chinese new year lucky money envelope

Gung Hay Fat Choi! February 14th is a big day this year. Not only is it Valentine's Day, it is the Chinese New Year. This year the birdies will be ringing in the year of the Tiger with our own Chinese New Year party.

One of my favorite parts of the Chinese New Year is the Lai See (or in Manderin: Hóng Bāo). Lai See is a small envelope, usually red, that contains crisp, even amounts of money. These envelopes are given to others to symbolize good luck in the upcoming year. I've noticed that the makers of these envelopes are getting more creative. Now you can purchase gold shiny ones or pink Hello Kitty envelopes. Well, we decided to also put a fun spin on the envelope and make our own. Here is a quick tutorial.

Lai See (Chinese Lucky Money Envelope) Tutorial

I scanned in a copy of my template. Sorry it is not the right size, but I am hoping you can use this as a guideline or you can print it and resize it.


Using this pattern, cut your paper out.

Fold up the bottom tab.


Next, fold in the side tab.


Apply a little glue stick and fold the large tab over. You should now have an envelope. Fold down the top tab and fill with money. Seal shut and you are done! Imagine how cute these would be with little tigers on the front or made out of Asian print paper.