We love making themed decorations during Chinese festivals, and no exception for the Mid-Autumn Festival! This year, we made this adorable rabbit origami decoration to hang around the house.
It’s an easy to make craft, with basic craft materials which you probably already have at home. The activity worked on a few essential motor skills of
- cutting
- folding
- colouring
- pasting
MATERIALS NEEDED
- Template Printable (Free to download on the Mandarin Homeschool Freebies Page)
- Coloured paper
- Colour pencils/Crayons/Markers
- Scissor
- Glue (*Tip: Wet glue such as Elmer’s glue work better than glue stick)
- String
FYI, the words on the banner “中秋节快乐” is pronounced zhōng qiū jié kuài lè.
中秋节 means “Mid-Autumn Festival” and 快乐 means “Happy”, so the phrase essentially is a greeting “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival”.
Sign up for the free origami rabbit template and more Chinese teaching resources
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Print out the template and cut out all the parts.
2. Colour the cheeks and ears for the bunny. Optional: colour the bunny’s body.
3. Colour the mooncake, and “Happy Mid-Autumn” banner.
4. Use the circle template to cut out 16 coloured circles. (For very young children who hasn’t mastered cutting skills, you might like to do this step first)
5. Cut out the “Happy Mid-Autumn” banner, mooncakes and bunnies.
6. Cut a string 30 cm long. Make a loop with the string and tie a little knot about an inch from the top. Place the sting in the middle of the inside of the bunny, glue both sides together
7. Glue the “Happy Mid-Autumn” banner, and mooncake on the string.
Optional Step: Use pegs or clips to hold the front and back of your pictures together. (My children used way too much glue, but in all the wrong places! ) 😅
8. Fold each coloured circle in half.
9. Glue 8 of the half circles together, then glue it on the front of the bunny’ body. Do the same for the back.
All done! What an adorable Mid-Autumn Bunny you have made!
Here is the link to the Youtube video that inspired this craft.
Wondering what to read for this Chinese festival? Here is the ultimate Chinese and English booklist to learn about the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Have some time to go before the Mid-Autumn Festival? How about making this cute and easy paper mooncakes with your little ones?
Hi, it seems this printable template is password protected. Would you mind sharing this template with me? Thank you!
Hi Nicole, I’ve added the sign up link on the post itself, so you can sign up as a member. You will receive an email to the entire page of free Chinese teaching resources. Please reach out if any issues arises. Thanks!
hello I signed up and received the password for this cute craft but it won’t allow me to enter so I can print it. Do you know why?
Thank you so much
Hi Cynthia, if you click on the words, it should instantly download. Please contact me again if it doesn’t work.
These are so cute! What do the characters say? Would this be appropriate for Lunar New Year as well?
It says Happy Mid-autumn Festival. If you are looking for something for the year of the rabbit, I have 2 new versions for the Lunar New Year https://mandarinhomeschool.com/cute-lunar-new-year-rabbit-craft/