While Jan. 1 has come and gone, Lunar New Year is still on the horizon. Ushering in the Year of the Dragon (which represents power, progress and luck), the holiday falls on Sunday, Feb. 10 this year. Commonly called Chinese New Year in Western culture, the celebration is actually observed by various Asian cultures and communities around the world and is steeped in tradition — from the food you eat to the clothes you wear, and even the?gifts?you give, everything should reflect the wish for happiness, health, prosperity and abundance for the year ahead.
So what makes a great Lunar New Year gift? I asked Asian business owners to share their favorites, from mouthwatering hot sauces to beautiful and timeless jewelry.
But before I get into those, the founders I spoke to also wanted to warn about the things you shouldn’t gift for Lunar New Year. “There are definitely some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when picking out Lunar New Year gifts,” says Pearl River Mart president Joanne Kwong.
You’ll want to avoid anything associated with death, so handkerchiefs, clocks and the number four are out (in Chinese, “four” sounds similar to “death”). Kwong says to stay away from sharp objects, knives (“since they imply the cutting of ties”) and shoes (“the word for shoes, xie, is a homonym for “evil”) too.
On the flip side, Kwong says, “You can’t go wrong with red envelopes (called lai see in Cantonese and hong bao in Mandarin) full of crisp new bills. The tradition is for married folks to give them to children and singletons — a great excuse to stay single, at least for the Lunar New Year!” She says $88 is a popular amount to gift since eight is a lucky number in Chinese.
You can also support the Asian community by shopping AAPI-owned businesses, like the ones included here (as well as in our roundups of Asian-owned fashion, food and home brands and AAPI-owned beauty brands). You’ll find original gift ideas that value and honor Lunar New Year’s traditions, perfect for bringing good fortune to you and your loved ones.
Editors’ favorite Lunar New Year gifts
Pearl River Mart
The first Chinese-American department store, Pearl River Mart has been operating out of downtown Manhattan for more than 50 years. With clothes, accessories, home, art and even food and snacks, the shop is the perfect place to peruse for gifts. You’ll find plenty of Lunar New Year’s goodies like the traditional red envelopes, Year of the Dragon-themed knickknacks and fun novelties for all ages.
Kwong says the annual Lunar New Year box is a great present: "It's chock-full of lucky items that will help people get started on the right foot for the [new year], including various lucky candies, dragon keepsakes, red money envelopes, a lucky charm like a diamond knot tassel (which symbolizes longevity), something noisy (like a toy drum) to scare away evil spirits (which is why firecrackers are set off on Lunar New Year day) and a Pocket Chinese Almanac, a mini book of daily household tips, health remedies and recommendations for 2024.”?
An affordable and symbolic gift, this bracelet will bring luck to the wearer with its lucky combination of jade and a red tie.
If you're attending a Lunar New Year potluck and don't want to show up empty-handed, bring some lucky candy. "Sweet candies for a sweet year!" Kwong shares, adding that candied ginger (which symbolizes health and longevity) or coconut (which represents family togetherness and unity) are traditional options.
Fly By Jing
Turn up the flavor of your Lunar New Year celebration with Fly By Jing’s delicious sauces and seasonings. Chengdu, the hometown of founder Jing Gao, is at the heart of the brand and where the products themselves are produced.
“I love making a steamed fish or hot pot for Lunar New Year, both of which symbolize abundance and togetherness, which is what the holiday is all about,” Gao shares. A jar of the fan-favorite Sichuan Chili Crisp and sweet and spicy Zhong Sauce are must-have accompaniments, of course.
A pantry staple in my household, the Sichuan Chili Crisp balances heat, crispiness, savoriness and umami in a way that will make you want to put it on everything. It makes a great gift for a foodie at any time of year, but it's especially celebratory for Lunar New Year. “If you are gifting someone for whom this year is their zodiac birth year, make sure it has some element of red in it, for good luck,” Gao says. “You are covered in this department with the Sichuan Chili Crisp.”
Gao also suggests this gift box packed with all the Fly By Jing signature flavors: Sichuan Chili Crisp, Chili Crisp Vinaigrette, Xtra Spicy Chili Crisp, Zhong Sauce and Mala Spice Mix.
Jeff Wan
Jeff Wan is a New York-based designer and creative director of his eponymous accessories brand. Hailing from Mauritius and with a background at major fashion houses like Coach, DKNY and Michael Kors, the designer’s creations elevate everyday accessories from phone cases to travel essentials.
The Lunch Box 11 is a signature style, taking inspiration from the traditional takeout box, reinventing it into a luxurious handbag with embossed leather and chic hardware. Throughout the collection, you’ll spot a deep cherry red leather that’s perfectly suited for Lunar New Year’s gifting.
"A customer favorite, this key ring keeps you organized and on track for the new year!" Wan shares. It's a personal favorite of mine as the embossed leather looks beautiful and holds up well, not to mention, it's saved me from losing my keys multiple times.
A modern alternative to the red envelope, Wan suggests gifting some new year's cash in this shiny, embossed leather card case.
Food and beverage Lunar New Year gifts
MìLà
Food is a love language for MìLà’s founders, husband and wife duo Caleb Wang and Jennifer Liao. Known for its tasty xiao long bao, MìLà (formerly Xiao Chi Jie) takes customers on a Chinese culinary journey from the comfort of their own homes. Delivering frozen soup dumplings, noodles and more, the company makes traditional Chinese flavors accessible to anyone.
Of course, food is an integral part of their Lunar New Year celebrations, right alongside their family traditions. “As we’ve gotten older, Lunar New Year has increasingly made us reflect on growing up as third culture kids, and that’s definitely reflected in how our celebrations have evolved,” Wang and Liao share.
“As eight-year-olds, we would go to our relatives’ house and follow our parents’ traditions from their homelands; as 15-year-olds, we got a little cheeky and welcomed the Lunar New Year as it signaled a wave of red envelopes with cash in them when our family’s friends came over to celebrate; now, as adults, we have our own traditions embracing our dual American roots and friends (aka chosen family), offering to host dumpling making and eating parties with food as a common language and teacher.”
Available with pork, pork and shrimp or chicken, these tasty and tender soup dumplings can be prepared in under 15 minutes, making for a perfect weekday lunch, dinner or snack.
Choose from an assortment of delicious noodles, like Spicy Dan Dan Noodles with pork or the vegan Carmelized Scallion Noodles.
Need a gift for a major foodie? MìLà's gift experience includes a bag of dumplings, three noodles and three sauces, plus a steamer basket and a set of dipping bowls and chopsticks.
Sanzo
Sanzo founder Sandro Roco, a Queens-born Filipino American, created the sparkling beverage brand to bridge the gap between East and West. With Asian-inspired flavors including lychee, yuzu, calamansi, mango and pomelo, the colorful cans are crisp and refreshing to sip on, without any of the added sugar familiar to Asian fizzy drinks. Each flavor is made with real fruit, so you get the true essence of the Asian ingredients.
"Culturally, fruit carries a lot of symbolism, and around Lunar New Year it is common to eat pomelo, ancestor of the grapefruit, because they are an expression of love and good luck," Roco says. "Our Sanzo Pomelo flavored sparkling water is a fun way to incorporate this special fruit into Lunar New Year celebrations — give it as a gift or use it as a mixer in cocktails and alcohol-free drinks.”
Try all five of Sanzo's flavors in a variety pack. Serve them chilled or poured over ice for the best tasting experience.
Lunar New Year fashion gifts
Kinn
Kinn’s chic and modern 14-karat solid gold pieces will last a lifetime. In fact, they’re designed to be modern heirlooms and thus make beautiful gifts to pass along to loved ones. “Many choose this day to wear something new as it helps to signify a ‘clean start,’” founder Jennie Yoon says of Lunar New Year. “A new addition for someone’s wardrobe is often a welcome gift!”
For the holiday, Yoon created a symbolic nameplate necklace that she hopes resonates with anyone in the AAPI community and connects to her own Korean heritage. “When I first arrived in the States, I was tasked with choosing a Western name that was more common and easier to pronounce,” Yoon shares. “I soon became known as Jennie and my birth name,????(Hye-Jung), became a distant memory. My hope is this piece resonates with those that have a similar story and allows them to reconnect to their origin stories and honor tradition.”
The necklace is available in Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese script, and Yoon says it’s important to keep variations between cultures in mind when shopping for a Lunar New Year gift. In Korean culture, for example, Yoon says “white symbolizes purity.” However, Ling shares that white and black are “traditionally worn by Chinese in times of mourning” and should be avoided during the holiday. So depending on who you’re celebrating with, you’ll want to be mindful of the colors you wear, gift and even wrap presents with.
"The nameplate necklace is an ode to immigrant families and the many challenges they’ve had to face while building a new life here," Yoon says.
"Gifting a significant color is a no-fail way to help honor tradition," Yoon says. Green symbolizes wealth and harmony in China, a fresh start and growth in Korea and vitality and life in Japan, making it a thoughtful gesture for the new year.
Senreve
Senreve’s luxury handbags and accessories marry design and versatility, so the customer doesn’t have to compromise on fashion and function. It was founded by a former strategy consultant and tech executive in search of a bag that could keep up with her busy lifestyle, so each design is carefully considered for practicality and quality. From laptop-sized bags to convertible details, the styles can go with you anywhere. Not to mention, each piece is made with Italian leather that is just as elegant as it is durable.
"This Lunar New Year, we’re getting fiery and passionate with all the red hues that demand attention," says founder and CEO Coral Chung. "The color that was ablaze on the fall/winter runways is sure to turn up the heat on up your wardrobe."
"This being the Year of the Dragon, we’re all about the aptly named Dragon Leather!" Chung shares. "This embossed material mimics the texture and color variations of crocodile (so every bag is entirely unique)." The versatile style can be worn as a backpack, crossbody or tote and is conveniently sized to fit a tablet.
"This chic do-it-all style has good fortune written all over it," Chung says. "Don’t be fooled by its cute size. The Mini Fortuna is a true multitasker with internal card slots, a foldable design (it literally becomes a fortune cookie) and endless ways to wear it."
Lunar New Year beauty gifts
Pink Moon
Highlighting women-owned brands, Pink Moon offers a selection of skin care, cosmetics and home products that boost holistic wellness and are influenced by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). With the ability to shop by ritual (astrology, TCM, aromatherapy and more), you can find what resonates with you. Recently, founder?Lin Chen introduced the marketplace’s own line of astrology-themed skin care, Once In A Pink Moon, which is influenced by TCM, Ayurveda and the astrological elements.
Chen says this brightening moisturizer is fitting for Lunar New Year since the holiday always falls on the Aquarius new moon. It combats dull winter skin with ingredients like niacinamide and peptides, and also contains licorice root, a TCM element that nourishes qi (energy flow).
According to Chen, anything with citrus is a good Lunar New Year gift, as it "calls in luck, joy and creativity." This vibrant perfume oil is made with a blend of orange, mandarin, lavender, rosemary and cedarwood essential oils. To top it off, it features a yellow topaz rollerball and crystals within the bottle for abundance, protection and harmony, and has been treated by reiki master Jackie Ho.
Sundays
Sundays’ nontoxic nail polishes come in a myriad of shades, and the selection of reds make for an especially auspicious Lunar New Year gift. You can pick up a single polish or, as founder Amy Ling suggests, customize a box of three polishes with symbolic shades. “Red represents luck and all three reds can represent different areas in life: good luck for your health, good luck for a great career and good luck for your relationships.”
Plus, you won’t have to worry about offending with the unlucky number four. “In Chinese culture, people are really sensitive to words of affirmation and symbolism,” Ling explains. “For instance, the number four can be symbolic of ‘death’ in Chinese, so?definitely avoid anything with the number four in it.”
Completely customizable, you can choose three nail polish shades to include in this gift set. From fiery No. 13 to rich No. 18, Sundays has 10 red shades to choose from that would be perfect for Lunar New Year.
You can also purchase the nail polish as single bottles. No. 13 is an award-winning chili pepper red that will match your Lunar New Year's envelopes.
Lanshin
Founded by Sandra Chiu, a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and master of science in TCM, Lanshin’s collection of beauty products will help you start the new year off with a focus on wellness. From award-winning gua sha tools to a curation of replenishing skin care, the AAPI-owned beauty brand’s offerings support the skin and body through TCM principles and ingredients.
“Things that support your loved one’s health and vitality make ideal gifts,” Chiu shares. “Health is highly valued in East Asian culture, and we are often asking after each other’s health, especially of our elders.”
"The Double Happiness Set, which features two Lanshin Hot Massagers by Acera, with special pricing is perfect because we love health and doubles are considered lucky in many Asian cultures," Chiu says.
Lanshin's tools are made in a number of natural stones, and the jade versions are great for Lunar New Year. "The Lanshin Intro Gua Sha Tool?or Sculpting Spoon in jade are also ideal gifts because gua sha promotes health and jade is highly valued for its ability to generate and protect one’s health," Chiu explains.
Youthforia
Some makeup may claim to last all day and night, but Fiona Co Chan’s viral beauty brand takes it even further and offers makeup that you can sleep in. Yep, each product is formulated with good-for-your-skin ingredients that act like skin care. Coincidentally, this element is actually important around Lunar New Year — while preparations for the holiday include “a big house cleaning, getting a hair cut and buying new clothes to wear during the New Year period,” according to Co Chan, “after the new year, we don’t clean, shower or cut our hair because we don’t want to sweep away, wash away or cut away our good luck.” With Youthforia, you can get glam for your celebrations and preserve your good fortune.
This color-changing blush oil reacts with the skin's natural pH, giving each wearer a custom shade match.
This serum-like foundation is lightweight and glowy, with 68% skin care actives for benefits like reducing the look of pores and oil control.
This setting spray protects the skin from environmental pollutants while hydrating the skin with glycerin.
Strange Bird
Strange Bird founder and artist?Tina Chow Rudolf?says the Lunar New Year marks a time to refocus on self-care and mindfulness. Whether you set a?New Year’s resolution?or continue to support healthy habits you established last year, everyone can benefit from taking the time to reconnect with themselves. Strange Bird supports this through its skin care and wellness rituals.
With a touch of red to symbolize good fortune and abundance, Rudolf says this soothing roller ball "would be a perfect little treat for anyone."
Wrap your Lunar New Year gift in this reusable cloth, made from recycled plastic and designed by Japanese artist Chie Ushio. Called bāo fu or furoshiki, the cloth is traditionally used to hold or protect an object, and it can also double as a headwrap.?
