Guest Post - Chinese New Year Crafts from Becky Goddard-Hill

Becky Goddard-Hill is a parenting author and has recently released the e-book 50 ideas for winter on a budget (fun with under fives, £1.50.) She blogs at www.babybudgeting.co.uk) Here is an extract from her book:

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a very important holiday in China. It is celebrated in late January to early February (depending on the year). Chinese New Year starts on a New Moon and ends with the lantern festival on the full moon 15 days later. This year it begins on February 3^rd and it will mark the year of the rabbit.

How to make Chinese Lanterns

These were huge fun to make and much, much easier than they sound.  Here we go step by step;

Take a piece of coloured paper and fold in half length ways.

Measure in 1 inch and draw a line down the short end of the paper.

Cut along this line and put paper to one side. This will be your handle.

Now measure one inch down from the open length and draw a line across the length of the paper. Marking it ever inch.

Draw lines down from each of those marks to the middle of the paper.

Now from the middle cut along each of those lines but stop at the line before the top.

When you have done you will have a fab lantern shape that you just need to sellotape together.

Tape the handle to the top too.

Don’t these look great! They are brilliant fun to colour on and glitter too. We made lots, threaded the handles through ribbon and hung them together.

Have fun!