Year of the Dog!!

January 6, 2006 12:44 PM

Chinese New Year filter: My husband and I have been invited to a Chinese New Year party. It's being thrown by the sister of a very good friend of ours, but we don't know the sister well at all. Are there appropriate/traditional gift(s) we could bring?
posted by gaspode to society & culture (16 comments total)

Packets of money, wrapped in red tissue paper, especially for the host.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 12:52 PM on January 6, 2006

Make your own Ang Pow.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 1:03 PM on January 6, 2006

Bring oranges...
posted by xospecialk at 1:06 PM on January 6, 2006

Red pocket money - I can't believe there is no wikipedia entry on it - is typically given by married couples to younger unmarried people. You and your husband each have to give an identical pocket to each recipient. Contents of the pocket is typically a very fresh bill, $5 or $10, sometimes more.

Other New Years gifts... Fresh fruit, like a big box of oranges. I think oranges are supposed to be especially good.

I will try to get my girlfriend to answer, but she might not want to...
posted by Chuckles at 1:09 PM on January 6, 2006

You could bring tangerines, which are symbolic of gold/prosperity.

Red pocket money is customarily given by marrieds to the singletons after the latter offer good wishes for the new year, i.e. gung hay fat choy, etc.

(on preview, i was too slow...)
posted by phoenixc at 1:11 PM on January 6, 2006

Um, the 'Red Packet' mentioned above is only given to kids or brides in my experience. If you do go with that though, make sure the amount is an even number.

A basket of oranges or mandarins would look properly festive. If you want to make it more special, get kumquats instead.
posted by of strange foe at 1:16 PM on January 6, 2006

(Too slow indeed.)
posted by of strange foe at 1:19 PM on January 6, 2006

Hmm, maybe $5 is wrong... Maybe I got two $5 bills in one pocket... Maybe I even got an apology/explanation about why $5 is really bad, but that it was the only thing available...

Maybe I just imagined all that... I can't remember.
posted by Chuckles at 1:19 PM on January 6, 2006

An alternative to giving money is to slip in a lotto ticket. I used to have a lot of married Chinese (from HK) work colleagues who I was rather good friends with, so I collected a lot of red pockets at work from them--after wishing them long life and many happy returns, of course!

I suppose if you know a lot of kids and singletons, it could get really expensive, so a buck or two for a chance at millions was easier on the wallet. In the end though, it's really just a symbolic gesture for prosperity and luck in the new year.

OSF--I've gotten $5 in many a red pocket, so I think it's quite acceptable, at least given the clunky nature of the Canadian toonie.
posted by phoenixc at 1:47 PM on January 6, 2006

A traditional symbol of good luck is a Fish, and one can easily find some imagery in well-to-do dishware shops or franchise shops (like Pier 1, Williams-Sonoma, and the like) in plates or cups. We've given fish-platters to young couples on more than one occasion in celebration of their nuptuals or the New Year.
posted by thanotopsis at 1:54 PM on January 6, 2006

Given the breadth of responses, maybe an inquiry to your friend, to scope out just how "traditional" of a Chinese New Year's this will be? on preview, uh, ... is in order?
posted by misterbrandt at 2:52 PM on January 6, 2006

OSF--I've gotten $5 in many a red pocket, so I think it's quite acceptable

Quite. I was thinking in RMB not in dollars, so I assumed n >= 10...
posted by of strange foe at 2:56 PM on January 6, 2006

I wouldn't really worry about bringing any sort of "traditional" gifts. Just bring what you'd normally bring to a party. Otherwise I think you'd be trying too hard.
posted by gyc at 3:48 PM on January 6, 2006

gyc, I disagree. I have friends from many different cultures who appreciate that I do the research on their particular culture in order to be appropriate. Even if it's a clumsy attempt, the attempt itself is appreciated. Have others have different experiences? I'm curious (Sorry if it's a derail).
posted by kamikazegopher at 8:08 PM on January 6, 2006

gyc, I think these people would appreciate the effort. And I think it's sort of fun. Thanks for the responses everybody! And I'm interested in the derail too, kamikazegopher.
posted by gaspode at 8:52 PM on January 6, 2006

YesAsia.com has red pockets on sale 10 for 99 cents with any purchase.
posted by IndigoRain at 9:34 PM on January 6, 2006