‘Chinese New Year’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Craft Time: Chinese New Year City Skyline

January 26, 2017 · Craft Ideas, Narrative

A super simple and inexpensive craft to celebrate Chinese New Year.

A few weeks ago, I taught a kids’ workshop that focused on celebrating Chinese New Year, which kicks off this weekend. We made two crafts (this being one of them), and the Asian Quinoa Salad recipe that I shared recently. I love this craft because it’s so simple to make, uses (mostly) items you have around the house already, and it makes for a beautiful piece of art.

I can’t take all the credit for it, as I stumbled on it while falling down the deep rabbit hole of Pinterest, but love how it turned out, and the kids loved it as well. You can, of course, change up how YOU make this craft, putting your own unique twist on it as I did, but however you make it, you can’t go wrong with it. Easy + forgiving = a crowd pleaser and that’s pretty much a recipe for success.

Here’s what you’ll need:
– background paper (I love the one I used; it’s not exactly patterned, but definitely not solid, so it gave it a look of being textured)
– wine corks
– Chinese newspaper (of course you can use a “regular” newspaper, but when we’re celebrating Chinese New Year, it seemed more appropriate to use a Chinese newspaper and I got them for free at a local Asian grocery store)
– paint
– black Sharpie
– glue stick
– scissors

Cut the strips of newspaper for the city skyscrapers. I suggested that the kids alternate some of the print between ones that were more straight text with ones that had more of the bold, blacker backgrounds. I also told them to feel free to use some of the newspaper print that had pictures on them because it would kind of look like billboards. Make them varying heights on glue on your background sheet from left to right. Although it isn’t reflected in my sample above, I went back with a black Sharpie and drew some rows of black squares to mimic windows on some of the skyscrapers.

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Recipe: Asian Quinoa Salad

January 17, 2017 · Narrative

Light, healthy, and super easy to make, this Asian Quinoa Salad makes a delicious lunch or side dish.

Last week, I ran a kids’ workshop where we focused on Chinese New Year. We did two crafts (more details on those coming soon), and we made this Asian Quinoa Salad.

Any time I can get the kids shredding and chopping vegetables, they are happy campers, and feeding them a healthy, clean salad is most definitely a bonus at the end of the class.

This recipes makes a HUGE bowl, so safe to say it serves six as a salad, or me if I feast on it for the week. You can add grilled chicken or shrimp to it and really make it a more hearty meal, or keep it as is for a light salad, snack, or side item. It takes less than 25 minutes to make, which means it’s an easy weeknight choice, or make it on Sunday and keep the dressing on the side and you’ll have lunch for the week.

I love how colorful it is, and how guilt-free it is. It’s kind of like Spring on a plate, despite the gloomy grey skies we’ve been seeing out of our window lately, and it’s got a great crunch to it.

*That gorgeous plate comes from Suite One Studios, and the beautiful wood background comes courtesy of my Saturday morning dumpster diving adventures as seen on Snapchat (I’m cateomalley on snap).

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Celebrating Chinese New Year 2012

January 23, 2012 · Narrative

Many years ago, we were celebrating our new office location at work, and one of the employees’ wives brought a Chinese statue for good luck. And that is where it all began. Or at least as best as my memory serves me. My mom started celebrating the Chinese New Year very soon after, and I followed suit (with the kids) five years ago. I think it’s good to celebrate other cultures and traditions with the kids, and expose them to new things, and celebrating Chinese New Year is something that they look forward to every year. Besides, any holiday that is steeped in celebrating good fortune, wealth, and prosperity is definitely something I can wholeheartedly support.

Celebrations began at my office lunch today. Noodles for longevity. Egg rolls for wealth. Check and check.

This year is the Year of the Dragon. This was the centerpiece on the lunch table at work, which I borrowed for our own evening celebration tonight.

The tradition goes, the longer the noodle, the longer the life.

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Halloween Traditions

October 29, 2009 · Narrative

I’m big on tradition. Whether it’s a new one or an old one, I like the comfortable feeling of being able to rely on tradition. The kids each open up one present on Christmas Eve, a tradition carried over from my own childhood, and it’s always pajamas to wear that night. We celebrate Chinese New Year. We have a New Years’ Eve seafood feast every year. The Rainbow Cake End of School/Back to School tradition was born this year. Tradition. Love it.

One of our Halloween traditions is the Trick of Treat bag I made years ago when Nick was two years old. Every year, I write what his Halloween costume is, and the year. Since he learned how to write his name, he has also signed it. I love that he carries something special like this for trick-or-treating and it’s a fun trip down memory lane when we dig it out each year. This year, he had a hard time deciding what to dress up as, torn between two choices, so he will be a soccer playing vampire.

Today I bought Madeline her bag so she can carry her own memory-filled trick-or-treat bag. She has a very “large and in charge,” bustling walk, and I can just picture her marching up to front doors on Saturday, trick or treating with the big kids. This is the perfect picture to show off her walk. Given her sweet tooth, she will be in all her glory come Halloween. And then some….

Celebrating Chinese New Year – The Year of the Rat

February 7, 2008 · Narrative

It wasn’t until our first Chinese New Year party last year that I learned really how much the holiday is truly steeped in tradition. We certainly have some of our own traditions when it comes to our New Year’s Day celebration, but not to this extent.

The red lanterns, the long list of things to do to avoid bad luck, what you should do to encourage good luck, which foods will bring what type of luck and good fortune your way, and even the amount of money that you put in the traditional money envelopes is very important. I find it all fascinating.

Just like last year, I used Chinese newspapers to line the dining room table, and we all had fun trying to use the chopsticks. Nicholas, although hesitant to try them at first, actually ended up using them throughout the entire meal and had a blast.

Steamed dumplings, Shrimp and Lobster Fried Rice, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Almond Cookies, Fried Scallops, Scallion Pancakes, Shrimp Toast, Cold Sesame Noodles, Fried Chicken Wings, Wonton Soup … quite the feast. The restaurant added some sort of glazed chicken wings too, as a nice surprise, and they must have been good, ’cause they’re all gone. The Husband and chicken wings = dangerous combination.

I always ask for extra sauce packets when we order (if you don’t, there’s never enough hot mustard!), and this time, they included packets of ketchup with the stash. The first time I’ve ever seen ketchup at a Chinese restaurant – what the heck are people putting it on?…