Free Lunar New Year Coloring Pages (Printable PDF)

Celebrate Lunar New Year with four free coloring pages: a paper lantern, a lantern garland, a friendly dragon and a fireworks scene.

What’s Included

Here’s what each of the 4 pages covers:

• Paper Lantern features paper lantern drawn with thick, clean outlines and large spaces, so even small hands can color it without frustration.
• Lantern Garland shows lantern garland with a few simple background details that kids can color as they are or extend with their own drawings.
• Friendly Dragon is a friendly picture of friendly dragon; the main shape fills most of the page, which makes it a good choice for younger colorists.
• Happy New Year Fireworks includes happy new year fireworks with some smaller details that give older children a little more to work on – patterns, shading or a colorful background.

Preview & Download

Click any picture, page name or Download button to get the full-size printable (US Letter).

How to Use These Lunar New Year Coloring Pages

1. Share a short story about how families celebrate Lunar New Year.
2. Use red and gold – traditional lucky colors.
3. Add patterns to each lantern.
4. Color the dragon in bright, bold colors.

What Kids Get Out of It

Lunar New Year is celebrated by millions of families across Asia and around the world. These pages give children a respectful, simple way to learn about lanterns, dragons and fireworks – traditional symbols of light, good luck and a fresh start.

Variations and Extension Ideas

• Cut out the lanterns and hang them as a garland.
• Make a dragon puppet by gluing the colored dragon to a stick.
• Learn to say Happy New Year in another language.
• Read a picture book about the festival.

Age Guide and Skills Practised

Short coloring sessions strengthen fingers, improve grip and lengthen attention span. The simplest pages suit toddlers with chunky crayons; older children can treat a page as a base for paint, collage or glitter.

It also links nicely to festivals and family traditions: chatting about lanterns, family meals, the zodiac animals and celebrating together while kids work turns a quiet activity into a language-rich one. Words worth using: lantern, festival, zodiac, family, dumplings, parade, red, wish.

Ages 3-10. Bold lanterns for little ones and a friendly dragon with more detail for older kids.

How to Get the Most Out of This Set

Home use

Keep a few pages in a quiet-time basket with crayons so they are ready for rainy afternoons, waiting for dinner or winding down before bed. Color alongside your child rather than just supervising – talking about color choices (‘Why did you pick purple?’) builds vocabulary and confidence. Let kids sign and date each finished page; it turns a simple sheet into something they are proud to give or display.

In the classroom

Put a page at a center with a short writing prompt underneath, such as ‘This is a ___. It can ___.’, to mix art and literacy. Ask students to color the same page in different ways and compare – a natural way to talk about choices and creativity. Use the pages for early finishers, indoor recess or a calm transition after lunch or PE.

Quick-Start Guide

1. Print the page and lay out a small selection of crayons or pencils – too many choices can overwhelm young children.
2. Look at the picture together and name everything you can see.
3. Let your child choose a starting color for the biggest shape first.
4. Encourage slow, steady strokes in one direction for neater coverage.
5. Finish by adding a background, a title or the child’s name, then display it.

3 Ideas to Extend the Learning

These follow-up activities need little or no preparation:

• Talk about how different families and cultures celebrate the start of a new year.
• Make a ‘good wishes’ envelope with a finished page and one sentence of wishes for the family, to open at next year’s festival.
• Count down from 10 together before starting each page, then count up the minutes it took to finish.

Common Sticking Points (and How to Help)

For small hands, chunky crayons and a taped-down page make a big difference. Remind frustrated kids that no two artists color the same way.

Before You Print

• Print on US Letter or A4 with "Fit to page" so the border is not cut off.
• For markers or paint, use 24lb paper or light cardstock so colors do not bleed through.
• Choose black & white / grayscale in the print dialog – the pages are pure line art and use very little ink.
• Red cardstock behind cut-out lanterns makes a quick window decoration.

Good to know: Crayons and colored pencils work on regular 20lb printer paper; markers, watercolor or paint need 65lb cardstock or heavier. Choose ‘Fit to page’ or ‘Scale to fit’ if your printer cuts off the border, and select black & white or grayscale to save color ink. If you want to reuse a page, slip it into a sheet protector and use dry-erase crayons.

More Printables in This Series

• Free New Year Coloring Pages (Printable PDF)
• Free Dragon Coloring Pages (Printable PDF)
• Free New Year Color by Number Printables (PDF)
• Browse all new year printables
• See all free printable makers and tools

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are red and gold used?

They are traditional colors for luck and happiness.

Is the dragon scary?

No – it is a friendly, smiling dragon for young kids.

When is Lunar New Year?

It changes every year, usually between late January and mid-February.

How many pages are in this lunar new year coloring pages set?

There are 4 printable pages. Each one is a separate PDF, so you can print only the pages you need.

What ages are these coloring pages for?

Aimed at ages 3 to 8, though older children and adults enjoy the more detailed designs too.

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