Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year, anywhere between 21 January and 20 February, so plan a recipient list by counting back from delivery day. Choose a delivery day before the festival's public holidays begin. Bulk orders are best placed at least a week before delivery, and the list has to be locked before the order, so a finished list is due about two weeks before delivery.
A corporate CNY gift recipient list is one sheet with one row per person and ten columns: name and title, company, tier, delivery address, contact number, dietary or cultural notes, gift type, card message, approval status and order status. The countdown below shows when each part of that sheet should be done, and what to check as you go.
Six to Eight Weeks Before Delivery: Open the Sheet and Collect Every Name
Start with one master sheet and one owner. Pull names from the sales team's contacts, finance's active accounts, procurement and last year's list, then remove duplicates before you tier anything. Last year's list is a starting point, not an answer: people change roles, companies merge and contacts leave, so ask the account owner to confirm the current contact for each company.
Ask for the full row, not just a name. A name with no address costs more time later than it saves now, and five gaps cost the most: an old title after a promotion, three spellings of one client, a missing unit number or postal code, a general office line instead of a direct number, and no dietary note at all.
A finished row looks short and complete. For example: [Name], Director, [Client Company], Tier A, [business address with unit number and postal code], [mobile number], no alcohol, premium hamper, personal line from the account owner, cleared, not yet ordered. Anyone reading that row knows what to send, where to send it and who approved it.
Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission treats business contact information, meaning a name, job title, business phone number, business address and business email given for business purposes, as outside the PDPA's data protection rules. A name with a residential address is different: the Commission lists it as personal data. Notes about a person's diet, religion or preferences are not business contact information either, and may be personal data. So prefer business addresses, use a home address only when the recipient has agreed to give it, and keep notes to what the gift needs, such as "no alcohol". If you are unsure, ask your company's data protection officer.
No address for a client? Ask the client's assistant or reception for the business address, and don't guess. If you can't confirm it in time, a card or an e-greeting is better than a wrong delivery.
A contact has left? Send the gift to their replacement and update the sheet. The relationship is with the company, so ask the account owner who has taken over.
Four to Six Weeks Before: Sort Everyone Into Tiers
A list of 140 names rarely holds 140 equal relationships. Two or three tiers are enough, and each tier gets its own gift direction and its own card.
Tier A, key clients: your largest or longest-standing relationships. A premium hamper or a flower arrangement, with a personal line signed by name.
Tier B, regular clients: active accounts. A generous hamper with a short, personalised greeting.
Tier C, wider contacts: prospects, past clients and suppliers. A standard gift or a card, with a company greeting.
Three questions place most names: how long have we worked together, how much does the relationship matter to the business, and who else at that company should hear from us? Account owners decide the tiers, not whoever is placing the order, because they know which relationships need the most care. Our Chinese New Year collection covers festive hampers, and our corporate team can arrange several gift types with consistent presentation across a single order.
How many names? As many as the budget can do well. A shorter list with good gifts and personal cards beats a long one with weak ones.
Same hamper for every tier? You can, as long as the card and the presentation differ by tier. A personal line signed by the account owner marks a key client without changing the hamper.
Three to Four Weeks Before: Check Culture, Diet and Rules
A hamper full of pork snacks and wine won't suit every client. Our halal hampers are made without alcohol or pork, which suits Muslim clients and anyone who does not drink alcohol. For clients who do not celebrate Chinese New Year, a general new year gift or card is safer. Our own Chinese New Year page also advises avoiding anything linked with bad luck or sharp, negative symbolism. Put the note in the dietary column (vegetarian, halal, no alcohol): it takes ten seconds. Some companies also have their own gift rules, so a short check with the client's assistant avoids an awkward return.
Public officers need a closer look. The Public Service Division says civil servants must declare gifts they receive from outside parties on account of their position or work, and that festive gifts such as fruit or sweets are usually shared within the agency, not kept. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau says a genuine gift given without corrupt intent, such as a red packet, is not in itself corruption, that each case is judged on its merits, and that being upfront with the recipient's employer helps. For anyone in a government agency, or anyone tied to a pending decision, flag the name, hold it out of the first order and check with your legal or compliance team first.
Two Weeks Before: Lock the List
Lock the list when every row has a tier, a confirmed address, a contact number and a gift type. After that, changes are exceptions: one person approves each one, and a change log shows what was added or removed.
Locking also gives you a firm headcount for each tier, which is what a quote needs. Share the locked list with the account owners. A short heads-up to key clients, saying a gift is on its way and roughly when, means someone is ready to receive it, and it can start a friendly conversation too.
Lists will still change. Keep a small buffer of extra gifts for late additions, send late changes through one person, and tell us early if the headcount moves. A locked list does not stop changes. It stops silent ones.
One Week Before, at the Latest: Place the Bulk Order
This is the last comfortable moment to order, since bulk orders are best placed at least a week before delivery, and earlier is better in the festive weeks. Our corporate gifting page lets you request a quote, download a bulk order form or message us on WhatsApp, and our corporate gifting service works from one list and one quote, with personalised cards available.
Delivery Week: Before the Holidays Begin
Chinese New Year brings public holidays, and public holiday deliveries cost more, so aim to deliver on the last working days before the first holiday. The dates move every year, so check the calendar for the year you are planning. A morning slot (9am to 12pm) needs an order at least one day ahead, and business addresses work best on weekdays within office hours. The full delivery rules are on our FAQ page, and our guide to practical corporate gift ideas covers what to put in each gift.
After the Festival: Keep the Sheet
Keep the file. Next year's list starts here, with notes on who replied, who moved and who preferred a different gift. When you are ready to build it, contact our team and we will help match gifts to each tier.
