What Chinese New Year gifts should you give in Singapore?

By Terry Tan 13 November 2026

On this page

CNY gifts at a glance: who each suits and when to order
Customs: oranges in pairs, never a clock
Family: a figurine of everyone, given with the oranges
Colleagues and staff: one gift, each name
Clients: a desk piece they keep outlasts a hamper
Order-by dates before CNY
Frequently asked

A living room coffee table at Chinese New Year with mandarin oranges, red packets, a tub of pineapple tarts and a gift bag on the sofa

For Chinese New Year in Singapore, the gift that’s always right is a pair of mandarin oranges for the host, plus a red packet (ang bao) for the children if you’re married. Anything more should follow the lucky customs and be personal enough to keep. The table below shows what suits whom and when to order for Chinese New Year on Saturday 6 February 2027.

CNY gifts at a glance: who each suits and when to order

Gift	Who it suits	Order by (for Thursday 4 February)
Hand-painted family Mini Me, Animated or Realistic	Parents, grandparents, the reunion host	Pay by Monday 4 January
Colour Print Mini Me, in four colours	Family, close colleagues	Pay by Monday 25 January
Paint your own Mini Me, blank with paints	Children, a family painting afternoon	Pay by Monday 25 January
Steel luggage tag or titanium flask, name engraved	One colleague, a team, or all staff	Proof by Friday 22 January (courier) or Monday 25 January (collect)
Acrylic award or flask, logo engraved or UV printed	Clients	Proof by Friday 22 January (courier) or Monday 25 January (collect)
Engraved crystal award	Senior clients, long-service staff	Ask us, then proof by Tuesday 12 January (courier) or Wednesday 13 January (collect)
Desk piece designed from scratch, like a mascot or maze	Clients	Confirm the design eight weeks ahead; tell us your date early

Lead times: a hand-painted Mini Me takes about four weeks after you approve the 3D preview, the other Mini Me styles about a week. Engraving takes 5 to 7 working days after you approve the free proof, crystal 10 to 15. That is for a piece up to about 10 to 15 cm across; larger pieces take longer, so check with us.

Dates: every date is an estimate. If one has already passed, ask us what we can still make in time.

Hampers and oranges: we don’t sell these, but the customs below explain how to give them.

From S$18

Keychain

The family portrait on brushed steel, for the visits and the reunion dinner.

Illustration: an example design, not a real order.

Illustration of a mirror steel luggage tag engraved with a line drawing

From S$39

Photo luggage tag

Mirror steel on leather, engraved with a drawing from your photo.

Illustration: an example design, not a real order.

From S$38

Engrave their bottle

Bring the bottle they already love and watch it engraved at our studio.

From S$49

Mini Me figurine

A 3D figurine sculpted from their photos.

Browse the gifts we engrave in-house

Customs: oranges in pairs, never a clock

What makes a CNY gift right is custom, not price, and it varies by family.

Oranges in pairs. Visitors give the host a pair and get a pair back. In Cantonese, the fruit’s name sounds like the word for gold (Roots, National Heritage Board).
Ang bao come from married people, and traditionally go to children and unmarried younger relatives, in an even amount (Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre). Skip any amount with a 4 in it; an 8 stands for wealth (Honeycombers).
Fit notes or e-hong bao. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) encourages clean used notes, fit for an ATM, or e-hong bao (digital red packets) instead of new notes (MAS).
Avoid clocks, blades and sets of four, and wrap gifts in red or gold, not black or white, which signal mourning (HSBC Singapore).

A visitor in red handing a pair of mandarin oranges with their leaves to the host at a flat's front door — Oranges are given in pairs, with both hands.

Tell us who is on your list and we'll suggest a gift

Family: a figurine of everyone, given with the oranges

Within the family, oranges and red packets are the usual gifts. Add a keepsake only for the people you want to thank properly.

For parents and grandparents, give a hand-painted Mini Me of the whole family, sculpted from your photos, with up to eight people in one scene.
For the kids, give a Paint your own Mini Me: a blank figurine of themselves, with paints to colour it.
For family far away, courier it to their door in a gift box.

Our guide to a custom figurine from a photo shows how the photos become a figure.

Two things to plan for:

Hand-painting takes about four weeks after you approve the 3D preview, so order by Monday 4 January.
A hand-painted scene of three or more people starts at the 20 cm size, and you see the total before you pay.

A woman handing a red gift box with a gold ribbon to her smiling grandparents on a sofa, with two children in red and a bowl of mandarin oranges nearby — The gift that matters most goes to the people hosting.

Illustration of a small painted figurine of a family of four in red festive clothes on one round base, beside a bowl of mandarin oranges and red packets — Illustration: a whole family on one base, painted in festive red.

Start a family Mini Me

Colleagues and staff: one gift, each name

At work, keep it small, useful and the same for everyone: a steel luggage tag or titanium flask with each person’s own name engraved, and your logo if you like. Orders of 10 or more get a volume quote, and our guide to personalised corporate gifts compares the engraving and printing options.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) doesn’t tax festive gifts, cash or not, that go to all staff and are “not exceeding $200” per occasion. Above that, the whole value is taxed, not just the part over the limit (IRAS).

Two things to plan for:

Engraving takes 5 to 7 working days after you approve the free digital proof.
Send the name list early, in one file. Checking the proof is how a misspelling gets caught.

A blue stainless travel tumbler laser engraved with the words OWN YOUR STRENGTHS — One face of each tumbler carries the team's shared message.

A matte black travel tumbler engraved with a first name in flowing script — The other face carries the person's own name.

Send your staff list and hand-out date for a volume quote

Clients: a desk piece they keep outlasts a hamper

A hamper is safe but gone in a week, while a piece with your logo on it stays on the client’s desk.

From the catalogue: pick a piece from our gift catalogue, such as a layered acrylic award on oak, and we engrave your logo on it or UV print it in full colour (ink cured hard by ultraviolet light).
Made from scratch: we design a mascot figurine, or a maze in the shape of your product, through our customised corporate gifts service.

A piece from scratch is quoted as a project with design rounds, so tell us your date when you first ask: it takes about eight weeks once you confirm the design.

A painted microphone mascot figurine in a black bucket hat and round sunglasses, singing into a mic on a stand, on a green base marked SHURE 100 YEARS — One of the mascots we printed, painted and boxed for Shure's 100th anniversary. See the project

Plan a client gift

Order-by dates before CNY

The table counts back from Thursday 4 February, the last full working day before the eve; the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) lists the public holidays and any day in lieu. Handing gifts out earlier? Move each date back by the same number of days.

Every date is an estimate, and you approve a Mini Me’s artwork, sometimes over a few rounds, before you pay, so start a few days early. Collection from our Bendemeer studio is free.

Check whether your hand-out date fits

Frequently asked

What is a good Chinese New Year gift in Singapore?

The Chinese New Year gift that's always right in Singapore is a pair of mandarin oranges for the host, plus a red packet for the children and unmarried relatives if you're married. For someone you want to thank properly, add something they'll keep, like a piece engraved with their name or your logo, or a figurine of their family.

How many mandarin oranges should you bring when visiting for Chinese New Year?

Bring one pair of mandarin oranges for each home you visit at Chinese New Year, plus a spare pair. You hand the pair to the host with a greeting, and the host usually gives you a pair back.

Who gives ang bao, and how much should you put in?

Married people give ang bao, traditionally to children and unmarried younger relatives. There's no fixed amount: keep it even, avoid any figure with a 4 in it, and favour an 8 if you like.

What gifts should you avoid giving at Chinese New Year?

At Chinese New Year, avoid giving clocks, sharp objects such as knives and scissors, or anything in a set of four. A clock sounds like attending a funeral in Mandarin, blades suggest cutting the relationship off, and four is linked to death. Black or white wrapping is linked to mourning, so wrap in red or gold.

When should I order corporate Chinese New Year gifts for 2027?

Corporate Chinese New Year gifts for 2027 should be ordered weeks ahead: pay for a hand-painted Mini Me by Monday 4 January, and approve an engraved gift's proof by Friday 22 January for courier delivery or Monday 25 January to collect. Those dates have the gifts in hand by Thursday 4 February, ahead of Chinese New Year on Saturday 6 February 2027. For anything designed from scratch, tell us your date when you first ask, because it takes about eight weeks once the design is confirmed.

Are Chinese New Year gifts and ang bao for staff taxable in Singapore?

Chinese New Year gifts and ang bao for staff are usually not taxable in Singapore if every employee gets one and each is worth no more than $200 per occasion. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore treats cash and non-cash gifts alike, and taxes the full value of a gift over the limit, not just the excess.

Is a hamper a good corporate Chinese New Year gift?

A hamper is a safe corporate Chinese New Year gift, because the food gets shared and nobody minds. Check the contents suit everyone, such as halal-certified items for Muslim colleagues, and pair it with one small piece carrying your logo if you want them to remember who sent it after the food is gone.

Can you send a Chinese New Year gift straight to someone's home?

Yes, a Chinese New Year gift such as a Mini Me can be couriered to any address in Singapore in a gift box with your note. Engraved catalogue gifts can also be couriered islandwide or collected free from our Bendemeer studio.

What Chinese New Year gifts should you give in Singapore?