Chinese New Year Addition Puzzles for Holiday Enjoyment

Chinese New Year is celebrated by many Asian countries, including the one my family is from. I thought it would be fun to create some Chinese New Year addition puzzles for anyone who will be celebrating or studying it.

If you need more ideas for the Chinese New Year, check my list of Chinese New Year Activities for Kids.

For some, this is a huge celebration, and it’s always a time of family and great food to celebrate the new year. My mother always visits the temple, and it’s something everyone looks forward to each year.

The lunar new year is celebrated in countries beyond China, including Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Learning about other countries and how they celebrate holidays and traditions is a lot of fun. This theme is one that we love to learn more about as well.

If you’re looking for a way to combine learning with celebrating, these math puzzles are so much fun for the kids. Make sure to print them out and let the kids have fun. They’ll be learning about something exciting while working on math skills.

three sets of Chinese New Year Addition Puzzles on a table

This post may contain affiliate links meaning I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Read my disclosure policy here.

Why Kids Should Learn About the Lunar New Year

Learning about cultural celebrations gives early learners a broader view of the world while building curiosity.

Cultural awareness: Children are introduced to traditions, symbols, and customs connected to the Lunar New Year. These early lessons help normalize learning about other cultures through everyday schoolwork.
Seasonal learning: Themed activities make lessons feel timely and relevant. When math connects to holidays, kids often stay focused longer.
Early social studies exposure: Simple discussions about celebrations lay the groundwork for future history lessons. Even basic exposure supports understanding community traditions.

We love to visit a Chinese Buffet, and every year they give out a calendar with the Chinese astrological signs and the meanings for your birth year. The kids love seeing which animal they are.

It’s a time for firecrackers, and money is given in red envelopes to close family members. It’s a fun tradition we love doing each year as a family.

Recommended Chinese New Year Books

I always paired hands-on printables with picture books to add context and gentle storytelling, which worked well during our themed weeks.

Want to learn more about the Lunar New Year? Grab one of these books to find out how it is celebrated around the world. We love learning more about this celebration, and books are a great way to dive in. The pages are filled with bright colors, fun stories, activities, and ideas.

There are so many great books that you and your child can read together at this time of year. These are just a few of our favorites that I think you’ll like, too. You can always start with one and see where the reading road takes you.

This is often what happens to us, and then before we realize it, we’ve read 10 books and are scouring the house for more. For this reason, I tend to keep a lot of extra books on hand. The kids love getting new books, and I love having a stack for them to dive into once they finish the first stack.

You can plan ahead, as I do, and get some of these now, so they’re ready when the time comes. You can also keep some in the car for when you’re driving and traveling, too.

Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Chinese New Year: With Fireworks, Dragons, and Lanterns Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book (Puffin Lift-the-Flap)Home for Chinese New Year: A Story Told in English and Chinese Bringing In the New Year Lunar New Year (Celebrate the World)Ruby’s Chinese New Year

3 sets of Chinese New Year Addition Puzzles on a table

Skills Kids Practice With These Lunar New Year Math Puzzles

These puzzles support early math while keeping the activity playful and approachable.

Basic addition: Kids count objects and match them to the correct total. The visual support helps numbers make sense.
Number recognition: Learners see numerals alongside quantities, reinforcing number awareness. This repetition supports confidence.
Fine motor development: Cutting and fitting puzzle pieces strengthens hand control. This was helpful preparation for later writing tasks.

Winter Printable Packs I Recommend

Seasonal packs were always helpful when I wanted planned activities ready to go. Winter and Lunar New Year sets worked well together to provide consistent, themed learning.

Little Learners Print & Go Activity Kit: Winter

For more activities to do this winter, check these fun Winter Activities for Kids.

6 sets of Chinese New Year Addition Puzzles on a table

Supplies Needed for This Lunar New Year Math Activity

These are the supplies needed to print out this Chinese New Year activity. You don’t have to do a ton of prep work for these printable puzzles, which is just another reason they’re the best.

You likely already have everything needed to get started.

Printer (I have this one)
Paper or cardstock
Scissors
Laminator or sheet protectors for reuse

I have the HP printer 8710, but it’s no longer available. It’s been running well for years now. Consider another HP Instant Ink-ready printer so that you can use their program to send you ink cartridges whenever your printer gets low on ink.

Hp Officejet Pro All in One Printer-Black – Model 8710 – HEOJ8710-Desktop Printer Scotch Thermal Laminator and Pouch Bundle, 2 Roller System, Laminate up to 9 Fiskars SureCut Portable Paper Trimmer, 12 Inch Cut , Orange – 154450-1009

Recommended Lunar New Year Toys

Puzzles and simple board or card games tied to the Lunar New Year extended learning beyond worksheets. We used games like these for quiet afternoons or family time.

DAVAXI 20 CM Chinese New Year Plush Snake Animals 2025 Year of The Snake Stuffed Mascot Doll Snake Plush Toys Chinese Zodiac Snake Decor for Spring Festival Lunar New Year Gifts Blessing Souvenir Bleacher Creatures Lunar New Year Dragon Kuricha 8 XIZHI Rabbit Stuffed Animal Plush Pillow Toy Chinese New Year Plushes Year Zodiac Rabbit Mascot Decoration Gift for Adult Kids Spring Festival,11.8” Red Lunar New Year Spin Drum Craft Kit, Makes 12 Barbie Signature Lunar New Year Doll (12-inch Brunette) Wearing Red Satin Cheongsam Dress with Accessories, Collectible Gift for Kids & Collectors Bao Bao Learns Chinese Vol. 1, Chinese Books for Kids, Chinese New Year Gifts, Chinese Baby Book, Mandarin Chinese Board Books for Children, Chinese Learning Book, Bilingual Book & Musical Toys

What’s included in the Lunar New Year Printable Puzzle?

My free printable puzzles go up to 11, and each number is two puzzles, so that your child can see that a different set of numbers can add up to the same number. I have the complete addition puzzle set up to 20 in my shop, and you can grab that for a more advanced math practice.

Print out the puzzles onto paper. I then like to laminate them so we can reuse them again. Cut them out, and they’re ready to go. When you laminate them, they’ll last so much longer. This means there are no rips, and even if something spills on them, they’re fine.

Make certain that your child understands how to put the puzzles together and can easily identify the numbers. This three-part learning puzzle is great because it can be easily used to learn and add in multiple different ways.

Print out the addition puzzles from here and practice adding up to 11, and go on a fun Chinese New Year adventure while having fun with math at the same time.

Once your children get confident with their math skills, they’re going to want to do them over and over again. The great thing about these puzzles is that once you print them off, they’re yours to use time and time again. This will help to reinforce math skills to the kids in a way that will keep them curious about learning, too.

How to Extend This Activity

You can easily build on these puzzles with simple add-ons.

Lunar New Year crafts: Pair the puzzles with art time to help reinforce symbols through hands-on work.
Cutting practice pages: Add scissors practice for supported coordination alongside math.
Counting objects: Use small toys or snacks to recreate the problems. This made numbers more concrete.
Story time discussion: Read a themed book and talk about the images used in the puzzles. It tied learning together naturally.

More Lunar New Year Activities to Try

There are many ways to build a full themed unit using simple printables and games.

Lunar New Year Books for Kids
Lunar New Year Worksheets
Chinese New Year Math Activities
Chinese New Year Activities for Elementary Students
Printable Chinese New Year Bookmarks
Chinese New Year Activities for Kindergarten
10 Easy Dragon Crafts for Chinese New Year by Simple Everyday Mom
Fun Chinese New Year Charades for Kids by Darcy and Brian

More Printable Math Puzzles

If you’re looking for more math worksheets for kids, you’ll love these, too. Keep working on those math skills with these other fun printables. They’re all easy to do and are great at boosting your kid’s confidence in math.

These addition puzzles are an easy way to add seasonal math to your homeschool plans without extra stress. They worked well for us during our early years of learning and still fit nicely into themed preschool lessons.

Chinese New Year Addition Puzzles