Chinese New Year Table Setting

With Chinese New Year celebrations starting on Friday February 16th, I thought now was the perfect time to share a bit of party inspiration with you. Whether you have a Chinese background or not, Chinese New Year is the perfect chance to learn more about the Chinese culture and is the perfect excuse to round up friends and family to come together for a delicious meal.

Unlike our New Year that occurs annually on January 1st, the date for Chinese New Year changes each and every year as it is based on the lunar calendar. Chinese New Year usually occurs between January 21st and February 20th - and the celebrations last for much longer than a day.

It's a holiday rich in tradition and ritual, with Chinese people and people around the world celebrating with lion dances, bell ringing, fireworks, lucky envelopes and more. Chinese families traditionally gather together on New Year's Eve for a reunion dinner. It's during these dinners that children (and often times adults too) are given the traditional red envelopes, filled with "lucky money" and positive wishes for the year ahead.

This table setting is one that is really simple and so easy to recreate. I started with a Blue and White Asian inspired dinner set - which you can often find at local thrift stores (as it seems like almost every house in the 80's had a Blue and White Asian inspired Willow dinner set). If not, I've found a few different pieces that you could pair with a plain white dinner set - click below to shop or find out more.

For the centrepiece, I kept things simple (so the table can be filled with delicious food) with some DIY succulent centrepieces. 

Simply take an old steamer basket (or pick one up at your local kitchenware or dollar store for a few dollars), place a circle of cardboard on the base (to stop the soil from falling out) and fill the steamer basket with soil. Add in some succulents, give them a little water and you're ready to go! I also filled two large matching bowls with flowering cacti, flowers and greenery and placed little succulents in tiny Asian tea cups for my guests to take home. 

At each place setting was a Fortune Cookie, complete with each guest's name tag. You could make these yourself and place personalised fortunes inside - or you could purchase store bought cookies and simply place your name card on top. 

If you're celebrating Chinese New Year, don't forget those lucky red envelopes!

Recreate this look at home

Keep the party going.

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