The crafts here run from a red felt plum blossom to a paper horse puppet, and the list covers fortune cookies, snakes, a pineapple, lanterns and a pipe cleaner blossom tree along the way.
What picks yours is how much cutting you can finish before the children sit down, since preschool scissors struggle with the cardstock a paper horse puppet or paper cup horse needs.
Do the cutting and the pipe cleaner trunks yourself, and the children’s share shrinks to gluing, twisting and sticking, which fits a short session.
1. Fortune Cookies
Paper fortune cookies turn a folded half circle of paper into a little luck-bringer, and the message tucked inside is what children remember. Faces and a short note, like "You are so sweet!", make each one personal.
Write the fortunes yourself ahead of time on slim pink strips, or let older preschoolers dictate theirs while you print the words. Children can then draw the faces and slide the strip into the fold.
Red paper suits the Lunar New Year, so I would pick it for the cookie itself. Giving each cookie to someone at home makes a good finish.
2. Toilet Roll Snake Craft
A cardboard tube makes a good snake body because the pattern is already printed on it: a red patterned toilet paper roll needs almost no decorating, which suits a preschool session with limited time.
Cut a snake head and tail from cardboard and attach them to the roll, so the children only add eyes and a tongue.
Tape the finished snake to a stick and it becomes a small parade prop. Red paper lanterns on the same stick, spelling out a greeting such as "HNY," make it feel like a Year of the Snake celebration.
I would pre-cut the cardboard shapes myself, since cardboard is tough on small scissors.
3. Pineapple Craft
Yellow pipe cleaners coiled into an oval body, topped with a spray of green ones, make a pineapple that hangs from a branch or a doorknob.
In Chinese New Year tradition the fruit stands for good fortune, which gives a small craft a nice story to tell.
I’d coil the yellow body myself and hand the green leaves to the children for twisting. Bending pipe cleaners is easy practice for little fingers, and a mistake just untwists.
The ornaments work well grouped together on one branch.
4. Paper Cup Horse Craft
A red paper cup turned upside down makes the horse’s stand, and the cutout rides on top like a small banner.
The cup is also a ready canvas: a gold or black marker is enough for a character and a greeting like the ones on this one.
For preschoolers, I would draw the characters in light pencil first and let children trace over them with a marker.
Cut the horse shape ahead of time, then have them glue it to the cup base. A glue stick works fine on paper.
Red cups cost little and save the step of painting or covering a cup, so this suits a quick table activity.
5. Paper Chain Snake
Strips of construction paper looped through one another and glued make a snake that grows one link at a time. Googly eyes and a red tongue finish it off.
Preschoolers can do the linking, which is good practice for fingers and for repeating a pattern.
Cut the strips ahead of time so the children only loop, glue and stack colors. A glue stick works well on paper, and I would pick it over liquid glue because it grips fast and nobody waits for drying.
Add the eyes and a red paper tongue last, with an adult checking that the head link holds.
6. Tissue Paper Stained Glass Lanterns
Black cardstock turns tissue paper into a stained glass effect: the dark frame holds small red and orange squares, and light shines through them. Preschoolers can handle the part that matters, which is sticking squares into the openings.
Cut the lantern frame yourself, with windows already open, so children only glue.
Tear or pre-cut the tissue into small squares, and set out red and orange in separate trays so the colors mix freely. A glue stick works well on cardstock and leaves tissue less wrinkled than liquid glue.
String tassels are a good last job: tape or glue one to the bottom edge. A string of white fairy lights tucked behind or beside the finished lanterns makes the colors glow.
7. Paper Horse Puppet
Split pins are what make this puppet worth the effort: a paper horse cut in separate pieces, with legs joined at the body by pins, swings when the skewer moves. Preschoolers love that motion.
Pre-cut the body and leg shapes yourself, and punch the pin holes ahead of time.
Small hands can then color, decorate and push the pins through. Tape the finished horse to a wooden skewer, and blunt the sharp tip before handing it over.
Cardstock holds up to wiggling better than copy paper.
8. Pipe Cleaner Blossom Tree
Twisting pipe cleaners into branches gives a tabletop cherry blossom tree that stays put on a wood slice.
Twist brown pipe cleaners together for the trunk and limbs, then curl pink ones into small blossoms and wrap them onto the branches.
For preschoolers, I would twist the brown trunk myself and let the children add the pink. Wrapping short pink pieces around the branches is easy practice for fingers, and mistakes simply untwist.
Anchoring the trunk to the wood slice is the one step an adult should handle. Glue works, and it needs time to set before the tree gets carried around.
9. Red Felt Plum Blossoms
Red felt blossoms on brown pipe cleaner stems may be the simplest craft on this list, and I think that is its strength. Felt cuts cleanly, doesn’t fray, and needs no drying time.
Cut the flower shapes in advance so children only have to glue or stitch them to the stem tips. Glue dots save time over liquid glue, which soaks into felt.
Gather the finished stems in any bucket or jar; a heavy base like a mason jar with a handful of rice or pebbles keeps them from tipping. A bunch of 6 or so looks full without much work.
Cultural Significance of Crafts
Lunar New Year runs 15 days, so a single craft session doesn’t have to carry the whole holiday. Spread two or three small projects across the stretch and children get to see the celebration last.
Crafts work as a way into the culture because hands do the talking. A child who has made something red and gold for the door will ask why, and that question is your opening to tell them about the holiday.
Pick projects by difficulty as well as theme. Easy ones, like fingerprint cherry blossoms, suit the youngest; medium ones, like a dragon mask, suit older preschoolers with an adult nearby.
Many of these can be built from things already in the recycling bin, such as an egg carton or a toilet paper roll, which keeps the cost per child close to nothing.
Materials Needed
Stock one basic kit and nearly every project is covered: construction paper, cardstock, child-safe scissors, glue sticks, and markers or crayons. That list costs little and fits in one shoebox.
Buy red and gold first, since those colors carry the holiday. Add pink, orange and black only if your projects call for them.
Set out materials in small trays or paper plates, one per child, so nobody has to wait for a shared pile.
Cover the table with a sheet of kraft paper or a cheap plastic cloth, and cleanup is a single roll-up.
Keep scissors for the end of the session or for adults. For this age group, most cutting is better done before the children sit down.
Educational Benefits
Fine motor skills get the most obvious workout. Tearing, gluing, twisting, tracing and pressing small pieces into place all build the hand strength preschoolers need later for writing.
Creativity grows when you leave a few choices open. Let children pick their own colors or decide where each piece goes, even if the result looks nothing like a sample.
Cultural appreciation comes from talking while you make.
Name the holiday, say a few words in Chinese if you know them, and explain in one sentence why red is used. Short and repeated beats long and formal at this age.
Praise effort and details rather than how close the craft looks to the model. Children who feel their version counts are far more willing to try the next one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some easy crafts for preschoolers?
Red felt plum blossoms and a paper chain snake are the easiest I know.
How can I celebrate Chinese New Year with kids?
Spread two or three small crafts across the holiday, which runs 15 days, so the celebration lasts for children instead of ending in one session.
A red and gold door decoration tends to start the "why" questions, so have a short answer about the holiday ready.
You can also order dim sum or New Year treats, or try making longevity noodles, and let the kids decorate the house.
What can I make from recycled items for Chinese New Year?
A cardboard tube works well as a snake body, and one with a red pattern needs almost no decorating. Egg cartons suit other projects too, so the cost per child stays close to zero.
