Gong Xi Fa Cai

Tonight we attended a Chinese New Year party at our friends' house.  When the kids found out that there would be prizes for the best-dressed (costume/festive clothing) attendees, the party suddenly got much cooler and more exciting.  Cat really wanted me to make her a Chinese dress.  Or buy a cool fan.  Or dye her hair black.  Or put on a lot of eye make-up.  Eliza had less specific plans, but really wanted to look like "an Asian girl."  I let both of them wear a little eye make-up and blush, and Cat put her hair in a bun with chop sticks sticking out.  E wished her hair was long enough for a bun, but no such luck.

We all wanted to wear red, but Cat didn't feel like the couple of red items she owns were suitable for a party, so she begged me to make her a skirt to wear, which I did.  Then we all decorated our own masks, showing the Chinese Zodiac animal of the year we were born.  Jack is year of the rat like I am, but he couldn't find his mask when we were ready to take the picture.  It's hard to see Luke's picture - it's a snake that's pinned to his shirt.

The food there was really yummy.  There was a surprising variety of Asian food, and we ended up bringing both the most and least popular dishes.  My friend said she needed desserts, so I immediately thought that we should bring the only kind of sushi my kids like - the kind made with gummy worms, rice crispy treats, and fruit roll-ups.  Those were completely gone before the party was over and we got lots of compliments on them.  Since that's a lame Asian knock-off dish, I decided to bring store-bought fortune cookies also.  These were not as popular.  We probably brought about 40 home with us.

We had a great time with our friends, eating yummy food, meeting new people, and learning more about Chinese customs.  AND we were honored with one of the Best Costume prizes.

Happy Year of the Goat!