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Chinese New Year Fun

Gong Hey Fat Choy! Happy 4710! You don’t have to be Chinese or have Chef Chu’s on speed dial in order to celebrate this festive event.  Today kicks off Chinese New Year, a holiday commemorated with fireworks, feasts and plenty of family fun. Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days until the Chinese Lantern Festival.  This gives you two full weeks to ring in the Year of the Snake with your loved ones.  Even kids can get in on the action by creating these simple and affordable Chinese New Year-themed crafts: Dancing Lion:  If you can’t make it to … Continue reading →

Chinese New Year Birthday Party

Did you know that the seventh day of the Chinese New Year is considered “everybody’s birthday”? Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year which is a time for sons-in-laws to pay respects to their parents-in-law. In addition, families who’ve lost an immediate relative in the past three years will not be partying at other people’s homes tonight. Rather, the day is reserved for visiting cemeteries and remembering loved ones who are no longer on Earth. This tradition is practiced in China, as well as Taiwan, Vietnam, and other nations with a significant Chinese population. Here in the … Continue reading →

Celebrating Lunar New Year’s Eve

Lunar New Year festivities are already underway in Beijing. Massive firework displays, colorful parades and high-energy street parties kicked off the 15-day celebration. In the United States, the Year of the Dragon is ushered in at midnight and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 6th. To commemorate the holiday, make like the Chinese and get cleaning. People in China believe you should begin a new year with a fresh start. By purging unnecessary items from your home you decrease clutter and bring harmony and balance to your life. In addition, a deep-clean is thought to rid bad luck and … Continue reading →

Homemade Chinese New Year’s Fun

With less than 48 hours until the official debut of the Year of the Dragon, many communities are getting a jump-start this weekend by hosting parades, festivals and firework displays. Chinese New Year is a festive holiday that celebrates family, friends and new beginnings. If you don’t live near a city that is commemorating the event with special activities, then host your own party. Gather the kids, hang up some red streamers and gold balloons, and then get busy in the kitchen whipping up some simple Chinese dishes, including: HOMEMADE FORTUNE COOKIES Ingredients: 1 egg white Dash of vanilla extract … Continue reading →

Simple Chinese New Year’s Fun

Ear-numbing firecrackers, amazing noodle dishes and feeding crisp dollar bills to dancing lions; these are three things I remember most about celebrating Chinese New Year in my hometown of Hilo, Hawaii. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to ring in the start of the Chinese lunar calendar in paradise this year. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be having fun ushering in the Year of the Dragon. This January 23rd, grab the kids, don your most festive red outfits and wish each other a hearty “Xin Nian Kuai Le.” Then, raid your craft closet to make these simple Chinese New Year … Continue reading →

Where to Rock Chinese New Year

I snapped this photo a couple of years ago as my daughter got up close and personal with a dancing lion at a Chinese New Year parade that snaked its way through Hilo, Hawaii. It’s tradition for parade-goers to feed little red envelopes stuffed with crisp one dollar bills into the lion’s mouth in order to receive a bit (or hopefully, a lot) of luck in the New Year. Celebrating Chinese New Year in Hawaii is a unique experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. While the 15-day celebration culminates on January 23rd, there is no shortage of … Continue reading →

Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit

I used to live on the fringes of Honolulu’s Chinatown when I was in my 20s. Loved the waterfront location and close proximity to Aloha Tower Marketplace, but I dreaded Chinese New Year. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the Chinese culture. Love, love the food, music and cultural traditions, but the endless firecrackers that my neighbors set off ALL.DAY.LONG. was enough to make me move to Wisconsin. Okay, that’s not the real reason I moved, but I digress. The point is that if you are looking for a rockin’ place to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Honolulu is a … Continue reading →

Frugal Food Resolutions for the New Year

As the new year approaches, it is time to evaluate how successful I have been in following all of my own frugal convictions. When it comes to the kitchen, I must admit to a few non frugal errors. I have neglected to prepare meals on time. By not having meals on the table when the family gets hungry, I have invited the opportunity for the less patient members of my family to order a pizza or perhaps Chinese. I cant’ tell you how many times I have pulled myself away from my writing to prepare dinner only to be told … Continue reading →

Worst Father of the Year Award: And the Winner is… Alec Baldwin?

This is a tough one. It wouldn’t be, if these grown men, who were blessed with healthy children, didn’t engage in such extraordinarily despicable behavior. So does the award go to dog collar daddy, these self-centered pathetic patriarchs, or this furious father, who could use some serious anger management counseling? They are all quite deserving of the bad dad award, in my opinion, and if I hadn’t heard the latest from the poster boy of pompous pops, I’d gladly watch them duke it out for the title. But, oops, he did it again! Alec Baldwin simply refuses to learn from … Continue reading →

Jackie Chan Says Chinese People Need to be Controlled

In another case of open mouth, insert foot, another celebrity has said something controversial this week. First, there was Hulk Hogan admitting that he “totally understood” O.J. Simpson. Now, Jackie Chan, who was born in Hong Kong, stated that the Chinese people “need to be controlled.” I knew this one was not going to go away without an uproar, but maybe Hulk should thank him for taking a bit of the heat off of him! Chan was at a business forum in Hainan, a southern Chinese province, when he made his remarks. He said that he felt perhaps a free … Continue reading →