To make a Chinese New Year drum you will need: 2 paper or plastic plates (plastic plates make satisfyingly snare-drumesque sounds, but paper plates can just be stapled together to avoid fussing with glue) Some ribbon or thread cut into two short pieces A few beads A popsicle stick or chopstick Glue 1. String a few beads onto each piece of ribbon and tie off the end. 2. Lay the pieces of ribbon on either side of one plate and your stick at the bottom and then glue a second plate on top with the bottom of the plate facing up. 3. Decorate with paint, glitter, markers or whatever you like. We painted horses on ours for the Year of the Horse. After your drums have dried you may want to parade through the house with your drums, making as much racket as you can to scare any evil spirits away. After you get your noisies out, you might like to settle in for a quiet Lunar New Year picture book like Bringing in the New Year Find more Lunar New Year ideas and local celebrations on our Chinese New Year Pinterest Board.

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