These Angpow Packets are So Unique It'd be a Crime To Just Throw Them Away

We decided to infiltrate the angpow-collecting community and take a peek at their fancy collections.

They're So Beautiful. How Could We Not Fall In Love With Them?

Many have been saving angpow packets they liked over the years of Chinese New Year house visits, but only truly beginning to seek them out eagerly in recent years when the designs became jaw-dropping. Lisa Soo, who has been collecting angpows for 15 years, sums it up, “Well, I suppose we collect angpow packets because they’re beautiful. And how do we resist keeping and owning something nice?” Well said, well said indeed.

Izman Pauzi, for example, fell in love with angpows two years ago. And now, he’s got an album full of OCBC packets because they come with "a colourful and cheerful theme".

Soo and renowned collector Christine Chan inherited their love of the red envelopes from their parents. Chan says, “Mum makes lanterns out of angpows for many years so I inherited all her old angpows and started from there. Love the designs and colours.”

Three years ago, she even created a website, ANGPAO888, as an archive of all the angpow packets she’s collected over the years. Believe us when we say jaws will drop and minds will be blown.

"[I have] too many favourites because each of them are unique, but I love floral designs and some of the older ones from AMK Hub Singapore and Bank of China Singapore (both from 2012) are really beautiful," explains Chan. Having started aggressively collecting in 2016, Chan's collection also features more monkey designs than others, with her favourites coming from One Morning, Tissot, Skechers and more.

Another enthusiast, Ian Choong, had been a stamp collector for years and wanted to enter new territories. “I have been wanting to diversify my collecting hobby, and so I just pick up packets. I find that the packets are beautiful and many of them could be acquired free.” Asked about some of his favourite angpows, Choong mentions the United Square 2014 series: "The 12 pieces of packets with images and shapes of zodiac animals are just irresistible."

No One Hates Angpows

Who would ever hate a big fat sealed red envelope containing good tidings and wishes in the form of b-e-a-u-tiful slips of money? In fact, none of the collectors do.

“Simple or exclusive, every company spent some time to design and print the angpows for their clients every year,” says Amelia Thong, a hobbyist and blogger whose collection holds at least a thousand designs.

This year though, she is slowing down a little and collecting only the ones she really loves.

But…

However, there is one thing bothering some of the collectors. “I do feel those companies/businesses exploit the packet collectors by coming up with funny business strategies to give away packets. One business strategy that I do not like most is [for an example] that there are four designs, and the business releases one design each week so that collectors have to visit four times at different periods to acquire the full set of packets,” Choong gripes.

Depending on how you look at it, it could be a brilliant strategy to drive sales up although it does look like some collectors have begun to see through these businesses’ gimmicks.

And yet another avid enthusiast, Jenny Soon, believes she shouldn’t buy the packets directly. “I don’t want to spend so much money buying the packets.” If they don’t buy the packets directly from these businesses, how on earth do they end up with so many packets?

You Gotta Have A Thicker Skin

Buying every angpow packet you like could make you broke. So broke you’ll wind up crying on the streets. It’s just not realistic. So these angpow collectors have developed thicker skins in order to face the retail staff of many a business during CNY season. “Funny experience. Sometimes [you] have to be very thick-skinned to walk in to shops and banks asking for angpows,” Thong explains.

You might even receive an eye-roll or two like one collector did. Soon, a collector who shares photos of her angpow loot to the eponymous Facebook group, remembers, “In the beginning, whenever I went shopping and knocked on doors to ask for angpows, my children would say, 'See! Mummy is doing it again!'”

Participating in online giveaways, games, and contests also helps.

Angpows from major brands such as Dior, Club 21, De Beers, Tissot, and more are highly exclusive and therefore, difficult to acquire. Soo, a keen collector whose passion runs in the family, clarifies, “If you are not a VVIP with these brands, you can’t get it, so it makes it hard to get. Not like near CNY period you go shopping, buy RM1k+ [worth of products] can get. Above RM3k maybe they will give cause they usually reserve for their regulars.”

Many collectors even boast packets from foreign brands and organisations. Travelling often is not an option for many though, Soo admits. “I haven’t reached that level lah to go abroad, especially Hong Kong, to shop and hunt for angpows. Ya, I know some Singaporean collectors do that. But those they aim for big sets.”

And of course, their friends and family members reserve the best angpow packets for them.

The Lengths They’ll Go To For Angpows

Being thick-skinned isn’t nearly enough. You may even have to sacrifice your sleep just as Choong did. “I acquired one Antalis set packets through a series of games organised by an angpow group online. One day one design. The game started at 12am every day, and we had to grab them as fast as we could. Only 10 pieces were available each day. Because of this, I did not sleep well for the one whole week, and of course I managed to get all the six designs.” But he admits that he wouldn’t play the game a second time.

No KonMari-ing For This Crowd

You can imagine how crowded it gets in a room filled with angpows. Each collector we spoke to is slowly running out of storage space. Hence, they often give or exchange extra packets with others in Facebook groups such as Ang Pow Club, Ang Pow Mari, and ang pow s+c.

Soon promises, “This year, I’m probably only going to collect the ones I really like and the really, really beautiful ones.” We hear you. Keep calm and carry on collecting.

Don't Go Yet!

Check out these post-credits scenes featuring some of the most ah-may-zing angpows on earth: