You might be well-accustomed to having the adults drop by your pad, but what about playing host to the young ones when they accompany their parents (your siblings, cousins, friends or workmates) for the Chinese New Year visitation?
Being household-ready for the tykes and tweens (teenagers, too) doesn’t just mean packing their hongbaos full of currency or pleasing them with lots of edible goodies. If you want to make a bigger impression on these littler ones, try upping the entertainment value of your home by preparing some fun, family-friendly activities that everyone of all ages can enjoy.
Here are 4 ways to make your home the top “festive destination” for the younger peeps in 2022.
(Read about how to treat the adults just as well when they pay a call on you in Part 1.)
1. Play Video Games
Want to be the numero uno Uncle or Auntie among all members of Generation Alpha and Generation Z in the fam? Then you will need to make the effort… and maybe shell out some extra moolah aside from your generous hongbaos.
Video games are one of the top choices for entertainment with these young digital natives, so if you have them (age-appropriate games that is), it’s all good. If you don’t, then time to pay a visit to Games Home Singapore before your nieces and nephews come a-visiting.
This online video game retailer has all of the video consoles and games you need. PlayStation Vita, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox Series X – choose your preferred system and pick up the respective titles to go with the console. For example, these are some of the more popular PS5 family-friendly ones to consider: Overcooked! All You Can Eat ($49.90), Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl ($69.90), Just Dance 2022 ($59.90) and Animal Kart Racer ($44.90).
Naturally, you would also need all of the right gaming accessories and gear for all of the multi-player games – multiple wireless controllers, a headset or two, and even gaming seats (if you really want to level up your home gaming system)!
Check out Games Home Singapore at www.gameshome.com.sg; www.facebook.com/gameshome; www.instagram.com/gameshomesg
BONUS: SAFRA members get $5 off with a minimum spend of $100 at Games Home Singapore.
2. Get Into Old-school Family Games
Let’s say the parents of the kids don’t want them to be spending more time on digital games and devices than they already might do in their daily lives. Which kind of puts a spanner in the works of your all-digital gaming entertainment plan. Next best thing: Go analogue by playing board games, family entertainment toy games and the like.
And why not? Such old-school games can bring everyone together at the table and have them all join in on the fun; the young and the old can share bonding experiences with familiar yet refreshed versions of nostalgic games; and the games can provide hours of amusement without straining both the eyes and hands.
Head over to children’s toys and games specialist Kidmoro’s online store to pick up a fave or a few. What we think the kiddos and kidults will go wild for: Monopoly Lunar New Year Edition Board Game ($49.90), PlayFun! Shark Spray Water game ($24.90), Classic Jenga ($29.90) and Deluxe Bingo Cage game ($19.90). Plus, you get free ang bao packets when you spend $30 on Kidmoro!
Look up the selection of games at https://kidmoro.com.sg; www.facebook.com/kidmorosingapore; www.instagram.com/kidmorosingapore
BONUS: SAFRA members get 10% off total online purchase and free delivery with a minimum spend of $50 at Kidmoro.
3. Read Some Books
If you or the visiting parents want to spend some time getting into serious talk without the kids interrupting, or prefer having the boisterous brood settle down for a less noisy home visitation, here’s one educational way to do it: Get them reading.
But, make it fun and festive for the younglings. Browse and purchase Lunar New Year-related kids’ publications at the bookstores, or visit the National Library Board’s (NLB) branches or online to borrow some books.
We did some of the legwork for you by looking up some titles on the OverDrive site of the NLB: Alex’s Good Fortune (by Benson Shum), Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (by Natasha Yim and Grace Zong), The New Year Dragon Dilemma – A to Z Mystery Super Edition Series, Book 5 (by Ron Roy and John Steven Gurney) and Ruby’s Chinese New Year (by Vickie Lee and Joey Chou).
Take the time to build up your own collection of festive-worthy books so that your nieces and nephews can come by any day to spend some quality, quiet time with the smart, literary one in the family (a.k.a. you).
4. Make CNY Decorative Arts & Crafts
Okay, this will require some work from you and might leave a bit of a mess in on your property, and possibly on the kids’ themselves and their brand new clothes. So, only indulge in this if everyone in the house doesn’t mind getting a little hands-on and dirty in the New Year.
The good thing is that everyone can participate in a creative, productive and fun activity, putting together celebratory decorations and art pieces that they can get to bring back as keepsakes or to add to your house decor (yay! for the extra helping hands).
First, off you will need to do some homework by Googling and researching the kinds of kid-friendly D.I.Y. arts and crafts that you and the petite Picassos can do together for CNY (and the steps on how to create the pieces). Second, you will need to get all of the crafting materials, stationery and what have you assembled and ready at home before your “mini craftspeople” turn up at the door.
Here are a few simple ideas on what you and the kiddos can get up to working on:
– Red paper lanterns (What’s needed: glue, stapler and staples, scissors, string and unused/recycled red packets)
– Chinese character cut-out decorations in the form of Chinese words or sayings such as “luck” and “Happy Lunar New Year”. (What’s needed: scissors and red construction paper)
– Chinese paper cuttings in the silhouettes of the tiger or any favourite animal (What’s needed: scissors and red construction paper)
– Colouring sheets/books, preferably with CNY-related content or designs (What’s needed: colouring pencils, pens or crayons which are relatively easy to wash off and cleaning material)
There’s a treasure trove of festive “crafty” ideas (and “how to” tutorials) that you can find on the web so just pop online and start hunting!
