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You are here: Home / Activities with Kids / Chinese Family Night Ideas + Paper Fortune Cookies

Chinese Family Night Ideas + Paper Fortune Cookies

October 28, 2014 by Janel

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I received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own. 

After high school, I spent a semester living abroad in China teaching 3 and 4 year old children to speak English. It was a totally different world than the country I left behind, and a big culture shock for me. I still have so many memories ingrained in me from my time living abroad, though, that it’s fun to share some of the Chinese culture with my kids, even if we go for an Americanized version. One thing’s for sure — It’s impossible to have a Chinese family night without Chinese takeout!

Chinese Family Night

I love getting takeout because the meal is prepared for us so all the prep, work, and mess is taken care of, but we still get to enjoy our time together at home in our own surroundings. My go-to place for Chinese food is Panda Express. They are quick and easy to order from and best of all is there are no complaints from my kids. After dinner, try one of these fun Chinese Family Night Activities!

Chinese Family Night Ideas

Decorate with Paper Lanterns – Make easy paper lanterns before dinner to decorate the space and start the fun!

Watch a Chinese Movie – After dinner, cuddle up with a fun Chinese movie. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Mulan
  • The Karate Kid (2010 version, takes place in China)
  • Rush Hour or any other Jackie Chan movie
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  • Hero — for date night or with teens

Play a game of Mahjong – You can find free versions online that can be played together.

Pretend to be a Chinese parade dragon – Line up everyone in the family and put your hands on the shoulders or hips of the person in front of you. Parade around the room following the leader as if you were in a Chinese New Year parade!

Try Kung-Fu – Get active and silly by trying your hand at Kung-Fu! Put in a fitness based video to help guide you or look up basic moves and give them a try.

Write a message in Chinese characters – Practice writing traditional Chinese characters and then share your secret message!

Make Paper Fortune Cookies – Nothing feels more Chinese than fortune cookies! You can easily make your own paper cookies and let the kids help make the clever fortunes inside. Or, try filling the fortune with something you like about another family member, than pass your cookies!

How to Make Paper Fortune Cookies

Paper Fortune Cookies



Supplies:

  • Scrapbook paper
  • Large circle punch or grab a lid or a CD to trace
  • Pen or Markers
  • Scissors
  • Tape

Grab origami or scrapbook paper in your choice of patterns. If you have a large circle punch, just punch out your circles. Otherwise, grab a large lid or a CD or DVD and trace around the circle. Aim for 4-4.5″ diameter circle. Cut out the circle shape from your pattern.

Next, bend your circle in half, but don’t make a crease or fold at the line. While holding the folded circle between your fingers, push in at the center of the fold towards your fingers while pushing the outer tips of the fold upward. This will fold the paper in and give you a fortune cookie shape!

Slip in your pre-written and designed fortunes and refold, if necessary.

Easy Paper Fortune Cookies

Roll a piece of tape taping the end back to the beginning of your tape strip creating a bubble with the sticky adhesive side facing outward. Tape your fortune cookie by placing the tape bubble between the pointed ends of your paper fortune cookie and pressing to hold the paper to the tape.

A New Way to Takeout Chinese!

With takeout, I want ordering to be as easy as possible. Nothing is more frustrating than a long line, a long wait, or an order that didn’t get completed correctly because of mis-communication with phone orders. Panda Express just added the ability to order your takeout online or with their app!

Now, I don’t have to hassle with my kids through the ordering line and managing all their preferences. I don’t have to call up and try holding two conversations at once getting our families requests and placing the order! It is extremely easy to see all the choices on the online ordering site and choose just what you would like to order.

panda-express

We were able to place a family feast order online and even add a few chicken rolls and a drink on the side! We’ve got our order set and ready for us before we walk into the store to pick-up our order!

When I went into my local Panda Express to pick-up my order it was ready on time and as I started to head to the normal line and let them know I had ordered online she called me immediately down to the register to pick-up our meal and make sure we had everything we would need — including lots of fortune cookies for my boys! It was so easy and fast, unlike any takeout I’ve done in the past!

Paper Fortune Cookies 00038

Our meal was delicious – we picked our favorites of Orange Chicken and Grilled Chicken with mandarin sauce and everyone happily downed their food, with leftover to spare that I was able to eat for lunch the next two days!

What activities would you plan for a Chinese family night?

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Filed Under: Activities with Kids, Holiday Ideas, Parenting Tips, Sponsored Tagged With: Holiday Crafts, Holiday New Year's, Holiday Parties, Holiday Valentine Day, Mom Craft, Mom DIY

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer Sikora says

    December 16, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    These would be really cute to make for our Valentine banquet and use heart paper. Thanks for this fun idea!

  2. Kimberly Lewis says

    November 10, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    Hello beautiful! Super cute idea. Pinned. Thank you for taking the time to stop by! I hope to see you at our party tonight, it starts at 7 pm. We love to party with you!
    Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

  3. Joanne T Ferguson says

    November 7, 2014 at 11:39 pm

    G’day Great idea! Thanks for coming and sharing at our #SayGdayParty Please make sure to revisit if you haven’t already and say G’day to the hosts and another person at the party Pinned Cheers! Joanne What’s On The List? Sharing is Caring!

  4. Mandee Thomas says

    November 7, 2014 at 9:07 pm

    Those fortune cookies are adorable!! 😀

  5. shelly peterson says

    November 6, 2014 at 7:57 am

    Having a Chinese family night sounds like fun. The kids would love to make the paper fortune cookies.

  6. Cathy says

    November 3, 2014 at 9:01 am

    What a great idea – love those adorable fortune cookies. Thank you for sharing at Share It One More Time.. Cathy

  7. April says

    November 2, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    This is such a cool idea. I love the polka dots.

  8. Aimee says

    November 1, 2014 at 10:57 pm

    This looks like a blast! My kids love Kung Fu Panda, and maybe we would play Chinese Checkers!

  9. Nancy L (StyleDecor) says

    November 1, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    I have got to try to make those awesome paper fortune cookies! They are the cutest!

    Love Panda Express! It’s great how you made take-out extra special! 🙂

  10. Mama to 5 BLessings says

    November 1, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    Love Chinese food! I have seen this restaurant before, I will have to try it out!

  11. Jennifer says

    November 1, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an AWESOME movie. Although I’m not sure the younger kids would appreciate all of its nuances.

  12. Carlee C says

    November 1, 2014 at 10:28 am

    I am super excited because we have a new Panda Express at the opened at a brand New Mall in the area. Perfect for an easy family night dinner.

  13. Daisy says

    November 1, 2014 at 8:45 am

    There is a brand new Panda Express that opened near our house. I am looking forward to trying it. I saw a beef and broccoli dish on their menu that sounds so good!

  14. ellen beck says

    October 29, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    I really like the fortune cookies those are so cute! I bet these would be super cute because they could be personalized for the family. I really like them- besides that I have no clue how to play Mahjong !

  15. Marti Tabora says

    October 29, 2014 at 4:15 am

    These are all great ideas and I really love the paper fortune cookies. I think I will have to try that one.

  16. Nicole Dz says

    October 28, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    I love Chinese food night at our house, always a great time and brings the family to the table. Love the paper fortune cookies, so creative.

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Hi, I'm Janel! I'm the owner and lead blogger here at A Mom's Take. I stay busy raising four boys age 11 and under. I am a Raleigh based mom blogger that loves to travel. I have been known for planning trips specifically to hit the roller coasters! I'm obsessed with board games. .. Meet the Team ..

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