Lunar New Year - Gifts for a Public Service Colleague

January 18, 2023 1:45 PM

My colleague brought in some treats for Lunar New Year. What can we (white colleagues) gift her in exchange? Thanks for your help!
posted by Juniper Toast to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I don't think it needs to be directly reciprocated but maybe you all can take turns bringing in treats for everyone every couple of weeks.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:48 PM on January 18, 2023

(Not wanting to be a buzzkill, and maybe you've already thought of this, but please check your agency's ethics regulations first--there may be restrictions on gift-giving, especially between people of different salaries.)
posted by praemunire at 1:57 PM on January 18, 2023

if the treats thing doesn't work and the gift thing is fine, get her some $5 gift cards (coffee, bakery, jamba juice, whatnot) and put them in red envelopes, as is traditional for new year. it's usually cash but that is definitely a no-no in most orgs.
posted by koroshiya at 2:03 PM on January 18, 2023

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't think this is a thing where you need to reciprocate. She gave a treats to celebrate something important to her. You can bring treats in the future to celebrate something...

If I brought in treats for say, Easter, and someone felt the need to bring something in afterward, it almost diminishes my contribution, or feels like you're trying to one-up me. Sometimes the best answer in reply to a gift is "thank you."
posted by hydra77 at 3:34 PM on January 18, 2023

If I gave LNY treats to my coworker, personally I wouldn't like getting a gift card in return because it would feel like they put a dollar value on my gift - it would kind of hurt my feelings actually.

I would prefer to just be thanked warmly and enthusiastically, and maybe be included in their thing later if an occasion arose.

So- when the treats come around, stop what you're doing, be curious and interested in what it is, say thank you, compliment the prettiness of the red envelope or the tastiness of the food, etc, and most of all let her know you think it's super cool and fun and kind that she included you in her celebration and you loved it. Let it build your relationship with her, rather than feeling "on the hook for the same $ contribution".

And then you bring in treats and include her for one of your celebrations later, maybe Valentine's Day / Easter / your birthday, etc.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 4:08 PM on January 18, 2023

If you must, having a big bowl of oranges in the office pantry and letting her know hey we appreciated your treats, here’s some luck for the office is a nice extension. Our office switched to oranges for the usual fruit over CNY which is a cute reminder.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:02 PM on January 18, 2023

I'm Chinese American here, and I often gift people not of my culture treats/food at Lunar New Year's. We make food to share! I never expect anything in return; it's mostly for the joy of celebrating the new year. Just enjoy!
posted by toastyk at 5:03 PM on January 18, 2023

I'm sure you've done this but make sure you've expressed what a nice surprise the treats were, thank your co-worker, as well as wishing them Happy New Year. Bring in treats that are specific to holidays or cultural events important to you. It gets difficult because of food restrictions, but maybe you have a great recipe for fudge on Valentine's Day or snacks for Superbowl weekend, Cajun food or King Cake on Fat Tuesday(Mardi Gras).
posted by theora55 at 6:45 PM on January 18, 2023