Chinese New Year is about three weeks away! To get my kids excited and to learn more about their culture, I showed them how to make Chinese firecracker decorations.
It was also an opportunity to show them some Chinese firecrackers on YouTube. As we watched, I told them the loud bangs and the colour red from the firecrackers are used to scare the evil monsters away and will bring us good luck in the New Year.
To make the firecrackers, I took red paper (I reused red wrapping paper left over from Christmas gifts) and cut them to 4.5 by 3 inches. Using a thick marker, the kids rolled the paper around the marker, applied glue, stuck the edge down, and finally removed the finished tube from the marker. Then repeat. My son was quick!
Once we have enough tubes, I thread them up with a needle and two strings. I helped to poke the needle through the center of each tube while my kids help to move each tube down.
Make a loop at the end and that's it. It's done. It is now hanging on my front door scaring the "evil" away.
