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Tet shopping not only ensures families enjoy a complete Tet but also brings luck and prosperity for the entire year. So, what specific items are needed for Tet shopping and decoration? Discover smart, comprehensive, and cost-effective shopping tips with Mytour Blog for the Lunar New Year.
Essential Items to Prepare for Tet
Before Tet arrives, every household needs to clean and prepare the necessary and distinctive items for this special occasion. To find out what items you need for Tet preparation, please refer to the content below.
1. Offerings, Ritual Flowers
Offerings and ritual flowers are essential items to prepare for Tet as Vietnamese people often believe that Tet is the ideal time to pay respects to deceased relatives and seek peace for the whole year. Offerings typically include incense, candles, imitation money, paper clothes, fruits, white wine, etc. As for ritual flowers to welcome Tet, they usually consist of lotus, yellow chrysanthemums, apricot blossoms, etc.
A Tet offering tray overflowing with fruits and ritual flowers is a clear expression of gratitude to deceased relatives (Source: Internet)2. Tray of Five Fruits
Tray of Five Fruits tops the Tet shopping priority list for every family in the final days of the year, as it is one of the crucial items used to display on the ancestral altar in the early days of the new year. The Tray of Five Fruits holds profound significance in offering homage to ancestors - grandparents, expressing filial piety, gratitude from descendants, and wishing for blessings in the upcoming year.
A Tray of Five Fruits adorning the ancestral altar is one of the indispensable items on the Tet shopping list (Source: Internet)3. Tet Cakes, Candied Fruits
The joy of Tet cannot be complete without plates of Tet candied fruits or trays of Tet cakes. These are considered as the joy that people share with each other in the early days of the year, helping to prolong conversations. Tet cakes and candied fruits come in a wide variety, so depending on preferences and tastes, you can choose to prepare for Tet shopping.
Tet cakes and candied fruits come in a wide variety and are very appealing (Source: Internet)4. Tet Day Foods
Delicious and enticing dishes such as braised pork, square glutinous rice cake, boiled pork sausage, pickled onions with dried shrimp,... are among the essentials on your Tet shopping list. These are signature Tet dishes beloved by people of all ages. Moreover, these dishes are used to prepare lavish trays to pray for blessings in the new year and to express gratitude to ancestors.
If you want Tet day foods to always stay fresh, you need to prepare ingredients in advance during the first three days of the year. During this time, all supermarkets, grocery stores,... are closed, so it will be difficult for you to buy additional cooking ingredients every day.
Traditional Tet dishes such as square glutinous rice cake, braised pork, boiled chicken,... are indispensable on Tet day (Source: Internet)5. Tet Gifts
Holidays, especially Tet, are occasions for people to express their gratitude to family, friends, and colleagues. Tet gifts are highly useful for expressing emotions and strengthening relationships. Nowadays, Tet gifts come in a wide variety and are beautifully packaged. Therefore, you can easily choose according to the preferences and needs of the recipients for Tet shopping, making the gift even more meaningful.
Tet gifts help you show gratitude to the recipients (Source: Internet)6. Tet Flowers
To enhance the festive atmosphere of Tet, people often choose to buy colorful flowers symbolizing good fortune such as apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, marigolds, willows,... or some beautiful plants like kumquats, money trees, lucky bamboos,... The best time to buy Tet flowers is from the 21st to the 25th of the lunar calendar every year, as this is when flower markets are fully stocked with beautiful flowers and auspicious ornamental plants, making Tet shopping very convenient.
Buying colorful flowers will make the atmosphere in your home more vibrant and auspicious (Source: Internet)7. Lucky Money Envelopes
Giving red envelopes at the beginning of the year is a beautiful traditional custom and Tet ritual of the nation since ancient times, symbolizing wishes for health, peace, and luck for everyone. Putting money in red envelopes shows goodwill and sophistication towards the recipients. Additionally, unique ways of giving red envelopes during Tet are also a way to express feelings towards each other. So, don't hesitate to list red envelopes in your annual Tet shopping list.
Red Envelopes (Source: Internet)8. Lucky Money
Lucky money carries wishes for peace and luck for everyone, so people often have the habit of exchanging new money with various denominations at the bank at the end of the year to give to loved ones. Don't forget to put money in red envelopes to show respect and sophistication to the recipients.
Prepare new money with various denominations for giving lucky money at the beginning of the year (Source: Internet)9. Home Decor Items
Home decor items are always on everyone's annual Tet shopping list. Because they help the flavor and atmosphere of Tet in every family become more complete. Not only that, Tet decorations will make your house or store brighter to attract prosperity and peace for the new year. Tet home decor items are very diverse, such as calligraphy scrolls, zodiac decals, Tet trays, electric firecrackers, red lanterns,... You can rely on your own decoration ideas and creativity to shop for suitable items.
Home decor items on the first day of the new year are very diverse and abundant (Source: Internet)10. Peach Blossoms, Apricot Blossoms
In the spring, when hundreds of flowers bloom, the sight of peach blossoms and apricot blossoms reminds everyone that Tet is approaching. Therefore, people should prepare for Tet by buying some branches of peach blossoms or apricot blossoms to make the atmosphere of the first day of the year more lively and meaningful.
Peach blossoms, apricot blossoms (Source: Internet)11. Buying Tet Clothes
Wearing new clothes during Tet not only brings beauty and joy to the wearer but also shows respect to others. It's like a reward you give to yourself after a year of hard work. Because of its significant spiritual meaning, new clothes always make it to everyone's Tet shopping list.
Wearing new clothes on Tet day brings joy and excitement to the wearer (Source: Internet)Tips for Tet Shopping
After listing the items needed for Tet shopping, you should also prepare some shopping tips. This will help you not only shop for Tet thoroughly but also save time and effort.
Shop Wisely, Buy What You Need
During Tet, the demand for food in every household tends to increase. Therefore, housewives often have the habit of shopping and stocking up on a large amount of food during this time. However, storing vegetables or fresh food for a long time will gradually diminish their freshness and nutritional value.
Currently, markets and supermarkets are open to serve customers on the second day of Tet afternoon. Therefore, you only need to buy a sufficient amount of food for the whole family for 1 to 2 days of the holiday. After that, you can continue to visit the store or supermarket to purchase additional food for the family.
Purchase just enough food during the Tet holiday to keep them fresh and delicious (Source: Internet)Revamp Your Tet Decor with Upcycled Items
Utilizing old items to decorate your home for Tet is an extremely smart choice. This Tet shopping tip not only helps you have a beautiful home but also saves you a considerable amount of money. You can refurbish last year's decorations or recycle newspapers, bottles, etc., into decorative items to adorn your living space. Your home will surely brighten up with the application of this upcycling tip.
Research and Compare Prices Before Buying
Researching and comparing prices before making a purchase is an effective way to save costs when preparing for Tet. You can easily look up prices, information, and product images on company websites, e-commerce platforms like Mytour, etc. Also, don't forget to read reviews from previous customers to assess the product quality before making a purchase decision.
Plan Your Spending and Lunar New Year Red Packets
Planning your spending and Lunar New Year red packets is extremely essential. This is the time when you need to allocate expenses for many things such as Tet shopping, gifts, red packets, etc. You need to plan your expenses based on your financial condition to avoid running out of funds later on.
Planning your Tet shopping expenses will help you avoid being short on funds later (Source: Internet)Shop for Tet with Friends
When purchasing in large quantities, you often receive discounts or attractive promotional gifts. Therefore, inviting friends to go Tet shopping together is an extremely smart choice to save on expenses.
Save on Tet Shopping with Promotional Programs
Usually, holidays and Tet are times when most brands and manufacturers run promotional programs to boost sales. So, you'll have many opportunities to hunt for essential items at good prices along with attractive promotional gifts. However, you should prepare a list of necessary Tet shopping items in advance to manage expenses according to your financial situation.
Commonly Asked Questions
Every Tet season, you can buy home items for display or as gifts such as various types of wine, Tet gift boxes, Tet gift baskets, candied fruits, Feng Shui paintings,...
The essential items to prepare for Tet shopping that you definitely cannot overlook are offering items, fruit trays, food, Tet flowers, home decoration items,...
Above is a list of essential items and useful, smart Tet shopping tips that you can apply. To reference and purchase quality Tet items, please visit Mytour today.
