Chinese New Year is the biggest gifting occasion in Singapore’s business calendar. If you have clients, partners or staff there, getting it right shows you understand the market and care about the relationship. Skip it and your competitors probably won’t.
Timing, etiquette, what to give and how to get it there:
When is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year moves each year with the lunar calendar. In 2027 it falls on Saturday 6 February, with Singapore’s public holidays running through Monday 8 February. The broader festive season runs from roughly two weeks before the date through to the Lantern Festival fifteen days later.
For corporate gifts, the window that matters is the two weeks before Chinese New Year. Gifts that arrive then feel timely. Gifts that turn up after the date feel late.
So your order needs to be in by Friday 27 November for hampers and gift sets, or Friday 18 December for standard items. That leaves time for production, checks and delivery before the festive season starts in late January.
Why Chinese New Year gifting matters for business in Singapore
About three in four Singaporeans are ethnically Chinese, and Chinese New Year is a public holiday the whole business community marks. Corporate gifting around it is standard in most industries.
For overseas companies, a CNY gift shows you understand the market. It also keeps you in the picture at a time when your clients are hearing from all their other business contacts.
Do it every year and it gets noticed, because relationships count for a lot in Singapore business.
What to give for Chinese New Year
Premium food hampers. The classic CNY corporate gift. Good snacks, teas and sweets feel festive, and local favourites in branded packaging make a hamper feel chosen rather than generic. Leave out alcohol if you’re not sure it suits the recipient.
Branded gift sets. A few good branded items in festive packaging combine your brand with the occasion. Think good drinkware, a notebook and a local snack in red and gold packaging.
Red packets with branded merchandise. Red packets, or ang pao, are the symbol of Chinese New Year. Many companies print their own branded ones each year, and a set paired with a small premium item or a gift card makes a good gift.
Premium single items. A good insulated tumbler, a leather notebook or a premium desk accessory in festive packaging works well for individual clients. At CNY, people expect gifts to feel premium, not just practical.
What to avoid
Clocks. In Chinese culture, gifting a clock is associated with death and is deeply inauspicious. Avoid entirely.
Shoes. They suggest walking away from the relationship. Not a corporate gift.
Green hats. A green hat means your partner is cheating on you. Not a common gift, but worth knowing if you’re ordering caps in your brand colour.
Cheap or low-quality items. CNY gifts are about respect, and a cheap item says the opposite. Fewer good gifts beat lots of cheap ones.
Anything the recipient has to pay to receive. If a gift from overseas lands the recipient with a GST bill, it’s a chore, not a gesture. It’s one of the best reasons to source CNY gifts in Singapore.
CNY gifting etiquette for overseas companies
Presentation matters. At CNY, how a gift looks counts. Red and gold are the traditional colours, and a gift in good packaging with a personal card lands far better than the same thing in a plain brown box.
Include a personal message. A short card wishing them a prosperous New Year and thanking them for the year adds warmth. English is fine.
Gifts may not be opened straight away. In Chinese business culture people often open gifts later, not in front of the giver. It’s politeness, not disinterest.
Numbers matter. Four sounds like the word for death, so avoid sets of four. Two, six and especially eight, which sounds like the word for prosperity, are lucky.
Planning your CNY campaign timeline
Working back from Chinese New Year on Saturday 6 February 2027:
October to November 2026: Decide on gifts, quantities and recipients, and brief your Singapore fulfilment partner. Approve designs and samples, and pin down delivery addresses.
Friday 27 November 2026: Last day to order hampers and gift sets with custom packaging. They take five to six weeks, and the year-end slowdown from 20 December to 3 January adds two more.
Friday 18 December 2026: Last comfortable day to order standard items like tumblers and notebooks. Three weeks is usually plenty, but Christmas and New Year fall in between, so get your order in before the break.
4 to 12 January 2027: Standard items are still possible, but it’s cutting it close. Get in touch the same day. After that, our Ready to Ship range (five days to make, one to deliver) still works until 16 January, or WhatsApp us and we’ll tell you honestly what’s still possible.
Friday 22 January 2027: Gifts in hand, ready to deliver in the two weeks before Chinese New Year on 6 February.
Not sure where you stand? Put your date into the order-by date checker on our homepage.
Earlier is better. Good suppliers fill up in November and December as CNY orders come in, so brief in October and you get more choice, better prices and more reliable delivery.
Getting CNY gifts to Singapore from overseas
Shipping CNY gifts to Singapore from the US, UK or Australia is risky. International shipping takes 5 to 10 business days in a normal week, and freight gets busier and less predictable before CNY. A shipment that misses the window arrives after the occasion and loses most of its impact.
It’s more reliable to use a Singapore-based partner who sources, packs and delivers your gifts locally. Nothing has to clear customs and delivery is in your partner’s hands, so your recipients get their gifts before Chinese New Year, in good condition.
If you’re gifting lots of people in Singapore, it also saves the international shipping cost on every package.
Related: Corporate Christmas gifts in Singapore · Corporate gifting in Singapore · Best corporate gifts for Singapore clients