It’s that time of the year again! When you can get yāsuì qián (red envelopes for warding off old age or bad luck) from older/close relatives. But it only applies to those that are unmarried. For the rest, it’s time to share some of your hard-earned wealth! Rest assured that there are plenty of pretty AND cute red envelopes for Lunar New Year.
You don’t have to stick to the traditional envelopes (IF you don’t want to).
More modern red envelopes have unique designs with a little sprinkle of the traditional phrases. After all, you want to wish the receiver good fortune and health for the rest of the year.
So here’s my pick of 7 pretty and cute red envelopes for Lunar New Year!
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Mix of Zodiac Animal and Traditional Phrases
Guess what zodiac animal we are celebrating for 2022? It’s the tiger! Apparently, people born in this year are brave, competitive but also irritable and overindulgent.
Are you born in the year of the tiger?
Anyways, these Lunar New Year envelopes are pretty cute! They have a cartoonish depiction of the tiger zodiac wearing outfits that match traditional blessings.
Such as 万事如意 (Wànshì rúyì): meaning “May everything go well with you (this year is implied).”
Or 升官发财 (shēng guān fā cái): meaning “May you get promoted and receive a raise (this year is implied)”
It’s the envelope with the tiger wearing glasses, holding a book and a fan. Because it implies smart folks get promoted easily? XD
The other phrases in these set of envelopes are:
- 神来气旺 (Shén lái qì wàng): Not a traditional phrase that I commonly hear but this phrase is synonymous with vitality and strength
- 健康如意 (Jiànkāng rúyì): May you have good health, but worded differently than I’m used to
- 时来运转 (Shílái yùn zhuǎn): Your day will come, not sure why this phrase is here though (sounds off)
The envelopes are cute (even if some of the phrases are a bit off) so if you want ones with a mix of the zodiac animal, check these out!
Unique Universal Red Envelopes
I personally bought a few of these, they are just so pretty! And at first glance, you would think these can fit other special occasions (like weddings maybe?)
But it’s really easy to put together! There’s a slight flap that you need to fold in to make the visuals POP. It looks really well made as the cut-out is from cardstock I believe.
If you want some really pretty, UNIQUE red envelopes, definitely check these out!
Simple but cute red envelopes
While we’re on the trend of envelopes with artistic patterns, here’s another set of envelopes that are simple but cute. There’s not a lot of Chinese characters on these ones, just one simple character.
福 (fu) – aka “blessing”
Simple and to the point right?
But the floral design is cute ^^
I’m pleasantly surprised at designs nowadays because when I was growing up, the red envelopes I got were small with random designs. Some that looked like one of those statues from buddhist temples.
And they were small so your bills HAD to be folded.
But now you have options to keep your bills crisp and straight. It’s the small things that matter most right?
Onto the next one!
Colorful shiny envelopes with common greetings/phrases
Ooooh who doesn’t love color and shininess? So these ones have a slight shimmer and a pop of color! And you’ll note that these ones also have some Chinese characters.
The ones in this set are actually the most common greetings or phrases one would say during the Lunar New Year.
Such as 新年快乐 (Xīn nián kuàilè) meaning “Happy new year.”
There’s also 万事如意 (Wànshì rúyì) again. Meaning “May everything go well with you (this year is implied).”
The others are:
- 大吉大利 (dà jí dà lì) meaning “May you have great luck and great profit (again, this year is implied).”
- 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) meaning “May you be happy and prosperous.”
Gold Foil design with flowers and bamboo shoots
Manufacturers of red envelopes seem to just LOVE using gold foil in their designs. But this is an interesting take on it. I think the entire envelope is made up of the gold foil.
Not just the shiny parts.
No Chinese characters here but detailed strokes of flower artwork. It is a little different than most red envelopes I’ve seen but I wouldn’t mind giving these to my close friends to celebrate Lunar New Year.
As I’m pretty sure they are bored of the more common ones.
Envelopes that are made of silk and cloth
I thought these weren’t around anymore! It’s kinda odd to have money in envelopes made out of silk with a tassel.. But if you look at the embroidery on these envelopes, it’s actually pretty neat.
I can’t sew that well but I definitely appreciate the skills of those who can! If I ever end up getting transmigrated into ancient China, I would be doomed T_T
Anyways, I remember seeing these get passed around when the receiver is a very young child. Because then they won’t accidentally rip the envelope by tugging on it.
While with paper, that could potentially happen. Of course, that rule isn’t set in stone so if you fancy these envelopes and want to use these, you are more than welcome!
Kid friendly cartoon envelopes
Hope you’ve been enjoying the variety of red envelopes so far! Last but not least, here are some kid-friendly cute red envelopes for Lunar New Year!
I say “kid-friendly” but anyone can enjoy them, not just kids ^^
Adorable, tiger cartoon designs to showcase the zodiac animal for the year! Oh and the round ear tips at the top of the envelope opening XD
Because it’s representing a tiger with the round ears instead of a traditional red envelope.
Hope you enjoyed my picks of pretty and cute red envelopes for the Lunar New Year! I may stock up on a few more as I have some nieces and nephews to gift money to.
What kind of red envelopes designs would catch your eye? And if you had friends/families to give to, what would you choose?
Leave a comment below!
P.S. Lunar New Year is on Feb. 1st 2022 this year.
