Happy Birthday, Chinese New Year!

Madeline turned 7 this past week. I really cannot believe I have a 7-year-old. As we were brainstorming ideas for the theme of her birthday, she suggested that because Chinese New Year (which starts on the 26th) was so close to her birthday, maybe she could have a Chinese New Year birthday party. I thought this was a great idea. Our children are all 1/4 Chinese, and historically we have not really done anything to celebrate Chinese New Year, so this would be a great time to start some traditions.

Madeline wanted a "Chinese cake." I had no idea how I was going to make a Chinese cake, luckily this came to mind. The center characters spell our last name in Chinese (I hope :) and the outside is surrounded by fortune cookies. Ironically, when I headed down to China Town, fortune cookies could not be found in any food store, so I am really questioning how "Chinese" they really are :). Each shop owner kept telling me that I had to head to Canal Street (the more touristy part of China Town) if I wanted to buy fortune cookies. Authentic or not, the fortune cookies were a hit, as each child loved hearing what their future would hold when we ate our cake.

Dinner was Potstickers, Top Ramen, fruit, and Izzys. Again, if we were having a traditional pre-New Year feast, we would have eaten fish. But, because I do not know any 7-year-olds that want to eat fish on their birthday, we went with the next most authentic menu :). The white fruits on the plate above are lychees, and these are actual Chinese fruits we purchased in China Town. They are delicious.

We found these gift bags for very cheap in China Town, to give out as "goodie bags." I have no idea what what they say- I hope it is something nice :). All of our party decorations were also found in China Town. We decorated with some Chinese New Year items that we will use in years to come.

For the party activities, we made some Chinese crafts. The first of which was a Chinese lantern, in honor of the Lantern Festival that occurs at the end of the Chinese New Year. The girls all loved hearing about what Chinese zodiac animal they are. Madeline was born in the year of the snake, Owen in the year of the Dog, and Eva in the year of the sheep.

We also made some Chinese "lion dance" masks.

Next, I told the some stories about Chinese New Year. One of which, was the legend of Nian. Nian was a monster that would come to the Chinese villages particularly around the time of Chinese New Year. He would eat the villager's animals, and even sometimes their children! The villagers found out that Nian was afraid of loud noises so they would light firecrackers to scare him off. They also found out that Nian was afraid of the color red, so they would paint parts of their homes red, and wear red during the New Year.

So, after telling them the "spooky story" of Nian, we played the Nian game. All of the children constructed their own villager out of pipe cleaners, and tied a string to it. We placed the villagers all in the center of our circle of children, and Nian (which was me with a big decorated lid to a pot) would roll the dice. Every time I rolled a "4" on the die (which is an unlucky Chinese number equivalent to #13 here) the villagers had to scramble out of the circle before Nian (my pot lid) captured them. For everyone who grew up in my household, this is very similar to mom's "cat and mouse" game.

Yes, it was a wild game :)

Next it was time for presents.

Madeline received a large hand-quilted blanket from Grandma Chenn, which she loved. Here are all the party-goers trying it out.

Here is footage of the "Happy Birthday" song (in broken Chinese:), and the birthday candle blowing. I LOVE this video because it sums up the entire party in one minute. Owen was on the prowl, attacking at the most opportune times. Girls were screaming squeals of delight- while Owen was screaming girly squeals of frustration over the fact that he wasn't exactly welcome at this All-Girl party.

Mmmmm, cake. Owen finally got his piece.