The Chinese New Year is right around the corner which means it’s time to start planning for Spring as well as a 2 week celebration for the New Year! You don’t have to let the long celebration scare you away though. There’s a lot of ways to ring in the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year, without going overboard on your spending. This holiday is designed to make way for the new, so don’t worry about pouring a lot of money into the occasion and causing new financial problems. Instead, check out these ten tips to keep your holiday celebration on track. Without the stress of putting cash into the holiday you may be able to sit back, enjoy the festivities and start the New Year off on the right foot.
1. Natural Cleaning
The Chinese New Year falls right around the spring equinox which may explain why cleaning is one of the traditions of this holiday. Generally, people will clean their homes from top to bottom throughout the 15 day celebration, which may mean you’re going to need to a lot more cleaning supplies. However, this doesn’t mean you have to head to the store and purchase a lot of chemicals to get the job done. Instead, consider items you already have in the home. You may be surprised as to what can actually do the cleaning and how fast it’ll work. If you have a six pack (or more) of soda then put the beverage to work. Magically, this popular drink can clean toilets as well as get stains out of pots and pans. Another great household product to use is white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Both do a lot around the house so make sure to look and see what you can accomplish with each of them. You can also you use baking soda to accomplish a lot of tough jobs around the home. Other than these supplies you should try to use clothes that may not be usable anymore as rags to save on paper towel and sponges. When you’ve finished the cleaning try donating your unwanted items to a good cause.
2. Re-Use Supplies
Although the Chinese New Year is all about celebrating the new and bringing harmony to your life with new items, you may want to reconsider this when it comes to your party supplies. Since you only get to celebrate the Chinese New Year once a year, there’s no reason to toss out perfectly good ornaments. Instead, when the celebration is over carefully pack them away and bring them out for the holiday next year. If you feel like you must have something new each year then limit it to one item to help save on money and space. This will allow you to budget your money towards items that actually do need replaced.
3. DIY Decor
Nothing will bring the family together quite like craft time for the holiday. There’s a lot of amazing crafting projects your family can take on to help create ample decor for your holiday celebration. The best thing is, creating your own decor costs next to nothing so you won’t have to spend your holiday budget on items you shouldn’t have to. One great example of a craft befitting the holiday is paper lanterns. These are easier to make than you think and look incredible in dining areas. You can even keep these out all year if you like the way they turn out. Paper fans are a great project for younger kids and they look amazing hanging on the wall or ceiling. You can also make a dragon puppet with basic supplies. This is usually a great way to entertain kids even when craft time is over. Finally, you can have the kids color print outs of their New Year animal. These animals can easily be found online. However, this year is the year of the goat so you can stick to this animal if you want everyone working on the same project.
4. Bulk Foods
Food is one of the easiest things to spend too much money on throughout the holiday. There’s a lot of amazing traditional dishes to whip up, but sometimes the ingredients may be a bit of a stretch, especially if you’re planning on feeding a household or party of people. Instead of sticking to the more expensive dishes you’ve never tried to make you should stick to dishes that you can make in bulk. Buying for bulk ingredients is a world easier and will help save you a whole lot of money too. One quick recipe to follow is pot stickers. These are usually a favorite for young and old and can be made in huge batches with very cheap ingredients. If you don’t want to spend the entire holiday cooking then try to make huge batches of the dish that can be easily heated up when meal times occur. Another simple meal idea is rice. You can use it in many different ways or serve plain. This is probably one of the cheapest things to make and if you have a rice maker you can have a fresh batch going in no time at all. There’s a lot of recipes online to choose from, so try to pick items you know you can afford in bulk and that sound like they’ll be filling as well as tasty!
5. Explore Celebrations
Throwing your own celebration can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of cleanup and money. Instead of planning out your own party you should explore some of the community celebrations in your area. Some areas will have huge celebrations that involve parades, firework displays as well as traditional dances. Typically, these celebrations can be attended for free or they cost a small fee. Either way, you won’t have to worry about planning and spending money on your celebration when you attend. During these festivities you should be able to see fine cultural elements that you wouldn’t get at home. You may also get to try some new dishes that won’t cost you an arm and a leg to create in your own kitchen. Of course, one of the highlights, especially for children, is seeing the large dragon puppets as well as the spectacular firework displays.
6. Give to Children
During the Chinese New Year, it’s a common tradition to pass out red envelopes to those you love. Inside the envelopes is an undisclosed amount of money. As you can imagine, this could get pretty pricey if you’re planning on giving money to everyone in your family. Instead, try to keep it simple by only giving to the children in your life. Young children obviously would only get a small amount, but as the child grows you can increase to suit their age. With only children receiving funds for the holiday your budget won’t go under and you’ll still be able to participate in some of the traditions that have been carried on from generation to generation. This will add to the magic of the holiday for children who are just learning the customs and will also give them a bit of money to spend on items relating to the holiday like small fireworks or toys.
7. Consider Gift Cards
If you do plan to give out money during the holiday celebration then you may want to try out gift cards. Technically, this is still following the traditions and some people may actually like the surprise a bit more. Although it may not seem like it, gift cards can actually save you money in the long run. For instance, there’s a lot of gift card pages online that sell these items at a lower price. You can also get used gift cards that have more money on them than what you pay for them. This will actually help you get more bang for your buck which can’t hurt, right? Also, if you have a membership to a bulk store then you can easily get a great deal on a set of gift cards. Sometimes you may even get a gift card free or at least a small amount off the price you would have paid regularly. You can also make the gift cards more personal by choosing stores kids like to shop in or restaurants people enjoy.
8. Clearance Fireworks
Fireworks play a pretty big role when it comes to Chinese New Year. Everyone loves to see the beautiful fireworks lighting up the night sky as the New Year is welcomed in. Unfortunately, fireworks can be pretty pricey and during this time of year they may be pretty hard to find. There’s one easy and cheap way to get the fireworks you want at a price that won’t hurt your budget though. That is, shop clearance. After major holidays like New Year’s and the 4th of July, you should be able to hit the stands one more time before they pack up until the next holiday. Usually, during this time stands will mark down their items which makes them more convenient for you to buy. Simply store them away properly and you’ll be ready to go throughout the Chinese New Year celebration.
9. Buy in Bulk
There’s a lot of items you can save a whole lot of money on if you simply buy them in bulk. Throughout the holiday you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of paper lanterns to light up your meal times and encourage guests to feel comfortable as you share stories, legends and goals. These lanterns can be bought in bulk in most stores, especially during this time of year. Of course, you can also buy the supplies to light the lamps or make the lanterns yourself. Another great item to consider buying is red envelopes. You’re going to want these in bulk, especially if you have a large family. Of course, buying in bulk will also mean you’ll have plenty to spare over the next couple of years. If you plan on serving your guests food on paper plates or using paper napkins then it may be a great idea to go ahead and buy these items in bulk too in order to help combat the extra cost.
10. Set A Budget
It’s easy to want to join in on the celebration without thinking about money. There’s lots of memorabilia as well as amazing food to buy throughout the celebration. You may also want to spoil your family with tidings of money. Although it may seem like a lot of fun at first, when you realize how much you spent you may be feeling pretty frantic. Before the celebration begins you should sit down and create a budget to ensure you don’t go overboard. You may want to put away your checkbooks and debit/credit cards during the celebration to help you stay on budget even more. When you write out your budget you should consider food, souvenirs, ticket costs as well as other holiday treats the family may want to do. Then, work out how much you will be able to give to the members of your family. With the numbers already set in stone you won’t have to go back and reevaluate your budget, thus you’ll be able to keep right on tack without even thinking about it!
The Chinese New Year can be an amazing time to spend with your family and friends. Not only are you getting a chance to bring in the new season of life, but you’ll also help your family start off the season right. This will help balance out the way your home moves throughout the rest of the year. The best things is, you can have a great time and with these budgeting tips you won’t have to think twice about the money!
