing this to include our children as part of doing things together as a family, to bond with them.
Make this a yearly ritual for them to be involved with the preparations before the festivities. Let them grow up with beautiful memories of these precious family time, filled with fun and laughter.
Happy preparing for Chinese New Year!