โ๏ธ Template
Build your own Chinese dragon printable
โ๏ธ Printable templates ยท Red Ted Art
A free dragon to colour, cut out and stretch along a wall. Print extra body parts to make it as long as you like.
Open on Red Ted Art โChinese families welcome the new year with red lanterns, dragon dances and lucky red envelopes.
Children can make paper lanterns from folded and snipped red card, dragon puppets on sticks, red envelopes (hong bao) and colouring pages of the 12 zodiac animals. As 2027 is the Year of the Goat, a goat or sheep lantern is a fun extra. Free printable templates make most of these quick and easy.
When is Lunar New Year in the UK 2027? Saturday 6 February 2027.
Lunar New Year, often called Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, marks the start of a new year in the lunar calendar, so its date changes each year and falls between 21 January and 20 February. It is celebrated by Chinese communities and by many other East and South East Asian communities, including Korean families (Seollal) and Vietnamese families (Tแบฟt). The festival lasts 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival. Families clean their homes before the new year, share special meals, wear red for luck and give children red envelopes, called hong bao, with money inside. Each year is named after one of 12 zodiac animals, and a favourite legend tells how the Jade Emperor held a race across a river, where the clever Rat rode on the Ox's back to finish first. In the UK, London holds a big parade from Trafalgar Square through Chinatown, with lion and dragon dances, stage shows and food stalls, and museums such as Royal Museums Greenwich run free family days.
In 2027 Lunar New Year falls on Saturday 6 February, welcoming the Year of the Goat (also called the Sheep), and London's big celebrations usually take place around then.
Date checked against visitlondon.com.
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โ๏ธ Printable templates ยท Red Ted Art
A free dragon to colour, cut out and stretch along a wall. Print extra body parts to make it as long as you like.
Open on Red Ted Art โโ๏ธ Printable templates ยท British Council LearnEnglish Kids
Two printable PDFs from the British Council: a paper Chinese dragon to make and step-by-step lantern instructions.
Open on British Council LearnEnglish Kids โโ๏ธ Printable templates ยท DLTK's Holiday Crafts
Print, colour, fold and snip a lantern for any zodiac animal, including the sheep for 2027, in colour or black and white.
Open on DLTK's Holiday Crafts โ๐๏ธ Colouring pages ยท DLTK's Holiday Crafts
Colouring posters for all 12 zodiac animals plus dragons and a Chinese lantern, in colour or black and white.
Open on DLTK's Holiday Crafts โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท Activity Village
Five lantern ideas, from a tissue paper window lantern simple enough for a two-year-old to a paper cup lantern.
Open on Activity Village โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท Red Ted Art
A big round-up of dragons, lanterns, zodiac puppets, fans and origami. Most ideas are free; a few printables are paid.
Open on Red Ted Art โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท NurtureStore
An egg box dragon for little ones and a cardboard rod puppet dragon for older children, made from recycled bits.
Open on NurtureStore โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท BBC CBeebies
An easy CBeebies dragon made from paper and two sticks, with grown-ups doing the cutting.
Open on BBC CBeebies โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท DLTK's Holiday Crafts
A folded paper plate puppet with egg box eyes and a snapping mouth, a bit like a lion dance head. Printable face pieces included.
Open on DLTK's Holiday Crafts โ๐จ Crafts to make ยท Royal Museums Greenwich
Fold your own lucky red envelope from three sheets of paper, no glue needed, and find out why red envelopes are given.
Open on Royal Museums Greenwich โ๐ Decorations ยท Red Ted Art
Cut one sheet of red paper into eight mini lanterns and string them on fairy lights. Brilliant scissor practice.
Open on Red Ted Art โ๐ Cards & letters ยท Hattifant
A clever pull-out dragon card with an A4 colour template and a black and white version to colour in yourself.
Open on Hattifant โ๐ How-to & videos ยท NurtureStore
Two lanterns from red A4 card: the classic fold, snip and roll, and a globe lantern held together with split pins.
Open on NurtureStore โ๐ How-to & videos ยท Ricefield Arts
A folded A4 lantern with a template and full video from Ricefield, which celebrates Chinese arts and culture in Scotland.
Open on Ricefield Arts โ๐ The story ยท BBC CBeebies
Jamie and Hannah find out about the Chinese lion dance in this short CBeebies video.
Open on BBC CBeebies โ๐ The story ยท NurtureStore
All 12 animals in order with birth years and traits, plus a note that 2027 is the Year of the Goat, Sheep or Ram.
Open on NurtureStore โ๐ The story ยท BBC Newsround
A child-friendly guide to the zodiac animals, red pockets, lion dancing, lucky foods and how the date is set.
Open on BBC Newsround โ๐ The story ยท BBC CBeebies Radio
The BBC Philharmonic and a guzheng player retell the race across a great river that set the order of the zodiac.
Open on BBC CBeebies Radio โ๐ The story ยท YouTube โ CBeebies
A four-minute Let's Celebrate clip following a family as they get ready for Chinese New Year.
Open on YouTube โ CBeebies โ๐ The story ยท YouTube โ Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools
A short video from a Scottish schools project explaining where the Chinese New Year red envelope tradition comes from.
Open on YouTube โ Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools โ๐ The story ยท Activity Village
Read or listen to the tale of the Jade Emperor's race, and why the clever Rat comes first and there is no year of the Cat.
Open on Activity Village โ๐ซ EYFS, KS1 & KS2 ยท BBC Teach
A ready-made assembly with a video by a young member of the UK Chinese community, questions and a zodiac image.
Open on BBC Teach โ๐ก๏ธ Grown-up rules ยท London Fire Brigade
Why public displays are safest, plus sparkler rules: none for under-fives, gloves on and a bucket of water nearby.
Open on London Fire Brigade โ๐ก๏ธ Grown-up rules ยท GOV.UK
Official rules on buying and using fireworks, including the later 1am cut-off on Chinese New Year.
Open on GOV.UK โ๐ก๏ธ Grown-up rules ยท Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT)
How to keep coins, buttons and small craft pieces away from babies and toddlers, and what to do about button batteries.
Open on Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) โTap the โ on any template to save it here. Your plan stays on this device.
A simple make to start with. Grown-ups handle anything sharp or hot.
Based on nurturestore.co.uk.
Simple ways to keep Lunar New Year crafts safe and fun.
Enjoy fireworks at an organised public display rather than setting off your own at home.London Fire Brigade
Never give sparklers to children under five; older children should wear gloves and drop finished sparklers into a bucket of cold water.London Fire Brigade
Light paper lanterns with battery LED candles and keep real candles, matches and lighters out of children's reach.London Fire Brigade
Anything smaller than a 2p coin can choke a young child, so keep coins, buttons and small craft pieces out of reach of under-threes.Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT)
Fireworks must not be set off between 11pm and 7am, but on Chinese New Year the cut-off is 1am, so expect late bangs nearby.GOV.UK
If a child is burned, cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes and call 111 for advice about a child under five.NHS
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The bits you need for these crafts, on Amazon UK. See the full Lunar New Year shop โ
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Keep it simple and hands-on: a tissue paper collage lantern, gold shapes stuck onto red paper, a painted paper plate dragon or a zodiac animal to colour. The CBeebies paper dragon on two sticks works well if a grown-up does the cutting. Four and five year olds can try the classic snip-and-roll lantern, with lines drawn on for them to cut along, which is great scissor practice.
Most crafts need only red and gold paper or card, A4 printer paper, child-safe scissors, a glue stick and sticky tape. Paper plates, egg boxes, lolly sticks, tissue paper, split pins and ribbon or wool for lantern handles are handy extras. Gold pens are lovely for good-luck patterns, and a battery LED tea light will make a paper lantern glow safely.
Yes. BBC Teach has a free KS1 and KS2 assembly with a short video in which a young member of the UK Chinese community explains the festival. CBeebies has videos, quizzes and crafts, and Activity Village tells the Great Race story for children to read or listen to. Lantern making builds fine motor skills, and red envelopes work well for counting and sharing games.
Yes. Most templates linked here print on standard A4 paper or card at home or school. The Hattifant dancing dragon card comes as an A4 PDF, and the NurtureStore and Ricefield lanterns start from an A4 sheet. Some American sites design for US Letter, so if the edges get cut off, choose fit to page or set the printer margins to minimum, as DLTK suggests.
Supervise scissors and do any stapling yourself. Light paper lanterns with battery LED tea lights, never real candles. Keep coins, sequins and other small pieces away from under-threes, as CAPT warns that anything smaller than a 2p coin can choke a young child. For fireworks, London Fire Brigade recommends going to a public display, and sparklers are not for under-fives.