Chinese New Year (CNY) is approaching us at the speed of light, and if you haven’t decided on what gifts to get for your parents and your in-laws, you might want to start planning now. After all, CNY is just two weeks away!
Before you start panicking about what to get, take a look at our round-up of CNY gifts so that you can get inspired and get what you think they would like.
1. Gift hampers
Gift hampers are probably one of the most common gift ideas for your parents and your in-laws. These hampers usually already include things like bird’s nest, abalone, and chicken essence. These are all considered to be great for the health, so you can’t go wrong when you purchase such hampers for them.
You can consider getting Eu Yan Sang’s Prosperity 2 – Blooming CNY Season Hamper (S$268). This hamper will bring auspicious blessings to fullness in the coming year, and allow your parents and in-laws to indulge in the festive merriment and celebrate the start of a wonderful year.
This hamper comes with one box of Quality Bird’s Nest Gift Set, one can of Superior Braised Japanese Golden Abalone (425g), one box of Gourmet Shrimp Roll (100g), one box of Vegetarian Cookies with Chunky Peanuts (150g), one box of Signature Tender Bak Kwa (300g), one box of Wild American Ginseng Candy Set, three bottles of Essence of Chicken with American Ginseng, Cordyceps and Huaishan (70g), and one Auspicious Fortune Premium Gift.
Order this early and you’ll be able to enjoy Eu Yan Sang’s early bird promotion where you get a free box of Essence of Chicken with American Ginseng, Cordyceps and Huaishan.
Click here to view all the hampers that Eu Yan Sang offers.
2. Alcohol
Here’s something else you can consider gifting: alcohol. This is a good gift especially if your parents or in-laws know how to enjoy a good drink.
With every holiday season, there’s bound to be limited edition bottling, and CNY is no exception. Consider getting the Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin Distillery (S$138) in an exclusive and limited edition bottle in the shape of a fortune cat holding a calabash gourd.
As we all know, fortune cats are seen as mascots that bring good luck, happiness, success, wealth, and prosperity to households. The calabash gourd is also another symbol of good luck. As such, this bottle of gin would be the perfect CNY gift for your parents and in-laws.
You can also browse other types of alcohol here or here.
3. Red packets
Whenever CNY is mentioned, we don’t only think about house-visiting, but we also think of red packets. While red packets are usually given by the elderly to the younger generations, you can also give them to your parents and parents-in-law.
This is not just a sign of respect, it is also a symbol that you are giving them your best wishes in terms of health, wealth, and luck.
And so the most question is, how much should you give?
Well, a general rule of thumb is that you should give both sides the same amount of money, and most Singaporeans would give an auspicious amount anywhere between S$88 to S$288.
At the end of the day, it isn’t the amount of money that you give, but rather, the symbolism behind gifting your parents and parents-in-law red packets.
You can purchase Year of the Tiger red packets on Shopee or from one of the stores at Chinatown.
4. Coffee
If your parents and in-laws are coffee connoisseurs, the best gift you can get them is coffee. More specifically, CNY coffee.
Take this chance to explore the various CNY seasonal blends of coffee and delight the tastebuds of your parents or in-laws with an exciting new roast that they’ve never tried before.
Fresh Cafe offers two seasonal blends: the Gong Xi Blend and the Fa Cai Blend.
The Gong Xi Blend is a medium dark roast with medium low acidity. This will taste a little nutty due to almonds being present in the roast, but this is quickly balanced out by another ingredient within the roast, caramel, that gives the coffee a hint of sweetness.
The Fa Cai Blend is also a medium dark roast but this tastes more chocolatey due to toffee nut and chocolate being present in the roast.
These blends are available in whole beans, ground coffee, and in drip bags.
You can also opt for the gift sets which come with a box of coffee drip bags, sugar sticks, and a Stainless Steel Gooseneck Pour Over Coffee Pot.
The price of the blends range from S$9.45 to S$45, depending on what variation of coffee you choose.
5. Tea set
Other than coffee, perhaps the next most common beverage is tea. Consider purchasing a tea set so that your parents and in-laws can use the teapot to brew their favourite tea, making this a practical and functional gift.
Since it is CNY, you can opt for a tea set that has an auspicious design. For example, the Yoshidaya Peony Kutani Japanese Teapot Set (S$183) is a good option. In Chinese culture, peonies are seen as the king of flowers, and the big petals on the flower are known to symbolise prosperity and happiness.
Alternatively, you can also go for the Shirochibu Kutani Japanese Teapot Set (S$335).
For more options, you can also check out Musubi Kiln’s website. For Chinese tea sets, you can also take a look at Tea Chapter’s collection.
6. Mahjong set
It has somehow become tradition for families and friends to play mahjong during the entire CNY period because it’s a great way spend time with your loved ones, and also because the game is highly addictive.
If your parents or your in-laws are huge mahjong fans, you can consider gifting them the limited edition Singapore Airlines (SIA) mahjong set (S$388) that is available on KrisShop.
This set is reminiscent of SIA and you’ll be able to notice this through the signature batik motif that is present on the back of the tiles. The suits are also represented by symbols related to the industry, like luggages, runway lights, and aircrafts.
This is definitely a must-have collector’s item, especially for someone who is big on heritage and mahjong.
The gift set was launched to public on 16 January, so you might want to quickly order a set if you’re intending for this to be a gift before it gets sold out like the previous edition! Click here to order your set now.
7. Fruit Baskets
Whenever we go visiting during CNY, we tend to bring along mandarin oranges as part of tradition. But do you know why we do so?
As we may all already know, CNY is heavily centred around auspicious sayings and doing auspicious things to welcome wealth and prosperity into our lives. So you can probably guess that the gesture of giving mandarin oranges is not any different.
The Cantonese pronunciation of mandarin oranges is kam, which sounds exactly like the Cantonese word for ‘gold’. As such, when you present mandarin oranges to someone, or rather, when you purchase a basket full of mandarin oranges for your parents and in-laws, you are essentially gifting them your best wishes for them to welcome more luck, fortune, and happiness into their homes.
Purchase the CNY-115 Bountiful Blessing (S$108) from Little Flower Hut and enjoy complimentary same-day delivery between 6pm and 10pm to your home!
This gift set comes with 18 mandarin oranges along with a side of fresh flowers that will surely bring a smile to anyone’s face.
The delivery service also eliminates the trouble of having to lug the mandarin oranges back to your home yourself from the store. In fact, you can even send the basket directly to your parents or in-laws if you’d like.
Little Flower Hut has many other gift sets available other than this one and you can click here to browse more.
8. Bak kwa
A classic CNY gift is bak kwa, a Chinese sweet and savoury dried meat in the form of a large squares with blackened char marks on them. Anyone who has tried bak kwa has fallen in love with this addictive treat, and if you’re not binging on it during CNY, are you really celebrating the season?
Purchase a box or two of the Signature Sliced Pork from Lim Chee Guan at S$36 per 500g, and let your parents and in-laws indulge in this sinful goodness.
While bak kwa is meant to be greasy for it to be delicious, this particular brand offers the treat at the right thickness, umami flavour, and greasiness to the point that you can binge this without feeling like it’s too much.
Since the bak kwa from Lim Chee Guan is that good, queues are often seen outside its stores, even when it isn’t the CNY period. As such, to avoid queuing for hours and disappointment, you are recommended to place your orders on their online store. From there, you will be able to opt for delivery of the bak kwa to your home where you can later distribute them to your parents and in-laws, or opt for self-collection at one of their outlets.
Other than their signature flavour, Lim Chee Guan also offers other flavours and other types of meat. Click here to find out more!
9. CNY goodies
Another thing you can’t go wrong with is CNY goodies. And we’re not just talking about any CNY goodies that are stored in those traditional containers with the red lid, we’re talking about exquisite ones, like the ones offered by SunnyHills.
SunnyHills hails from Nantou, Taiwan, and specialises in authentic and fresh pineapple cakes that are traditionally sourced, made, and baked in Taiwan.
SunnyHills works with 800 small family farms in addition to its own pineapple farm. With the pineapples harvested from these farms, SunnyHills then makes the best pineapple cakes using the recipe that has been perfected by a master baker.
Each pineapple cake is sealed in its own packaging, preserving the freshness of each piece.
Gift your parents and in-laws the Pineapple Fortune Cake CNY Gift Set (S$48.80) which features the SunnyHills’ signature pineapple cakes shaped like a pineapple flower motif, symbolising bountiful harvest of pineapples and a gift bearing well wishes of abundance.
These cakes are all packaged into a Year of the Tiger gift box that is red in colour, apt for the season.The gift set also comes with a greeting card that can be used as a CNY couplet for decoration, as well as a limited edition Year of the Tiger reusable linen tote bag.
Gift the blessing of prosperity and harmony with the Double Prosperity CNY Gift Set (Pineapple Cake + Apple Cake) (S$35.30).
Other than pineapple cakes and apple cakes, SunnyHills also offers other products like D24 Durian Rolls, Honey Cake Rusk, and tea! Click here to view the entire catalogue.
10. Gold-plated ornaments
CNY is always associated with bright colours that are auspicious, and one of the colours is gold. And what better way to give gold items than to give your parents and in-laws gold-plated ornaments that don’t just look good, but also bring luck?
RISIS has been offering delicate 24K Swiss gold-plated flowers and ornaments since 1976, and their latest CNY Chronicle Collection 2022 is definitely something that you might want to consider.
The Guardian of Joy (S$408) showcases a jubilant cub playing with a Ruyi Scepter. The Ruyi Scepter is a symbolism of prosperity and signifies vitality and growth. The cub playing with it is a sign that it is ready to embark on a new endeavour, and it heralds a smooth sailing year ahead.
Alternatively, place an order for the Guardian of Blessings (S$6,988) which features a magnificent tiger wandering into a reverie garden of blessings. The amber Liu Li moon gate is imprinted with auspicious gold coins, symbolising a doorway that welcomes bliss and fortune.
This is a limited edition piece and there are only 88 pieces available worldwide.
If you prefer something that doesn’t have to do with the any of the zodiac animals, you can also consider getting the Natural Fu Lu Shou Chicken Egg Set (S$688).
This set of eggs is unique, because these are actually real eggshells encapsulated in 24K Swiss gold. The Chinese characters 福, 禄, and 寿 represent the three deities in Chinese mythology and they signify happiness, prosperity, and longevity.
Giving this to your parents and in-laws is the perfect way to wish them a long, happy, and successful life.
Check out the entire CNY collection here.
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