How We Celebrate the Chinese New Year

This post was sponsored by Ling Ling, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

We are celebrating the Chinese New Year with our favorite Ling Ling Potstickers and a fun Chinese New Year craft that is perfect for all ages!  Delicious food, a great time to educate the kids and get creative.

How We Celebrate the Chinese New Year

This year we are experiencing all kinds of “firsts” as both of the kiddos started at a new school.  This particular school is a magnet school that focuses on the arts.  Every grade at this school participates in a well-rounded study on one specific subject and when that study is complete the students share their knowledge in a theater production and an art showcase.  While we have not seen Teagan’s production yet, we were able to see Jude’s a few months ago.  His study was all about the Chinese culture and since this study he has been continuously wanting to learn more about China.

Through one of our many discussions about China with Jude we brought up the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which happens to be on February 5th this year and if you are wondering, 2019 is the year of the PIG!  We decided that as a family we would make plans to continue our learning of the Chinese culture by celebrating the Chinese New Year with a fun activity and some delicious food.

Celebrate With Ling Ling Potstickers

Now, I wish that I could say I can cook Asian food but the fact is, I can’t so I need all the help I can get.  Over the years, when we are craving Asian food we often run to the grocery store to pick up some Ling Ling Potstickers and Spring Rolls from the frozen food section.  They are the perfect way to get some great Asian flavors into our meal plans but without having to pick up some take out.

Ling Ling provides authentic Asian recipes and dishes that are super flavorful and a favorite for the whole family.  With high quality, clean ingredients like freshly sourced vegetables and savory proteins; Ling Ling is a brand we can enjoy and feel great about feeding our family. Plus for a busy family like ours, being able to prepare a delicious semi-home cooked meal is really important for us.  The potstickers and spring rolls are easy to prepare and convenient to share with family.  In addition to the great potstickers we LOVE the Ling Ling delicious signature dipping sauce!  SO GOOD!  We prepare some rice and start dipping away!  When the kids see me grabbing the bag of Ling Ling Potstickers from our freezer they know we are going to have a feast!

Potstickers and Dumplings For Chinese New Year

When we started doing a little Chinese New Year research we found out that Potstickers and dumplings are actually super significant during the celebrations of the New Year.  Potstickers are enjoyed year round but the Chinese definition of a dumpling is the exchange between the old and new year.  What a fun way to not only dig into some of our favorite Asian foods but also celebrate the “new year!”

Create A Chinese Dragon Craft

Materials Needed:

Red Cupcake Liners
Blue Cupcake Liners
Black Cardstock
Yellow Cardstock
Scissors
Glue
Orange Tissue Paper
Yellow Tissue Paper
Googly Eyes
Red Ribbon
Black Marker

Directions:

1. Start this craft by cutting the cupcake liners in half.

2. Have your kids create the shape of their dragon with the cupcake liners on the black cardstock.

3.  Once they are okay with the shape of the dragon, glue each cupcake liner down, layering the lines.  Make sure you have them leave room for the head of the dragon.

4. Now that the body of the dragon is complete, you will need to create a head for the dragon.  To do this you will need two cupcake liners – we used red ones.  Cut one of the liners in half and discard the sides.  This is the top of the dragon head – makes a square.  Glue the head to the cardstock.

5. To make the mouth and lower half of the head you will cut the sides of the liner using the whole liner and folding it in half.  Making a mouth like opening.  Glue this piece to the head.

6. Add googly eyes to the head and draw nostrils on the face.

7. Cut the tissue paper into strips creating “fire”.  Open the mouth and glue the “fire” pieces into the mouth.

8. Cut the red ribbon into 2 inch strips and glue those to the nostrils.

9. Cut horns out of the yellow cardstock and glue those to the top of the head.

Now you have a cute Chinese Dragon to add to your celebration!  While these steps seem hard and long, both Jude and Teagan LOVED doing this craft and have asked to make more dragons.  What is fun about this craft is that each dragon will look different.  Such a fun idea for a big group of school aged kiddos too!

Ling Ling Chicken and Vegetable Potstickers can be prepared in minutes. I love that this affordable frozen entrée can conveniently transform our dinnertime even on those super busy weeknights. Ling Ling Potstickers are available in Chicken & Vegetable, Pork & Vegetable, and Vegetable.  Our favorite is the Chicken & Vegetable.

To prepare the Ling Ling Potstickers, I covered the bottom of my skillet with olive oil, placed the potstickers flat side down into the pan and then added 2/3 cup water.  I covered the pan and let them cook for 8 minutes. Then I removed the pan and let the rest of the water cook off, browning the bottom side of the potstickers.

TIP: The potstickers should not be moved while cooking.

While these pockets full of goodness are being cooked, I place a packet of the Ling Ling sauce in a cup of warm water to thaw.  EASY and DONE!  Great for dinner, lunch or even for your next gathering!

With our Ling Ling Potstickers and fun Chinese New Year Dragon Craft we are ready for a great celebration!  It has been so much fun to incorporate some of the facts, music, and art that Jude learned all about at school this year to prepare us for a fun family activity of celebrating the Chinese New Year.

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How will you be celebrating the Chinese New Year?