As anyone living in the western world knows, February 14th is Valentine's Day.  And, as many people living in the eastern world know, February 14th 2010 also happens to be Chinese New Year.

When I realized this, I was struck with a thought pattern that can best be expressed in the following equation:

(Chinese New Year + love = "I Enjoy Being a Girl") = Girly party for CNY/V-Day!

"I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a song from Flower Drum Song, a Rogers & Hammerstein musical which relates the tale of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco during the 1950s.  The are various opinions on the musical, and it's not among R&H's better-known works.  It did enjoy a brief spike of renewed interest when Sarah Jessica Parker performed "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in a 2004 Gap commercial.  Remember this?

So cute.  If you and your girlfriends do indeed enjoy being girls, round them up for a party celebrating your friendships and the Chinese New Year.  Some ideas:

1) Make your own fortune cookies with customized fortunes.  They can be sweet and supportive or clever and cheeky.

2) The menu is easy - pick up the phone and order your favorite Chinese delivery!  Get a wide variety of dishes and encourage sharing.

3) Serve litchi martinis.

4) Ok, so the candies pictured at top are technically Japanese, but in my defense, they sell them in Chinatown. Scour the local markets to see what favors you can find, and send everyone home with a pretty lavender take-out box filled with goodies.  (Box is from Cost Plus World Market...they also carry the not-Chinese candy).

5) Research and read everyone's Chinese horoscope for the coming year.

Already have plans for this February 14th?  You can do this party in future years, as the Chinese New Year celebration lasts fifteen days and often coincides with 2/14!