Look Ma, No Regifting! 10 Culturally-Appropriate Presents for Spring Festival

Spring Festival is now in full swing, but choosing seasonal gifts for Chinese friends can be a knotty task for expats – especially newcomers to Beijing. If you’re confused about how to pick out that perfect tasteful gift, fear not! We’ve compiled a list of 10 culturally-appropriate Spring Festival presents to suit every age range and situation.
 

Flowers

Bouquets of flowers not only help welcome a sense of spring into the house, they look pretty damn good too. Brightly-colored flowers will always be appreciated when visiting a Chinese family, just don't choose chrysanthemums as they tend to be used as funeral flowers – not a good look when trying to impress your gracious hosts.
 

Lucky Plants

Some houseplants in China have particularly auspicious-sounding names, such as 富贵竹 fùguì zhú, literally "rich" bamboo or lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana). There’s also 金橘 jīn jú (potted kumquat), whose name happens to contain the word “gold” (金). Both of these should be readily available at your local flower market.
 

Gift Baskets

Around this time every year, the shelves at major supermarkets are piled with assorted gift baskets featuring fruits, nuts, snacks, and more. All of them are packed with nutritious morsels that no family in their right mind wouldn't want to pick at between bouts of jiaozi. In that regard, they can be a godsend if you’re in a hurry.
 

Traditional Pastry Gift Boxes

Giving traditional pastries is a popular practice around Spring Festival. Follow the example of Beijingers and head to local favorite Daoxiangcun (稻香村) to pick up assorted gift boxes. Pastries include lotus seed shortbread, fresh flower rose cookie, and the slightly more out-there beef tongue pastries. Get the lowdown on what is exactly on offer at "Beijing's oldest pastry shop" here.

Tea

Chinese people’s love for tea never abates – especially the elderly. An elegantly-wrapped box of green tea will undoubtedly strike their fancy, and if they already have enough at home, at least it makes for a present ripe for regifting.

Cigarettes

Though China has encouraged people to choose health-conscious gifts in recent years, cigarettes remain a popular gift around major holidays. This one will be off-putting to many expats but the fact remains that lighting up is part of many (mostly men's) daily lives. If you are going to provide the gift of death this year, select a classic brand like Zhonghua (pictured above).

Liquor

Another one that'll make most foreigners flinch, a hair-raising bottle of baijiu never goes amiss if you're trying to impress. Alternatively, a nice bottle of wine also makes for a good gift, and (selfishly) has the benefit of being more palatable for you.

Health Products

Now that you've smoked and drunk yourself stupid, it may be time to gift those secret pills you stashed in your bag for the occasion. Despite what the previous two gifts may indicate, Chinese people are becoming much more health-conscious. As such, the drug industry is booming and royal jelly, vitamins, fish oil capsules, and imported infant formula have become sought-after gifts.

Toys

You can’t go wrong with gifts for the little ones. Generally, the same rules apply here as they do in the West – choose something age appropriate and you should be fine. Giving hongbao to younger family members is also still a big part of Spring Festival gatherings. If you're unsure of how best to stuff your red packet, read our handy guide here.

Calligraphy, Paintings, and Couplets

During Chinese New Year, people like to deck out their homes with tons of red decorations. Tasteful paintings of fish (a homonym for 余 yú “surplus”), delicate paper cuttings, paper couplets for the door, or images of whichever zodiac sign is being ushered in that year should all go down well with your hosts.

Photo: chinadaily.com , singaporeflorist.com, news.cultural-china.com, alicn.com, xinhuanet.com