As the Year of the Dragon quickly approaches, there are many fun and festive ways to bring Tet | Lunar New Year into your home, or learn about this most significant holiday season for many Asian countries such as Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Brunei.
Red envelop making kit: Year of the Dragon
Whether you are looking for an interactive activity for your kids at home, or to introduce Tet to your a daycare, school, library or a cultural diversity event, download this FREE, fun and easy red envelop making activity. Set up is so simple too!
During our recent Tet-themed Read and Play session, we tried making this with 30+ kids and parents. Everyone enjoyed this so much!
21 Tet wooden hanging tags | Set treo trang trí Tết - 21 miếng
Another fun Montessori-inspired activity is painting these natural wooden Tet ornaments. Get creative with the colors on 21 pieces of lasered wooden tags with Tet icons such as apricot blossoms, a boy and girl wearing áo dài (Vietnamese traditional dress), firecrackers, a dragon head, bánh tét bánh chưng (glutinous cakes) and more! After you're done, hang them in a garland, or on a cherry/apricot branch to brighten up your home.
I especially love these because it's nearly impossible to shop for Vietnamese-specific decorations where I live.
LNY Book Recommendations
Tết Trong Tim Mình (Tet is in My Heart)
This set is our newest addition to this year's LNY collection. I love the idea of gifting a book in a giant red pocket as lì xì. Included in the envelop are:
🌸 A Tết book depicting uniquely mesmerizing regions of Vietnam.
🌸 Paper piggy bank featuring Vietnamese folk art for your child to assemble.
🌸 10 decorative pieces for your child to decorate cherry or apricot branches with.
My 4yo very much enjoyed this activity. See our video on IG.
The English version is available on YouTube as a QR code scan.
Bilingual Cinema Book: the Story of the Square Cake and Round Cake
Turn off the lights in the room, and use your phone flash light to shine each page of this cinema book to make this story come alive for your child to learn the history of Bánh Chưng Bánh Giầy. 
During our Tet-themed Bilingual Read and Play event, the kids excited anticipated the reading of this unique book. We led them into a media dark room at a local library, and it was the perfect way to get them engrossed in both the English and Vietnamese versions!
Bilingual Colors of Tet | Màu của Tết
This bilingual board book has been our bestseller since our grand opening. It's a wonderful and sturdy book that grows with your child. You can start reading it to your newborn. Toddlers can enjoy personalizing their book with uber cute complimentary stickers. It's a great way to exponentially grow your child's vocabulary with colors, enabling 1-2 year olds to describe the world around them. The rhythmic longer storyline will engage older children along with gorgeously vibrant illustrations.
Đố Quên Được Tết
I found this to be a delightful refreshing story, a whole different take on Tet: What if everyone loses ALL memories of Tet?
A little girl got super frustrated with chores leading up to Tet. In her exasperation, she wished Tet disappeared. Well, her wish came true. Leading up to Tet, everyone goes about their bland days with nothing to look forward to, feeling something is missing, but no one can quite put their fingers on it.
Did Tet come back? How?
This book has a more intricate storyline (ie. a lot of words) suitable for older kids 5+ and parents who are intermediate and advance readers. My 4 year old was intently listening and picked out a few fun memorable exclamations to repeat, making it a fun reading experience together.
For a full list of our Lunar New Year books and resources, including English and Chinese bilingual books, visit our online Tết | Lunar New Year Collection.
Ẹnjoy 15% OFF storewide on orders $50+CAD, sale ends February 11, 2024.
Xin Chào Tết Ơi - Sách Tết cho bé kèm bao lì xì và trò chơi Đông Tây Nam Bắc
This bookset came out 3 Tets ago, but my 4yo finally took interest as she's beginning to really enjoy poems and memorizing a good portion without either of us trying.
I was skeptical when many writers and moms talk about their children's love for Vietnamese poems, but not seeing it my own child. During our Tet Read and Play event, I tested Bài Thơ Chúc Tết, a 14-line, 4-word poem on 10+ kids aged 2-7. They all enthusiastically repeated after me, even the ones who don't speak any Vietnamese!
My daughter also came home remembering 4 lines out of the poem, after 2 readings at the library. I am now a convert and am convinced that Vietnamese poems are an excellent way of teaching kids Vietnamese.
Watch our video of my daughter having fun with this poem on IG.
The 12 poems included in this book would be the perfect way to help your child with Tet greetings, and learning about Tet in general.
Finally, if you haven't done so, please follow our journey on Instagram, where I consistently provide book reviews and videos of day-to-day interactions with my daughter in Vietnamese.
Happy New Year!
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới