Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is a celebration steeped in centuries of tradition. What originally began as a time for families to come together, summon good fortune, and pray for a plentiful harvest, is now a global celebration of joy, firecrackers, and sumptuous feasts.
In 2025, Chinese New Year kicks off on Wednesday, January 29th, and the festivities will run until February 2nd. This year, we’ll be welcoming the Year of the Snake, a symbol of wisdom and transformation. So, if you’re throwing a Chinese New Year party, let’s make this Lunar New Year unforgettable with Chinese New Year ideas that are as lively and meaningful as the traditions it honours.
But before we dive in, make sure you’re prepped with some Chinese New Year cards for your guests. Oh, and as a heads up, we stock lots of red designs that are in keeping with the celebrations!
Need inspiration on what to write? Our blog on Chinese New Year greetings is packed full of message ideas to help you out. Now, let’s get stuck into the celebration ideas, shall we!
Get your space Lunar-ready
The first step to preparing for Chinese New Year is giving your home a good spring clean. According to tradition, cleaning before the start of the new year symbolises sweeping away the bad luck and misfortunes of the past year, making space for good fortune and prosperity to enter your life. Focus on tidying every corner of your home — dust shelves, wipe down surfaces, and organise your belongings.
Chinese New Year party decorations
Once your home is spotless, it’s time to decorate. Chinese New Year is all about vibrant celebrations, and your decorations are key to inviting good fortune for the year ahead. Use traditional colours and symbols to create a lively, festive atmosphere, while honouring the deep cultural meaning of the occasion. Don’t forget to include the 2025 zodiac theme — the snake — for an extra touch of significance. Here are some decoration ideas to fill your home with the spirit of the Chinese New Year!
Incorporate red
Red, a symbol of happiness and good health, is found in abundance across Chinese New Year decorations. Be sure to incorporate it generously by hanging red party decorations from windows, doors, or any other overhead space you can find. Consider using red paper cuttings and streamers that feature symbols like the snake zodiac animal, flowers, and characters for luck and happiness.
Bring in gold accents
While red is the primary colour used in Chinese New Year party decorations, gold is also a key accent, symbolising wealth and good fortune in Chinese culture. Incorporate gold through little touches such as golden cutlery, plates, or napkin rings. Gold foil decorations or even gold-painted branches can bring a feeling of prosperity to your setup.
Chinese New Year lanterns
Lanterns are an iconic decoration for Chinese New Year, symbolising hope, unity, and the brightness of the year ahead. For 2025, consider red and gold Chinese lanterns adorned with the Snake zodiac symbol to honour the year’s theme. To elevate them further, you could even add in candles to create a soft glow.
Chinese New Year food
It’s tradition across Asia to host a large family feast on the evening before Chinese New Year. Below we’ve rounded up just a few of the many delicious food selections you could incorporate amongst your banquet. Oh, and don’t forget to incorporate fortune cookies, as well as small tokens like gold coins at your table setting for extra luck!
Dumplings (Jiaozi)
Eating dumplings on Chinese New Year is a long-standing tradition in Chinese culture. This is because the shape of dumplings resembles ancient gold ingots – money pouches – and eating them is said to bring prosperity for the upcoming year. You can fill them with pork, beef, prawns, or vegetables, and steam, boil, or fry them.
Spring Rolls
Crispy, golden spring rolls are thought to signify bars of gold in Chinese households, making them the perfect appetiser to invite wealth in the new year. Stuff them with vegetables, prawns, or pork, then stack them on a plate to replicate gold bars, served alongside a delicious orange dipping sauce for an extra helping of good luck.
Noodles (longevity noodles)
Long noodles are traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year and are said to symbolise long life and good health – the longer the noodle, the longer the life. Keep the noodles as long as possible and avoid cutting them. Stir-fry them as a main dish or make a broth, with vegetables, chicken, or beef.
Fish
Fish is often a centrepiece dish at Chinese New Year celebrations. It is said to symbolise abundance, as it denotes the Chinese idiom “may you always have more than you need”. Traditionally, half of the fish is saved for the next day to carry this blessing into the future. It’s customary to serve the fish whole — with the head and tail intact — to signify “happy endings and new beginnings.
Fruity cocktails
Stick to a red colour theme with refreshing raspberry or strawberry cocktails, letting your guests sip on a taste of good fortune. For an added touch of luck, consider serving orange margaritas or mandarin mojitos, as citrus fruits are also believed to exude prosperity in Chinese culture.
Chinese New Year activities for adults
Having some Chinese New Year adult activities set up for your party is a great way to keep the guests entertained. The below activities not only keep things interesting, but also give everyone a chance to get fully immersed in the rich cultural traditions of the celebrations.
Make dumplings
Making dumplings is the perfect way to gather everyone around the table. A cherished tradition in many Chinese families, the process of rolling, filling, folding, and — most importantly — eating these delicious little parcels is as much about togetherness as it is about flavour. It’s a hands-on activity that brings loved ones closer, while welcoming the new year in the tastiest way possible.
Craft door hangers
Invite good fortune into your home by asking your guests at the party to craft handmade door hangers that capture the spirit of Chinese New Year. This is a great opportunity to introduce the Chinese Zodiac animal for 2025 — the snake. Use red cardboard to craft snake-themed hangers, adding a touch of gold glitter, or embellishing them with gold Chinese lettering to enhance their symbolism of wealth and good luck. Hang them on your front door or around the house to spread positive energy throughout your space.
Write messages sending good luck
During Chinese New Year, it’s a beautiful tradition to share messages of luck, fortune, wealth, prosperity, and longevity with those you care about. You could set up a “red envelope exchange” – where you ask your guests to leave meaningful notes for one another in red envelopes, tucked away in places where they’ll be found and cherished. To bring extra luck, leave gold pens and red paper out for your guests to write with.
We hope you’re now feeling the excitement for your upcoming Chinese New Year party! If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out our blog for more party inspiration, including ideas on how to celebrate Diwali. Or, if you’re looking for more New Year inspiration, we’ve come up with lots of great New Year resolutions ideas to kick off the year right.
