Chinese New Year – The Year of the Tiger

Liz's two boys with their tiger masks for Chinese New Year

Hi! I am Liz (ig: @mummyyof2boys) and a part of the Babipur buddy team. Through this blogpost, I will be sharing a little about myself and how my family will be celebrating Chinese New Year – year of the tiger.


My husband and I are both Malaysian Chinese and spent our childhoods in Malaysia. Growing up, Chinese New Year was always the highlight of my year. Never mind the 1st of January! It often felt like the year hadn’t truly started until we celebrated Chinese New Year and I believe many feel the same. During this time of year, malls, streets, and homes are festooned in red and gold decorations, which symbolise luck, prosperity and wealth.

Chinese New Year Decorations in a Mall in Indonesia


Chinese New Year 2022 is the year of the Tiger. In China, tigers are known as the kings of all beasts. They are a symbol of strength, courage, and ambition. Some trivia for you: many Malaysian Chinese New Year songs this year cheer “hoo-yeah!” as a play on the Mandarin word for tiger (虎 hu3); The Malaysian national football team is also called “Harimau Malaya” meaning Malayan tigers! 😁 

While we are far from our families and home country, we have been making use of our Babipur craft supplies to boost the Chinese New Year festive spirit in our home!  

Liz's craft supplies for Chinese New Year crafts
Liz’s craft supplies for Chinese New Year crafts, including OkoNorm finger paints and Crayon Rocks


1. Tiger ears headband

Cardboard tiger ears ready to paint
Cardboard headband tiger ears ready to paint!


This was really easy to set up and straightforward to make. My little one always enjoy a painting session and this was no different.

Cardboard tiger ears being painted
Painting in progress! A Close coverall comes in handy to keep clothes clean!

I drew some tiger ears on cardboard and we painted them with yellow and red OkoNorm paint. Once dry, I drew on some black stripes, cut the ears out, and stuck them onto a couple of my old headbands using eco-tape.

Tips:  – thick white paper is better for the paint, and sticks down better on the headband. If you’re using cardboard, you should make a loop of tape on the end of the strip to prevent the tape from peeling off.

Wearing the finished tiger ears!


2. Tiger face mask

I drew a few tiger faces on paper and we coloured them in with Crayon Rocks. Then, I stuck the sheets onto thin cardboard. Once the glue was dry, I cut the faces and eyes out. I attached a chopstick onto the back of each mask with eco-tape. It makes for a festive decoration when not in use!

Using crayon rocks for colouring the tiger masks

Crayon Rocks are new to us and I’m so glad to have them! They’re the perfect size for little hands and colour transfers onto paper so easily. It comes in a little pouch which makes it very handy for bringing out and about! 

Dressed up as a tiger!

3. Finger tracing Chinese characters

It is customary to greet each other with auspicious sayings throughout the Chinese New Year celebration period. These sayings typically consist of 4 Chinese characters. I selected 2 sayings for my children to learn and trace with OkoNorm paints.

For my little one, I dolloped a bit of paint on every stroke to give him some guidance. He started off very calm and controlled then completely went to town with it. He truly loves his OkoNorm paint sessions.

The 2 sayings I chose:

福杯满溢 – Cup of blessings overflows (overflowing with blessings)

出入平安 – Safety when going or coming (peace wherever you go)


Some other words you could try tracing:

春 – Spring

春节 – Spring festival

福 – Luck, blessings, or prosperity

爱 – Love

新年快乐 – Happy New Year


Many Chinese families hang these auspicious sayings or phrases on their door frames, often printed on red cloth or paper. The red colour is traditionally said to scare off the evil monster “nian”. However nowadays, it is displayed more as a blessing and desire for the new year.

Chinese blessings hanging on the door


I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and will give the crafts a go!


Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! May your cup of blessings overflow and may you be safe in your going and coming.


Liz @mummyyof2boys

Thank you so much to Liz and her family for sharing her Chinese New Year crafts with us!

We have created some year of the tiger colouring in sheets that you can download and print here.

If you’ve enjoyed these craft ideas and have made any at home, do give us a tag on social media – we’d love to see your Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year celebrations! Tag us @babipur #LoveBabipur in the Babipur Hangout Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram.

You can find out more about how Liz celebrates the New Year >HERE<

And for more Chinese New Year crafts, our blog post >HERE<

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