Chinese New Year is just around the corner on January 28, and it was the perfect excuse to design an inspirational table for the occasion. I put together a table for modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas for Cityline and it will be live tomorrow!

As the biggest holiday for the Chinese community, it’s always fun to re-imagine how we can decorate our homes and entertain for it. See below for my behind the scenes of the segment and entertaining ideas. Huge thanks to Mango Studios for the behind the scenes coverage.

See the segment below:

Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan and Tracy Moore
On air with Cityline and Tracy Moore sharing Chinese New Year entertaining ideas

Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan
I had to dress up for the occasion!

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Making dumplings with the 3 chefs

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Thank you for inviting me Cityline! It was so much fun.

5 tips for decorating for Chinese New Year

In case you aren’t able to tune in, here are my 5 tips for modern twists on Chinese New Year entertaining.

1. Decorate with red and cherry blossoms

Decorating with red is sure to bring you luck. This arrangement with red roses and anemones are perfect for the home. Cherry blossoms also represent a prosperous new years ahead, so you can’t go wrong with those. 

Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca ChanCityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan

2. Decorate with fruits

Fruit is a perfect accent to any table, and mandarin oranges are so lucky for the occasion (since they are similar to the colour gold). Wish a neighbor or family a wealthy new year with oranges!

Decorating with fruit: Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan

3. Entertain with Chinese zodiac horoscopes

Who doesn’t love reading their horoscope? Figuring out your zodiac sign for the year and what it means is a great conversation starter. 

Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca ChanCityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan

4. Personalize with beautiful stationary

How about champagne for this special “new years”? Love these fun cherry blossom labels for the minis.

Custom mini champagne label with cherry blossoms: Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan

5. Customize your party with Chinese New Year sweets

No dinner party is complete without sweets. Customized cupcakes and cookies are also a fun thing to take to work for the occasion.

Red pocket envelope cookie: Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca ChanYear of the rooster and fortune cookie cupcakes: Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca ChanCityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca ChanTraditional candies: Cityline - Modern Chinese New Year entertaining ideas with event planner Rebecca Chan

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this so beautiful!

Photographer: Mango Studios
Flowers: Fete Flowers
Sweets:Truffle Cake and Pastry
Horoscope Calligraphy: Sarah Kim
Mini champagne bottle labels and name cards: Brooklin Paper Co.
Tabletop rentals, linen, chairs: Chairman Mills.
Paper lanterns and fortune cookie name card holders: Weddingstar


Rebecca Chan is a Toronto event designer and event planner. If you have a brand activation, media launch event, design project, trade show or a special event, connect with her today to see how we can collaborate on your next project.