Crafts for Kids: Felt Dumplings for Chinese New Year

Photo: mrmanc on Flickr

Need a break from all the cupids and hearts? Chinese New Year is also on February 14th. Making a craft for Chinese New Year is a great way to introduce your children to the holiday and teach them a little bit about another culture.

Dumplings are one of the festive foods associated with Chinese New Year celebrations. You and your kids can make handmade felt food dumplings in preparation for the holiday. It's a fun, international addition to their play kitchen. All you need is tan felt, scissors, glue (preferably a low temperature glue gun) and tweezers.

• Help your kids cut 3" circles of tan felt.
  
• Let your kids cut any of the felt scraps into small pieces (these will be used as the stuffing for the dumplings).
• Place some small scraps into the center of each felt circle.
• Using the low temperature glue gun, run a thin bead of glue around one half of the circle. (This step is for adults only -- those glue guns can get hot!) You can use white craft glue or fabric glue, but it make take longer to dry.
  
• Fold the dumpling over to glue the sides together.
• Use tweezers to pinch the sides together. Don't worry about being perfect. Real dumplings are crimped and irregular -- you want your felt version to look the same.

Need to add more items to your pantry? AmeriKid carries a line of beautiful, handcrafted felt food.


Source: Kaboose, Boston.com