Chinese New Years Gift

[enfilade]

Hi,

 

I have a Chinese girlfriend, from Hong Kong to be exact and I was wondering if I should buy her a gift for Chinese new years. I don't know much about the culture and I have been looking online but cant find much information about what to do for your girlfriend if anything for Chinese new year

 

She is also away from home and has no family around during this Chinese new year. 

 

Any help would greatly be appreciated

 

thanks

 

[geraldc]

If she's a 港女，a Hermes/LV handbag?

[Lu]

To my knowledge, CNY is not really a gift holiday. There are the 'red envelopes' with money, but these are given by parents to their young children, or by older children with jobs to their aging parents, or by employers to their employees. Don't give your girlfriend a red envelope, basically.

My first suggestion would be to ask her what she expects from a boyfriend at Chinese New Year (or what boyfriends generally do for girlfriends for CNY). That will give you the best information.

If that feels wrong or is difficult, a gift is always nice of course, but what exactly really depends on how long you've been together, what your budget is, and of course what kind of things she likes. If you have lots of money and she loves fashion and brand names, an expensive handbag is great. If you don't have lots of money and/or she's not that into handbags, something else is better.

[jbradfor]

Being away from her family on CNY, I think the best thing you can do is be her family.

 

Trying to think of specific suggestions.  If she hasn't already, help her decorate her place: buy those red signs with writing on them (look for 福), tangerines (with the leaves still on).  Take her to a Chinese restaurant, Wednesday (CNY eve) if possible.  Find a bunch of fireworks and set them off :-)

[jbradfor]

Another thought.  You would need to judge for yourself if this is appropriate based on her personality and your relationship, but if you want to buy her a gift, maybe red lingerie?

 

I know, I know, most women don't think receiving lingerie is really a gift.  But there is a CNY tradition of wearing red underwear / socks.  And I'm thinking you can play off that, while still picking something appropriate for a bf/gf.