Lunar New Year Gifts: What to Bring, Give and Avoid
By the Giftruly editorsUpdated 20 hand-picked ideas
Lunar New Year is a family holiday before it's anything else. People cross countries to be home for the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, houses are cleaned top to bottom beforehand, and the first days of the year go on visiting relatives, eating a great deal and handing out money to children in envelopes. Gifts fit into that rhythm: something for the hosts when you visit, something respectful for the elders, and lucky money for the kids.
It's also not one single celebration. Chinese families celebrate the Spring Festival, Korean families celebrate Seollal, Vietnamese families celebrate Tết, and communities across East and Southeast Asia and around the world mark the new year with their own food, customs and superstitions. This guide notes where traditions differ and sticks to gifts that are welcome broadly. If you're joining a partner's or friend's family for the first time, read the section on what not to give before you shop.
The holiday follows the lunisolar calendar, so the date moves every year, always landing between January 21 and February 20. For more ideas, see our guides to gifts for tea lovers and gifts for hosts, or Hanukkah gifts for another winter holiday built around family.
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Three safe bets
Lucky money, and a few extras for the kids
Money in envelopes is the custom most people know. In Chinese tradition the envelopes are red (hongbao in Mandarin, lai see in Cantonese) and go to children and unmarried younger relatives; Vietnamese families give lì xì in red envelopes too. In Korea, children bow deeply to their elders on Seollal morning and receive sebaetdon, often in decorated envelopes that aren't necessarily red.
Use new, crisp bills if you can get them. In Chinese families, even amounts are preferred and amounts with a four in them are avoided, while eights are especially welcome.
1.Red Envelopes Hongbao Set with Zodiac Design ~$8
Red and gold envelopes printed with zodiac animals. Buy a full pack even if you only need three; there's always an extra cousin you didn't know was coming.
2.Spring Couplets and Fu Character Decoration Set ~$12
Red couplet banners for either side of the door, plus a fu (good fortune) character, often hung upside down because the word for upside-down sounds like "arrived."
3.Red Paper Lantern Decoration Set ~$15
Collapsible red lanterns with gold tassels for a porch or window. They stay up nicely through the Lantern Festival about two weeks later.
4.Chinese Dragon Dance Puppet for Kids ~$20
A fabric dragon on two sticks for a small child to parade around the living room. A cheerful add-on to a red envelope.
5.Children's Hanbok Outfit ~$40
Many Korean children wear hanbok to bow to their grandparents on Seollal. A sweet gift for a young child from a grandparent; check sizing with the parents first.
6.Lunar New Year Picture Book Set for Kids ~$20
Picture books about the holiday for a child growing up far from grandparents, or a classroom that wants to learn about it.
What not to give, and why
Many New Year taboos in Chinese culture come from wordplay: objects whose names sound like unlucky words. Not every family minds them, and Korean and Vietnamese customs differ, but the best-known ones are easy to avoid. Clocks are the classic mistake, because "giving a clock" sounds in Mandarin like a phrase about attending someone's death. Knives, scissors and other sharp objects suggest cutting ties. Pears sound like "separation," so leave them out of fruit baskets. The number four sounds like "death," so avoid sets of four, and steer clear of white or black wrapping, which many people associate with funerals.
The alternatives are easy. Red and gold wrapping is always welcome, and gifts in pairs suggest good things doubling. Mandarin oranges or tangerines, brought in an even number, are a classic gift when visiting a Chinese family, since their color suggests gold and the word for tangerine sounds like "luck." If you're unsure, ask your friend or partner. Most people are touched that you thought to.
To bring when you visit
During the first days of the year, visits to relatives and family friends are a big part of the holiday, and nobody arrives empty-handed. Food is the safe bet: something sweet for a sweet year, and something the hosts can share with the next round of visitors.
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Dried Mango and Candied Fruit Gift Tray
~$32
A tray of dried fruit, candied sweets and nuts in separate compartments, in the spirit of the tray of togetherness many Chinese families set out for guests. In Vietnam, a similar tray of mứt (candied fruits) is a Tết staple. It's festive and easy to share, and it works well for hosts you don't know closely.
- 8
Taiwanese Pineapple Cake Gift Box
~$25
Buttery pastries filled with pineapple jam, individually wrapped in a presentation box. The pineapple brings luck of its own: in Hokkien, its name sounds like "fortune arrives." A favorite visiting gift in many Taiwanese, Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese families, and easy to mail if you can't be there.
- 9
Korean Red Ginseng Gift Set
~$45
Boxed red ginseng is one of the classic Seollal gifts for parents, in-laws and elders in Korean families, alongside fruit and other food gift sets. Give it in its presentation box; the box is part of the gift. If the person takes regular medication, check with them or their family before choosing it.
Tea for parents, grandparents and in-laws
Tea is a respectful gift for elders across much of East Asia, and pouring it for parents, grandparents and guests is part of the holiday in many families. A tea lover will happily take a good tin of leaves; a household that hosts all week will use the gear.
- 10~$24
Jasmine Pearl Tea Tin Gift Set
Hand-rolled jasmine pearls in a decorative tin. Fragrant, easy to brew and a polite gift for an elder whose tea preferences you don't know.
Tea Loversconsumable - 11~$55
Gongfu Tea Set with Bamboo Tray
A teapot, small cups and a draining tray for brewing many short rounds. Made for a family that sits and talks over tea for hours. Pick a set with six cups, not four.
Tea Loversluxe - 12~$55
Yixing Clay Teapot
An unglazed clay pot meant to be kept for one kind of tea. For the serious oolong or pu-erh drinker in the family, it's a gift that improves with years of use.
Tea Loversluxe - 13~$35
Porcelain Gaiwan Tea Brewing Set
A lidded bowl for brewing loose leaf one cup at a time. Lighter and cheaper than a full set, and ideal for a grandparent who drinks tea all day.
Tea Loversunique
For long evenings with the whole family
Once the reunion dinner is over, the holiday is mostly time together: long meals, games, and relatives of every age crowded into one living room. These gifts give that time a focus, and they come out again every year.
Each works best for a household that hosts, since that's where everyone ends up.
- Our favorite14
Travel Mahjong Set with Carry Case
~$45
In many Chinese families the mahjong table is where the New Year really happens, with aunts, uncles and grandparents playing late into the night while the kids watch and learn. A compact set in a zippered case is easy to bring to a relative's house and store away afterward. Check which style the family plays first; American mahjong, for example, uses joker tiles that many Chinese sets leave out.
- 15
Korean Yut Nori Game Set
~$20
Yut nori is the traditional Korean New Year game, played by throwing four wooden sticks and racing pieces around a board. The rules take five minutes to learn, which is exactly why it works with grandparents and five-year-olds on the same team. A lovely gift for a Korean family, or for anyone curious to try it.
- 16
Electric Hot Pot with Divider
~$50
A tabletop pot with two sides for different broths, so everyone cooks their own meat, tofu and vegetables at the table. In many families hot pot is a favorite way to feed a crowd over the holiday, because the meal stretches for hours. A good gift for a household that hosts and has plenty of counter space.
- 17
Handmade Dumpling Press and Bamboo Steamer Set
~$35
Making dumplings together is a New Year's Eve ritual in many northern Chinese families, and some hide a coin in one for luck. A simple press and bamboo steamer suit a family that wants to start the tradition, or a couple celebrating far from home.
Zodiac and good-luck gifts
Each new year brings one of twelve zodiac animals, and gifts tied to someone's birth animal or the coming year's are a popular, personal touch. In Chinese tradition, the year of your own animal is thought to need a little extra luck, and relatives sometimes give something red to wear. The Vietnamese zodiac swaps in a cat for the rabbit and a buffalo for the ox, so check which version the person follows.
- 18
Chinese Zodiac Pendant Necklace
~$28
A sterling silver pendant with the animal of the person's birth year. A thoughtful gift for a partner or close friend, especially in their own zodiac year. Make sure you have their birth year right; people born in January or early February may belong to the previous year's animal.
- 19
Chinese Zodiac Animal Figurine Ornament
~$20
A small red-and-gold figurine of one zodiac animal, either the recipient's own or the animal of the year ahead. Inexpensive, cheerful and a nice desk or shelf piece for a coworker who celebrates, or a grandparent who likes a small new decoration each year.
- 20
Lucky Bamboo Arrangement in Glass Vase
~$25
A living arrangement of lucky bamboo stalks in water and pebbles, a popular symbol of luck and growth that needs very little care. Count the stalks before you buy: arrangements of four are avoided for the same reason as other sets of four, while three, six and eight are popular.
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A few rules of thumb for the new year
Ask which tradition the family follows. Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other families celebrate differently, and customs vary by region and generation even within one culture.
Wrap in red or gold, give in pairs or even numbers, and leave out anything that comes in fours.
Time it right. Envelopes and gifts are given in the first days of the new year, and in Chinese tradition the celebrations can continue up to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day.
Greet and give to the eldest first. In many families, wishing grandparents a happy new year before anyone else is a simple sign of respect.
Still stuck on someone? Try our gift finder with a sentence about them, including what they like to eat or drink.
Lunar New Year gifts: common questions
How much money should go in a red envelope?
It depends on your relationship, the family's customs and where you live, and close family usually give more than friends do. Use new bills, give an even amount and avoid fours. Asking a friend from the same community what's typical is perfectly normal.
What should I bring to a Lunar New Year dinner?
A tin of good tea, a box of pineapple cakes or a tray of sweets and dried fruit are safe and welcome. Mandarin oranges in an even number are a classic. Avoid clocks, sharp objects, pears and anything in a set of four.
Is it Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?
Both are used. Chinese New Year refers to the Chinese celebration specifically, while Lunar New Year also covers Korean Seollal, Vietnamese Tết and other celebrations on or around the same day. If you know which tradition a friend follows, use their name for it.
How do you say Happy New Year?
In Mandarin, "Xīnnián kuàilè"; in Cantonese, "Gong hei fat choi" is a popular wish for prosperity; in Korean, "Saehae bok mani badeuseyo"; in Vietnamese, "Chúc mừng năm mới." A warm "Happy New Year" in English is always fine too.