Dear Mr. Know-It-All, Chinese New Year is approaching and I don’t know anything about lai see etiquette. Help me out, please! – Lai See Virgin
The Year of the Horse: as good a time as any to get your red packets in order. As a general rule, lai see flows downwards. So bosses give it to employees, parents to children—and married couples to single friends. Marriage is when lai see gets serious.
What you’re going to need is several categories of red packets, depending on who your target audience is. You’ll need $20, $50, $100 and $500 notes (never coins), depending on who your recipients are. It helps to put them into different types of packets for ease of differentiation. In the lineup to CNY, set aside the crisper notes you are given in change, or that you get at ATMs. If you like, you can even go to the bank to request the crispest, most freshly ironed notes of all. If giving as a married couple, then give two packets: one from each of you.
Here, roughly, is how the different denominations of lai see work:
$20 For the people you’re mostly giving lai see out of obligation. Your laundry lady, little-seen doormen, and the security guards at work, if you feel the need. Can also take the place of tips.
$50-$100 Small children you’re ambivalent about. Also, your building security guards. This operates on a sliding scale, depending on how expensive your place is, how helpful they are, how much you want them to like you, and how much you want them to actually guard you. Remember that this is an investment in the year to come as well, so stinginess is a calculated risk that’s probably not worth it.
