Make sure the week before that everyone knows that you are having a Chinese evening so that they can come dressed up. If you have a kimono then wear that, otherwise you can wear a dressing gown with a scarf around the waist.  You can also try geisha type makeup, pale face powder, red lipstick, lots of black eyeliner and blusher.  If anyone is doing a World Badge they could research traditional hairstyles and help everyone else to do their hair in a Chinese style as well.  Why not time your Chinese evening with an important day in the Chinese Calender, for example with Chinese New Year. Check out the links below for more information.

Flap The Lotus  1. Draw a picture of a lotus on A4 paper and cut out, make one for each team before the meeting.  2. Concertina fold half a newspaper for each team and wrap round the bottom with tape so that each has a huge newspaper fan.  3. Divide the Guides into equal teams of four to six.  4. Put a chair at the end of the Hall opposite each of the teams.  5. The first person in each team must flap the lotus across the hall and around the chair using the newspaper fan.  6. The first person gives the fan to the second person when she gets back and so on. The first team to have all of its members flap the lotus round the chair wins!

Dragon  1. Get everyone to make a long line with each girl holding the waist of the girl in front.  2. The girl at the front is the "head" of the dragon, and the line is its body and tail.  3. The "head" has to catch its tail (or the last girl in the line) and the tail has to avoid being caught.  4. If the head catches the tail then the head goes to the back of the line and becomes the tail and the new girl at the front becomes the head. 5. Carry on until everyone has had a go at being the head of the dragon. Hint:- You must have a clear hall for this, or do it outside where there is plenty of space. If the whiplash of the tail is too much (and the line keeps breaking) half the unit into two smaller dragons.

It's a nice idea to enjoy some Chinese food, here are some ideas:-  Snacks, Prawn Crackers and Rice Crackers.  Fortune Cookies (you could find a recipe, make them at the meeting and put your own fortunes in)  Noodles or Egg Fried Rice- have a go at using chopsticks if you've never tried!  Drinks, Green Tea or Jasmine Tea

Fish Kite  1. Make a template on A4 paper of the fish shape (see image).  2. Draw round the template on two pieces of tissue paper and cut out.  3. Glue the two fish shapes together along the dotted lines leaving the mouth and tail open.  4. Cut out a strip of card 1cm wide to fit inside the mouth, glue in place.  5. Make a hole in the bottom fin with a needle and tie thread through to make a kite string.  6. Run around and pull your fish kite through the air!

Chinese Horoscopes  As I'm sure you know the Chinese have their own Horoscope which is based on different animals and the elements.  If you hold your Chinese Evening near Chinese New Year there will be plenty of magazines printing predictions for the following year.  Once everyone has worked out what sign they are you can read out short character descriptions, or perhaps you could learn how to write the character symbol for your type.  Check out the links below for further help.

Culture Square has a really helpful calender of Chinese holidays and festivals with detailed explanations of each one, visit here to find out when Chinese New Year is and what happens in Chinese households during this important celebration.

Horoscopes- This is purely a table of dates that you can use to discover what sign you are.

Horoscope Readings- This site gives detailed descriptions of each type and predictions.

Tea Ceremony- Although the most famous tea ceremony is from Japan the Chinese also have their own version, this site will tell you more.