Cover Image via: 微众圈
Chinese New Year is nearly upon us! As people’s lives gradually get more hectic with each passing year, the time spent with family and relatives decreased thus. Especially when we are back in hometown (for only once a year), we sometimes find ourselves tensed up starting conversations with relatives of unfamiliar faces. Most of the time we would give each other awkward smiles before retreating into a corner to swipe at our phones. Doesn’t this seem uncomfortable to you? In fact, when faced with your relatives, you should not be so nervous! Before visiting, try having some of these topics in mind to prevent those dicey situations again!
Topics of all-time favourites:
Sharing holiday experiences
Start scrolling your Facebook news feed, you’d definitely not be surprised to see another friend of yours went on holiday trip (again). Who doesn’t like traveling in this era? This topic would perk the interest of both old and young! You could start by asking:” Where did you visit last year? Which country do you intend to visit next? What food/entertainment places would you recommend?” This is an easy topic which everyone would love to share, as most of us love the thrill of traveling! Not to mention the possibility of finding future travel partners should your interests match!
Movies discussion
During Chinese New Year, what else do we do other than house visiting and having reunion meals? How about going out for a movie together? Or take on a marathon of your favorite TV series on Netflix and have a discussion? If you are tight on time and do not have the luxury of watching a movie together, you could also talk about the latest TV shows or movies to get the ball rolling! This is proven to be a great ice breaker! (especially with Korean dramas, you never know if your relative is a fan!)
Sharing the love of food
This is the best topic for food lovers! Once ‘food’ is mentioned, it would be literally difficult to stop them! When everyone has seated around at the gathering, you could give your honest opinions on the food, no matter whether they are takeaways or home-cooked. The others would be pleased to hear you out! If you are one who likes to cook (looking at you Gordon Ramsay wannabes) you could share some ‘tricks’ with your relatives. What’s more, you might even learn a thing or two about the secret behind your family’s traditional dishes. For those who loves eating, you may share some of the trendiest restaurants around town or even some café for the budget-conscious. Next time, you could even invite them out for food or drinks to further know each other better. Then, you would not have to worry about feeling left out on future gatherings!
Praising each other’s fashion choice
During Chinese New Year period, Chinese enjoy putting on new clothes/shoes and spending extra time to dress up themselves before going out to visit their friends/relatives. This time, if you happen to see a dress style that you like, don’t keep it to yourself. Give a friendly smile and praise their new clothes, accessories, or make-up. It will set a great mood in the atmosphere, and instantly break the ice between each other. (Maybe you could even go on shopping sprees together!)
With this, let’s hope that you will feel more confident with the topics to bring up the next time there is a gathering with your family. Do share out our article to your friends too! You would never know if this may be useful to them as well!
Translated from: 拜年怕尴尬？不知道要和亲戚聊些什么？带着这些话题“防身”就不怕冷场啦！
