Chinese New Year

In honor of Chinese New Year I put together a Chinese New Year Party. 

Inspiration: For this party I went with a red and gold color scheme.  I decided to use these colors because red symbolizes good luck in the chinese culture and gold symbolizes wealth and happiness. I also tried to add some chinese elements to the table by using chinese fans, the lanterns that were hung from the ceiling, chopsticks and fortune cookies. 

Décor: For this table setting I  utilized some party supply resources that are a great source for inexpensive items. For very specific themed parties a good resource is Party City, which is where I bought the Chinese New Year napkins, take-out carton, hanging lanterns and gold plates. Another great resource is Oriental Trading Company, which is where I found the chinese fans and the fortune cookies. When throwing a themed party you want to be able to use fun, festive items that represent the theme, but you don't want to spend a lot of money on those items because they cannot easily be reused, which is why retailers such as Party City and Oriental Trading Company are such great resources. I also decided to use a floral arrangement as a way of adding visual interest to the table. The flowers are a combination of red daises, which I bought from a small grocery store in New York City and a flower arrangement from Trader Joe's. I have found that grocery stores are a great place to find pretty and affordable flower arrangements. I also added gold and red glitter candles to the table to add some candlelight to the table. I think that candles help set the mood and ambience of a party. 

Where I Bought Each Item:
Napkins, gold plates, take-out container, small black bowl and hanging lanterns: Party City, www.partycity.com


 Cake stand: (what cupcakes are on): HomeGoods www.homegoods.com
*HomeGoods is a great source for inexpensive serving trays and platters


Chinese Fans & Fortune Cookies: Oriental Trading Company, www.orientaltrading.com
Red & Gold Glitter Candles:
B&J Florist Supply, NYC;(212)564-6086


Square White Plates: Pier 1, Small Rectangle Server; www.pier1.com

Menu:
Vegetable spring rolls and vegetable potstickers: From Stop&Shop Freezer section


Spicy Peanut Chicken: 
www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/make-your-own-take-out-spicy-peanut-chicken/


Good Fortune Cupcakes:
www.familycorner.com/family/kids/recipes/chinese_new_year_cupcake.shtml

My Advice: to get the chinese lettering for "good luck" on the cupcakes put yellow frosting in a small plastic sandwich bag and a use a razor blade to cut a very small hole into one of the corners of the bag. You need to make sure your hole is very thin and small  in order to be able to write thin lettering on the cupcakes. 


Sesame Cookies:

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dessertcookies/r/sesame_cookies.htm
*My Comments: This is a delicious recipe and is extremely easy to make. The cookies look beautiful and add a festive touch to the party. Your guests will definitely be impressed by your dedication to the asian theme. These cookies would also be great served with fruit or would also work well with sorbet. 


Beer: Kirin (yes,this is a Japanese not chinese beer, but I thought the label worked perfectly with my decor so I decided to go with it)

Be sure to check back regularly during these next few weeks because I will be posting a lot of new material