For ages, sending gifts to relatives, teachers, and friends has become an unskippable part of Vietnamese people’s Lunar New Year, or Tet, celebrations.
Back in the day, a Tet gift set usually included simple items such as a bottle of wine, a box of cookies or candies, some fruits, and some flowers, wrapped neatly and carried in a bamboo basket.
As the Lunar New Year holiday draws near, it is time to start shopping for gift sets to send our friends and relatives. From gift sets boxed with ice-cream to ones covered in eco-friendly packaging, this year’s Vietnamese Tet gift sets with unique contents and packaging won’t disappoint your giftees.
Image credit: Got Bun?
Joining the beloved restaurant Got Bun?‘s popular Tet snacks such as honey-flavored dried potatoes and crispy dried coconuts are ice-cream sets, with unique and refreshing tastes that make great frozen treats for every occasion.
Consisting of 4 portions of firm and flavorful gelato and accompanied by a bag of said honey-flavored dried potatoes and dried coconuts as toppings, this gift set makes a creative, wholesome, and tasty dessert.
Image credit: Got Bun?
To keep the ice cream from melting so it arrives cold, the shop will secure the ice cream boxes with dry ice before delivery.
Address: 435/23 Tran Hung Dao, Cau Kho Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 11AM-9PM, Daily
Telephone: 0778 649 404
Sweet cookies
Image adapted from: Butter Land
Crunchy, buttery, and sweet, cookies are many people’s favorite holiday season snacks. Even though cookies are usually part of Tet gift sets, most sets contain only 1 box of cookies, limiting you to that one flavor.
To bring more choices to picky eaters, Butter Land, a homegrown bakery in Phu Nhuan District, now has cookie sets with combinations of crowd-pleasing flavors such as peanut, cranberry, chocolate-flavored coconut, and matcha.
Salty cookies
Image adapted from: Butter Land
Those who don’t have a sweet tooth won’t feel out of place here, as the shop also offers salty cookies featuring the flavors of seaweed with salted egg and spicy chicken floss.
Sausage slices
Image adapted from: Butter Land
Sour and sweet pineapple cakes and savoury sausages are also among the gift set items which you can add to your gift basket for extra flavors.
The bakery doesn’t sell ready-made cookies, so order 1 to 2 days in advance to customize your preferred flavors and have your favorite cookies freshly baked and delivered to your doorstep.
Image adapted from: Doanh nghiệp xã hội Nhà May Mắn – Maison Chance
This year, Maison Chance is offering Tet gift sets boasting Vietnam’s highland specialties such as coffee-flavored honey, macadamia nuts, and cashew nuts. Joining these local goodies are 2 boxes of cookies featuring matcha and chocolate flavors.
Image adapted from: Doanh nghiệp xã hội Nhà May Mắn – Maison Chance
Each gift set is priced at VND489,000 (~USD21.20) and comes with a lovely brocaded buffalo figurine as a gift.
This price and freebie are only available until 3rd February 2021.
Image adapted from: Doanh nghiệp xã hội Nhà May Mắn – Maison Chance
Originally a charity organization, Saigon-based Maison Chance provides shelter to thousands of orphans and disadvantaged children.
Because these gift sets are made by the children living at Maison Chance shelters, the revenue will go directly to charity and help keep the place running.
Address: 38D, Road 18B, Street 22, Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City
Telephone: 0909 06 2528 I 0983 138 431
Website
Image adapted from: Phùng Ân – Quà Tết Cao Cấp
Besides having a pleasant scent and stress-reducing effects, aromatic incense can also be used when burning offerings for deities and ancestors during the Lunar New Year.
Image adapted from: Phùng Ân – Quà Tết Cao Cấp
With this in mind, Phùng Ân Heritage has offered gift sets containing a box of aromatic incense that comes with a ceramic censer made in the famous Bat Trang craft village.
Image adapted from: Phùng Ân – Quà Tết Cao Cấp
Other items included in this VND1,350,00 (~USD58.52) gift set include a bag of Da Lat black tea, a box of sarsaparilla candy, a box of brown rice candies, and a box of peanut-filled candies.
Image adapted from: Phùng Ân – Quà Tết Cao Cấp
Add a little booze and class to your gift set by ordering an additional bottle of locally made apricot wine (VND320,000,~USD13.87) or plum wine (VND350,000,~USD15.17).
You can place your order by contacting the shop via its phone number or on its Facebook page.
Telephone: 096 9779 895
Website
Image adapted from: The Brownie Club
Bursting with chocolate flavors, brownies are a great-tasting and mood-boosting treat that everyone can indulge in – in moderation, of course – at any time of the day and in all occasions.
At The Brownie Club, a Saigon-based online bakery, brownies are made from ingredients imported from France with a shelf life of up to 7 days since the time of baking.
Image adapted from: The Brownie Club
You can choose between a 6-piece set, priced at VND150,000 (~USD6.50) and a 8-piece set, costing VND200,000 (~USD8.67). For a more complete teatime combo, you can order an extra bottle of light-tasting Lavender Earl Grey Tea (VND45,000,~USD1.95), a harmonious complement to the strong flavors of the brownies.
Telephone: 0977 223 551
Image adapted from: Nut Corner
Loaded with fiber, protein, and unsaturated fat, nuts are good substitutes for meat-based snacks for health-conscious eaters. Plus, these tasty and guilt-free snacks also make you feel full faster.
For healthy and fat-free treats that your friends or relatives can snack on 24/7 and thank you later, look no further than Nut Corner.
For a Phat Loc 1 gift set priced at VND719,000 (~USD31.17), customers can choose among Australian macadamias, walnuts, roasted almonds, apricots, mangos, and zucchini. The set also includes a tiramisu cake and a bottle of strawberry jam.
Image adapted from: Nut Corner
Priced at VND999,000 (~USD43.30), a Tai Loc 1 gift box comes with 3 boxes of nuts with flavors of your choice, and a bottle of wine.
Address: A75/18 Bach Dang, Ward 2, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City
Telephone: 0901 862 795
Image adapted from: Xì-lô trà
When it comes to gift-giving, you really can’t go wrong with the classics such as tea. Not only can tea be served in any setting and on any occasion, but it is also packed with numerous health benefits for drinkers. Because of its anti-aging properties and antioxidants, tea is said to help drinkers look youthful and lower cholesterol levels.
Containing 6 boxes of tea, a Xì-lô trà gift set features pleasant flavors such as jasmine, oolong, brown rice, rose, chrysanthemum, and black tea.
Image adapted from: Xì-lô trà
Costing VND590,000 (~USD25.57), this gift set is presented in a solid wood box and elegantly wrapped in a floral-patterned brocade cloth.
For any purchase, guests will be given 6 colorful envelopes in which you can put lucky money to give children on the Lunar New Year.
Address: No. 79 at the back of Dien Bien Phu Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Telephone: 090 2519 077
Image adapted from: The Bloom – The gift from Vietnam’s nature
Keeping it classic, The Bloom rolls out traditional flavors and retro-style packaging for Tet holiday this year.
While most gift shops present their gift sets in wood boxes for a formal and elegant look, The Bloom goes with what used to be our grandmothers’ main shopping accessory – bamboo bags. Don’t be fooled by their delicate appearances – these bamboo bags can carry heavy loads.
Not only these quaint bamboo bags give us a blast from the past and turn a few heads if we carry them around, but they are also reusable and environmentally friendly.
Image adapted from: The Bloom – The gift from Vietnam’s nature
Costing VND1,300,000 (~USD56.35), a standard gift set features savory side dishes and fruits traditionally served on the dining tables of Vietnamese households during the Lunar New Year.
These include allium chinense, which is usually served with pickles for Lunar New Year dinners, lotus tubers mixed with salt and sesame, sour and spicy pineapples, custard apples, a jackfruit, fermented sticky rice, and 5 bags of tea.
Address:
Opening hours: 11AM-9PM, Daily
Telephone: 090 2519 077
Shopping for the ideal Tet gift sets for your families and friends can be a challenge, and sometimes you might need tips to make buying and giving gifts easier and more exciting.
Whether you’re planning to buy a formal gift set for your boss or a more casual and delightful one for your friends or relatives, there is always something from local festive gift set makers that works for everyone.
Also check out:
Cover image adapted from: Got Bun?, Phùng Ân – Quà Tết Cao Cấp, Xì-lô trà, and The Brownie Club.
Enjoying The Smart Local Vietnam? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more stories like this.
Now that Tết is over, Saigon is now a bustling hub of activity once again.…
If you're in Hanoi this Tết, here are some activities you can look into to…
Vietnamese Calendars for 2023 - made with love by local craftsmen Now that the new…
Mầm coffee tea beer is a perfect getaway for those who are tired of the…
With a chic decor featuring wooden floors, raw brick walls, and European-style furniture, Ante Cafe…
Saigon features some of the best of what Vietnam has to offer. If you're at…