Host a Chinese New Year's Dinner Party!

February has many themes around which you can throw a dinner party. There’s the obvious —Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day — but what about Chinese New Year? The occasion is a fun way to throw a festive dinner party and maybe even redo those January 1 New Year’s resolutions that have likely already flown out the window.

Today, we are going to show you some fairly easy ideas for hosting a Chinese New Year dinner party, so that you can spend more time enjoying your guests and less time stressing over pulling it all together.

beautiful photo of Chinese new year from cnn.com — Image credit: cnn.com

Part of the fun is exposing yourself and your guests to a different culture, so first things first: some facts about Chinese New Year.

2015 is the year of the goat. Twelve animals rotate through every 12 years. Last year was the year of the horse and next year is the year of the monkey. Think of the animal signs as akin to being born under a certain astrological sign with perceived traits, lucky numbers and horoscopes. So you may be a Scorpio, but you are also a rat, if born Oct 30, 1972.
Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival.
This is the longest festival on the Chinese calendar and runs through the Lantern Festival (15 days).
If possible, everyone gathers with family for this holiday, leading to a massive amount of travel in China. Each year, this is the largest human migration on earth.
Red is considered one of the luckiest colors and is used in abundance for decor.
Traditionally, this is the time when Chinese families spring clean, thus sweeping away bad luck.
Long noodles, dumplings and fish are traditional Chinese New Year foods. However, there are different regional influences that appear on the dinner table throughout China.

DECORATE FOR YOUR DINNER PARTY

The biggest impact items to consider purchasing include:

Red cloth napkins
Red lanterns
Chopsticks

Beyond this, improvise with what you have!

Go for bold with red lanterns. Go all out and add some larger white ones as well. These were all picked up at World Market. Beyond that, buy some red cloth napkins and chopsticks, but decorate with oranges and votive candles to keep costs low. — For a bold impact, hang some red lanterns. Go all out and add some larger white ones, as well. These were all picked up at World Market. Beyond that, buy some red cloth napkins and chopsticks, but decorate with oranges and votive candles to keep costs low.

These lanterns were hung from the chandelier with 29 cent sticks picked up at Michaels, made black with a Sharpie pen! Don't have a chandelier that you can do this to? Just use two big vases, stick the long sticks in and attach the paper lanterns. Just be sure they don't obstruct the view of your guests sitting at the table. — These lanterns were hung from the chandelier with 29-cent sticks picked up at Michaels, made black with a Sharpie. Don’t have a chandelier to hang the lanterns from? Use two big vases, place the long sticks in and attach the paper lanterns. Just be sure they don’t obstruct the view of your guests sitting around the table.

These candle holders were picked up at a great store found in Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN, Merridian, a few years ago. They always carry great accessories that you will use time and time again. — These candleholders were picked up a few years ago at a great store found in Louisville, KY, and Nashville, TN: Merridian. They always carry accessories that you will use time after time. Here, we used one on each side of the oranges to create a festive setting.

The table setting is made with a square plate picked up at Target years ago. But, white and black square plates are affordable at both World Market and Target. Bamboo servingware is found at World Market. The wooden placemats are found at Pier One. The red napkins and light blue bowls are found at World Market. Chopsticks can be ordered online or picked up at your favorite place to find asian utensils. The green glass is a recycled wine bottle purchased years ago in Nashville at Harpeth Gallery. — The table setting is made with a square plate picked up at Target five or more years ago. But square plates are affordable at both World Market and Target. Bamboo serving ware is found at World Market. The wooden place mats are found at Chef’s Resource. The red napkins and light blue bowls are found at World Market. Chopsticks can be ordered online or picked up at World Market or a local Asian market. The green glasses are from up-cycled wine bottles

Do you have an array of colorful juice and cocktail glasses that don't match (as many have broken through the years!)? If so, gather them all together for this dinner party and use them. — Do you have an array of colorful juice and cocktail glasses that don’t match (as many have broken through the years!)? If so, gather them all together and use them for this dinner party. If not, just use what you have on hand.

Oranges are a traditional Chinese New Year food. Stack some easy-to-peel oranges in the middle of the table to double dip on decor and food!

To really freak your friends out, and have them thinking you have become Martha, grab some little chinese take-out boxes from Michaels or The Container Store and fill with chocolates. Pass them out as party favors or distribute for dessert. — To really freak your friends out and make them think you’ve found your inner Martha, grab some little Chinese take-out boxes from Michaels or The Container Store and fill them with chocolates. To be more authentic, fill them with a traditional glutinous rice cake “nian gao,” which by eating is supposed to bring a better year than the previous one. Pass them out as party favors or distribute for dessert.

FOOD FOR YOUR DINNER PARTY

Okay, here’s the thing, I highly doubt many of us can actually make better Chinese food than what you can pick up at your favorite Chinese restaurant. So take a break from the cooking, order out and pick it up! You’ve hung lanterns … you’ve done enough!

Traditions on the festival dinner menu change depending on the region in China. Simply having a few items honoring the various traditions is fine. This does not need to be absolutely authentic and have every traditional item. If you strive for that, you won’t enjoy the occasion. Pick a few items as a nod to the Chinese New Year, and otherwise, have fun! Suggestions to order:

Dumplings: They are a symbol of wealth and are an important part of a Chinese New Year’s menu. The shape is similar to that of the ancient gold and silver ingots. Like hiding a baby in a king cake, some families will hide a coin in one dumpling.
Noodles: Long noodles symbolize a long life, so don’t cut them up!
Fish: Traditionally, it’s best to serve a whole fish, head to tail. But for the practical and easy menu that we are putting together here, order a dish with fish and just talk about the tradition. According to Chow.com, “The Chinese word for fish sounds like the word for abundance … It’s important that the fish is served with the head and tail intact … to ensure a good start and finish and to avoid bad luck throughout the year.”
Veggies: Vegetables, especially the widely known Buddha’s Delight, including Napa cabbage, water chestnuts, mushrooms, bean curd, carrots and bamboo shoots, among others, represent prosperity.
Fruit: Mandarin oranges are the most popular fruit in the new year celebrations. They bring luck, so eat up!

These spring rolls and dumplings were picked up in the deli case at Fresh Market. Simply pan-fry and serve! (DISCLAIMER: This photo was from my iPhone, not to be confused with the rest of the gorgeous photos taken by Ashley Hylbert!)

A COCKTAIL TO SERVE

Since you are likely picking up your food, have a festive cocktail on hand for your guests. This recipe was shared with us compliments of Heaven Hill Distilleries.

Asian Pear Martini

1 ½ parts Domaine de Canton
2 parts Burnett’s Pear Vodka
1 part fresh pear juice
Splash fresh lime juice

Build ingredients in a mixing glass. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lime or pear.

Here is our Asian cocktail. I don't have martini glasses, so I improvised on this recipe, as that's kinda the theme of this party: do what you can do, and imperfection is expected! If you can't find a firm pear, garnish with a lime, as shown here. — Here is our Asian cocktail. I don’t have martini glasses, so I improvised on this recipe, as that’s kinda the theme of this party: do what you can do, and imperfection is expected! If you can’t find a firm pear, garnish with a lime, as shown here.

MUSIC FOR YOUR DINNER PARTY

We had the lovely staff at Mariée Ami, in Birmingham, AL, known for organizing beautiful weddings and events, put together a great playlist for this dinner party. Your music does not need to be on-theme. Just put on some great tunes that you enjoy listening to that don’t distract from the conversation among your guests.

RECAP

Pick up your food, including appetizers.
Make a creative, Asian-inspired cocktail.
For decor, concentrate on red napkins, red lanterns and chopsticks. Consider using oranges and white candles for your tablescape.
Perhaps add some fun Chinese New Year facts to each place setting, as learning about another culture makes for a livelier and more interesting gathering.
Have a playlist handy.
Remember to have enough ice on hand.
Most importantly, enjoy yourself and embrace the joy of friendship.

Special thanks for the beautiful photos to Ashley Hylbert.

Want to consider a completely different dinner party? Read about the Raw Dinner Party that our Louisville editor, Heidi Potter, attended: styleblueprint.com/louisville/everyday/raw-dinner-party/

About the Author
Liza Graves

As CEO of StyleBlueprint, Liza also regularly writes for SB. Most of her writing is now found in the recipe archives as cooking is her stress relief!

Host a Chinese New Year’s Dinner Party!