Mid-Autumn Festival: 8 unique and creative craft ideas

The Mid-Autumn Festival is fast approaching and we are all looking forward to the beautiful lights, delicious mooncakes and majestic decorations. Here are some festive themed crafts with a twist for you and your little ones to enjoy making together during this lunar celebration!

1. Lucky rabbit pebbles

In Chinese folklore, the rabbit's sacrifice touched the hearts of the sages and thus making him a legend. Here is an adorable way to commemorate this noble long-eared animal.

YOU WILL NEED:

Pebbles or stones of different shapes and sizes

Paint

Paintbrush

WHAT TO DO:

Paint your pebble or stone a base colour and let it completely dry before using another colour to paint on the rabbit’s features, such as eyes, ears, nose, whiskers, mouth and ears. The more odd-shaped the pebble or stone is, the more interesting and unique your lucky rabbit will turn out.

Your kids can also add a bit of shimmer by dabbing on some glitter when the base-coat paint is still wet, or you can be extra creative and glue on a cute tiny bow as a special accessory. Use these adorable little treasures to accentuate your snacks display or creatively arrange them for a rabbit-themed vignette decor in your home.

2. Carved lunar lanterns

Pumpkin carving doesn’t have to be reserved just for Halloween. You can create a new kind of lunar lantern with different kinds of fruits for that extra sparkle and twinkle.

YOU WILL NEED:

Large pumpkin/ watermelon/ butternut squash/ pomelo

Sharp knife or keyhole saw

Spoon

Tea light candle or battery-operated candle

Permanent marker

WHAT TO DO:

Cut off the top of your fruit or vegetable of choice and using a spoon, scoop out the flesh, pulp, and seeds, leaving a hollow shell.

With the permanent marker, your children can draw and outline of the designs they would like for their twinkling display, then carefully help them to cut it out. Place your candle inside the pumpkin and admire the beautiful glow in the evening with your family and friends.

3. Full moon paint tray

The Mid Autumn Festival is held on the night of a full moon between early September to early October. Here is an artsy and colourful incorporation of a "full moon" for your kids to try their hand at!

YOU WILL NEED:

Assorted colours of paint

A large and deep plastic tray

Paper

Large marbles or golf balls

Small bowls (for the paints)

Spoons

WHAT TO DO:

Pour different colours of paint into each small bowl and put a large marble or golf ball into each bowl, then use different spoons to completely coat the balls in paint. Place a sheet of paper on the bottom of the tray and then scoop up the painted balls and place them on top of the paper.

Let your child hold the sides of the tray and tilt it so the balls will roll around, colourful trails of paint for their beautiful masterpiece! After the paint dries, you can hang it up as lovely decorations around your home for friends and relatives to admire when they come over for reunions and visits.

4. Mini eraser stamps

Want a lovely way to decorate your notes with your own specially designed stamps? Here is an easy way to make them out of erasers!

YOU WILL NEED:

Erasers

Pencil

Penknife

Inkpad

Paper

WHAT TO DO:

Get your kids to draw a simple design with a pencil onto the flat, short edge of an eraser and then you will have to help use the penknife to carve away at the eraser along the outsides of the design to the desired depth of 4mm or more.

When the stamps are ready, your kids can have fun using them to add some cheer to their books or greeting cards during this joyous occasion.

5. No-cook edible mooncake play-dough

Mooncakes come in all sorts of different shapes with intricate patterns, so why not whip up some no-cook edible playdough and have some fun with the beautiful moulds?

YOU WILL NEED:

1 cup of flour

½ cup of salt

2 tbs of cream of tartar

1bs of cooking oil

Food colouring

1 cup of boiling water

Mooncake moulds

WHAT TO DO:

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar, cooking oil and in a large bowl. Add a capful of food colouring into the boiling water, then carefully pour it into the large bowl and mix well. Once the mixture has been stirred well and forms into a doughy consistency, knead it with your hands until it is a nice dough-ball.

You can now use your new no-cook edible playdough with any mooncake mould to form fun shapes for your kids to play with at a make-believe tea party! And since it is edible (although probably won’t taste as nice as a real mooncake), you don’t have to worry if your little ones decide to take a little bite.

6. Jade soap carving

Jade is valued for its metaphysical properties and is revered in ancient cultures. If you would like a cheap and easy way to create a jade inspired décor item, this is a unique craft your kids can enjoy.

YOU WILL NEED:

New bars of green or white soap

Plastic knives/ Carving tools/ Ice-lolly sticks/ Toothpicks

WHAT TO DO:

Using the toothpick, your kids can draw an outline of a simple design directly onto the bar of soap, then with your help, cut away the excess parts of the soap and use your fingers to smooth out the sides and edges.

They can now use their preferred carving tool to scrape out the details of their design, the deeper they carve, the more prominent the details will become. Eventually, you will have your very own fragrant "jade" statuette or pendant for that extra good luck (and good smell)!

7. Painting with tea

Keep calm, drink tea and celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival! Here is a unique use of the popular beverage for you to create beautiful pieces of art.

YOU WILL NEED:

2 teabags (the darker the blend of tea, the better)

Hot water

Cup

Spoon

Paint pallete

Paint brush

Paper

WHAT TO DO:

In a cup, pour in enough boiling water just to cover the teabags and wait for about 5 minutes until the water has darkened. Use a spoon to press the teabags and all the darkest coloured tea out and pour one tablespoon of tea into the paint pallete.

Add more water to the cup until is half full, then scoop out one more spoon into the pallete. Repeat this once or twice more so that you can get a spectrum of lighter shades. Now your children can have fun painting in a unique way and showing off their beautiful artwork once it dries!

8. Finger family puppets

This is the season where family will come together to celebrate this magical festival. So here is a fun craft which also includes a special song about families for you to sing with your children.

YOU WILL NEED:

Old gloves

Felt (assortment of different colours)

Wool

Super glue

Permanent markers

Scissors

WHAT TO DO:

Cut off the fingers from the old gloves, or cut out a base from felt to create the body of the finger puppet. Using different bits of felt, glue them on for the details of each character. The wool adds a nice touch as hair, and your kids can draw on the facial features with a permanent marker.

Once you have created this lovely little finger family, you can have fun singing this upbeat children’s song together and wriggling your fingers to the beat!

What do you think of our unique craft ideas for this upcoming Mid Autumn Festival? Which is your favourite one? Do you have any other suggestions to share with everyone? Feel free to leave your comments in the section below!

Written by

Dew M. Chaiyanara

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