Before kids and before food allergies, celebrating holidays like the Chinese New Year were an excuse to head out to a fun restaurant for the night- yummy food and drinks, yes please! Once kids entered the scene, it seemed these holidays also presented an opportunity for my kids to learn about different cultures and foods. But with food allergies, heading out the local Chinese restaurant on the New Year just wasn't an option.
So, what is a food allergy mom to do? Get creative and bring the celebration to life at home! I want my kids to know that even with food restrictions we can still celebrate and learn about other cultures even if we aren't able to go out to eat or make all of the traditional dishes. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I am not a Pinterest mom....but with a few quick internet searches and some basic decorating you can have a fun Chinese New Year celebration at home!
Decorate your table to spark interest and up the fun factor:
For our Chinese New Year meals, I use red placemats (I bought a pack of paper placemats at Walmart about 4 years ago and am still using them each year). I also set our our chopsticks. When my kids were really little we let them use forks (back then even eating properly with a fork was a challenge!) but as they have gotten older it so fun to see everyone try to eat their meal with chopsticks.
I also find out what animal is representing the New Year and incorporate that into our table decorations- silly things like finding stickers of the animal to put on the corner of the placemats or digging through our toy bin and find small plastic animals to place on the table. This coming year is the Year of the Pig...what do you have in your house that can be used to decorate your table?
A few of our tables from past Chinese New Year celebrations!
Some other fun non-food ideas:
Print out a translation of everyone's name in Chinese to use as place cards for the table. There are a ton of translation websites that allow you to type in your name and it will give your name in Chinese.
For older kids, read through your predictions for the new year. Click here for a link to a page with this coming year's predictions.
For younger kids, print out coloring sheets or do simple crafts (that may be to be used as table decorations). Click here for a link to some awesome and simple ideas. One year, I printed a coloring sheet and we let the kids decorate the table- so fun to see their "design".
Food is there, but not the focus:
For our celebration, I focus more on the non-food aspects, although I do try to make foods that are tied to the Asian culture. One of my favorite go-to resources for nut-free Asian fare is Nut Free Wok- she has so many great recipe options. Check her out to get inspiration for your Chinese New Year meal.
So get ready, Chinese New Year is February 5th. Our mantra to celebrate safely is that we focus on family, friends and fun, not food. This Chinese New Year will be no exception...I have already dug out my trusty red placemats and chopsticks. What will you do to show your kids that celebrating can be about so much more than the food?
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