Get your Chinese New Year celebration started right with unique and theme-appropriate invitations. You might choose to download the free printable available or you could create your own card using videos. Links are even available for free e-cards or to purchase cards to mail.
Download a Free Chinese New Year Invitation
Invite your guests to the festivities with a free invitation you can download with Adobe for printables and customize. This fun design features a lucky dragon on a red print background with a separate area for your party details. Printing on card stock produces a sturdier invitation, but you can use paper if you prefer. Feel free to print as many invitations as you need.
Make Your Own Simple Chinese New Year Invitation
This card is simple to create and easy enough that the kids could create it. To get started, you'll need:
- Plain paper
- Colored pencils
- Gold marker
- Black marker
To get creating, you are going to follow these steps.
Step One: Fold Paper
You are going to fold your paper into thirds. These will be equal thirds. It can be helpful to use a ruler to get your folds equal.
Step Two: Decide on Your Symbol
Decide on a traditional symbol that you might use for the card. Common traditional Chinese New Year symbols might include paper lanterns, zodiac animals, Chinese characters, blooming plants, good fortune fruit, dragons, fireworks, etc. After you decide, you'll draw your symbol on the front of the card. You could use rubber stamps or scrapbooking techniques to create unique invites instead of hand-drawing the image you select.
Step Three: Color Your Symbol
Once you've drawn or stamped your symbol, you are going to color it. While you might use any color, red and gold are popular colors for Chinese New Year. You might also choose to add fun extra features using red and gold. Now, open the front flap and write 'You Are Invited' on the inside flap. You may then color it red or gold.
Step Four: Create the Inside of Your Card
You might choose to draw another character on the inside of your card like a rat or pig. You can then add the time, date, location, and other important information to the inside. Fold it up and these should fit nicely into a standard envelope.
Fun Gold Lantern and Fireworks Invitation
This card is going to take a few more steps and supplies to complete.
Supplies
- 3 strips of paper of varying colors 2-3 inches by 11 inches (gold, purple, blue, etc.)
- Red paper
- Sharpie or calligraphy pen
- Glue
- Scissors
- Gold pen
Directions
- Fold the red paper in half. Cut the card at the seam.
- Fold the strips of paper in halves until you have a 2x2 square.
- Using the scissors, cut off the edges to create a circle. (You'll create several multicolored circles.)
- Fold the circles in half.
- Put the bottom on one half circle inside the other and glue.
- Keep putting them together until you create a pinwheel.
- Glue the pinwheel to the top of the invitation.
- Create 2-3 pinwheels to glue to the card for fireworks.
- Use the gold pen to add other fun elements like lanterns or dragons.
- Use the sharpie or calligraphy pen to add your invitation information like location, time and date.
This video will show you step by step how to create the pinwheels but feel free to get creative.
Chinese New Year Invitations for Free
Chinese New Year invitations are a dime a dozen and found all over the web. If you are looking for free invitations that you can use to spice up your holiday party, you might give these retailers a try:
- Punchbowl offers an array of different invitations that you can use to brighten up your Chinese New Year festivities. You might try the lantern, rat and fireworks themes. These free invitations will be sent electronically. Paid designs are also available.
- Greetings Island offers several invitations with non-traditional designs of standard new year's symbolism, including lanterns and a colorful Chinese dragon. These templates are downloadable.
- 123Greetings offers six Chinese New Year invitations you can customize and send online. These invitations feature animation and music.
Purchase Chinese New Year Invitations
Are you looking for designs that you can buy online or purchase and download? Online card shops offer a plethora of options for you to choose from. When it comes to your celebration invitation, you might try:
- Purple Trail sells a variety of classic Chinese designs including several with the new year's animal, lanterns, Chinese characters, and more. Pricing starts around $1 per card.
- At Zazzle, you can find an array of different traditional and unique Chinese New Year designs. You might try a fun year of the rat design for 2020 or you can get a golden dragon. Both modern and traditional designs are available starting at about $2.00 a card.
- Evite cards offers an array of premium Chinese cards to mail along with free invites that you can send digitally in an array of custom and fun designs. Many feature fireworks, animals and blossoms to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Bring Everyone Together for Chinese New Year
No matter which style of invitation you choose, it will have served its purpose well if it brings family and friends together for an evening of fun. So get those invitations ready and let everyone know you're having a celebration.
