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Enjoy a prosperous year with a fun and easy Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft! All you need are basic craft supplies and a free afternoon!

If someone asks you what year we are in, you’re likely to say 2026. However, there’s another way to reply to that question – by saying that we’re in the Year of the Horse!

We’re talking in terms of the Chinese New Year here, which runs from 17th February 2026 to 5th February 2027. The Chinese New Year is determined according to the Chinese lunar calendar, which goes by the moon.

What does the Year of the Fire Horse mean?

Every Chinese New Year is associated with an animal in the Chinese zodiac. There are 12 animals in the zodiac, and as every year passes, the zodiac moves in a 12-year cycle. The seventh animal is the horse, which corresponds to the current year.

At the same time, every new year also runs through a 5-year cycle of the five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Fire is the element that corresponds with this year, which, when combined with the animal zodiac, gives us the Year of the Fire Horse.

This pairing of horse with fire occurs once every 60 years. The last Year of the Fire Horse was in 1966, a year which saw significant revolutions in China. It is predicted that similar political and social revolutions can be expected this year too!

Well, revolutions aside, we’ve got our own way to honor this year – with a Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft! This is an easy craft you can make with basic craft supplies, so let’s get started!

Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft

Supplies required:

• Colored craft papers
• Popsicle stick
• Pencil
• Template
• A pair of scissors
• Craft glue
• Markers

How to make the Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft:

1. Download and print the Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft template. The template contains parts of the horse stick puppet craft, including the horse body, muzzle, mane, tail and saddle pieces.

2. Trace the parts of the horse stick puppet craft on craft papers of the appropriate colors and cut them out. You can choose any neutral color for the horse’s body, but we recommend going with something fiery for the mane and tail pieces, like yellow, orange or red. You’ll notice there are two parts each for the saddle, tail and mane – choose different colors for each part so that they stand out against each other.

3. Stick the inner mane cutout inside the outer mane cutout with glue. Do the same with the inner tail and outer tail cutouts. Now you see why we suggested two different colors for the inner and outer parts!

4. Attach the muzzle to the front of the horse’s face, as shown below.

5. Cut a small slit on the bottom of the mane pattern, as shown below.

6. Insert the horse’s head through the slit, so that the mane falls right in between the horse’s ears. Use glue to secure the mane in place.

7. Apply glue to the end of the horse’s tail and attach it to the back of the horse’s body. Your horse stick puppet craft is beginning to take shape!

8. Use colored markers to draw outlines for the mane and tail. Use a dark brown Sharpie to draw in some hooves.

9. Our fire horse needs a face, so use a black marker to draw some eyes, nostrils and a smiley mouth!

10. Apply some glue to the top of a Popsicle stick and attach the horse to it.

11. Finally, stick the saddle on the horse’s back, as shown below. That’s it –  your horse stick puppet craft is done!

This Year of the Fire Horse Stick Puppet Craft reminds us of the attributes of the fire horse – high energy, dedication, enthusiasm and leadership. Experts of the Chinese zodiac recommend doing activities that help us stay grounded, like meditation. They also recommend drinking more water to balance the fire, as well as dressing in cool tones. Well, we have an additional recommendation – make some relaxing crafts and put that energy to good use!