Lunar New Year Crafts and Fun Facts for Kids: Year of the Horse 2026
Celebrate Year of the Horse 2026 with easy Lunar New Year crafts, printable activities, and fun facts for kids. Includes red envelope craft, dragon puppets, and Chinese zodiac activities.
2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac, an animal that represents energy, freedom, and adventure. What better mascot for children who are natural explorers? Whether you're celebrating Lunar New Year as a family tradition or introducing it to your classroom for the first time, these crafts and fun facts will make the festival come alive.
Fun Facts Kids Love About Lunar New Year
It's not just one day. Lunar New Year celebrations last 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival. That's more than two weeks of celebration!
Every year has an animal. The Chinese zodiac cycles through 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. 2026 is the Horse.
Red means luck. Red is the luckiest color in Chinese culture. That's why you see red lanterns, red envelopes, and red decorations everywhere during the festival.
Fireworks were invented in China. And they were originally used to scare away evil spirits during the new year, long before they became entertainment.
Kids get money in red envelopes. Called hóngbāo in Mandarin, these red packets with money inside are gifts from elders to younger family members. The money is always a lucky amount (usually with even numbers or the number 8).
You should NOT sweep on New Year's Day. Sweeping might accidentally sweep away good luck! All cleaning should be done before the new year begins.
Noodles must stay long. During the Lunar New Year feast, long noodles represent long life. Cutting or breaking them is bad luck!
Over 1.5 billion people celebrate. That's roughly 1 in 5 people on Earth, making it the biggest annual human celebration.
6 Easy Lunar New Year Crafts
1. Red Envelope (Hóngbāo) Craft
Make your own red envelopes from red construction paper. Fold into an envelope shape, decorate with gold stickers or markers, and write a wish inside. Children can exchange them with friends and family, with or without coins inside.
Materials: Red paper, gold markers or stickers, coins (optional)
2. Paper Plate Horse (Year of the Horse)
Since 2026 is the Horse year, create horse faces from paper plates. Paint them brown, add a yarn mane, googly eyes, and construction paper ears. Write a "horse trait" on the back, horses represent energy, strength, and adventure.
Materials: Paper plate, brown paint, yarn, googly eyes, construction paper
3. Paper Lantern
The classic Lunar New Year craft! Fold red paper in half, cut slits from the fold (but not all the way to the edge), unfold, roll into a cylinder, and add a handle. Hang them around the house for instant festive atmosphere.
Materials: Red construction paper, scissors, glue or stapler
4. Dragon Puppet
Make a dragon from two paper cups connected by a long accordion folded paper body. Add googly eyes, tissue paper flames, and streamers for the tail. Children can bob and weave their dragons through the air, mimicking the dragon dances at real celebrations.
Materials: 2 paper cups, construction paper, tissue paper, googly eyes, streamers
5. Cherry Blossom Painting
Cherry and plum blossoms bloom during Lunar New Year, symbolizing renewal and hope. Paint a tree branch with brown paint, then use the bottom of a plastic bottle dipped in pink paint to stamp blossom shapes. The bottle bottom naturally creates a five petal flower pattern!
Materials: Paper, brown and pink paint, plastic bottle
6. Chinese Zodiac Wheel
Create a spinning zodiac wheel from two paper plates. Draw or print the 12 zodiac animals around the outer plate, cut a window in the inner plate, and attach them with a brass fastener. Children can spin the wheel to learn about each animal and find their own zodiac sign.
Materials: 2 paper plates, markers, brass fastener, scissors
Celebrate with MaiMai
Our coloring pages include Chinese and Asian cultural designs perfect for Lunar New Year. Learn Mandarin greetings like "Xīn Nián Kuài Lè" (Happy New Year) on our Language Learning page, and explore Chinese cultural etiquette on our Etiquette Guide. (coloring pages · Language Learning · Etiquette Guide)