How much red packet money to give for baby shower?

It is common for new parents to hold a baby shower celebration to commemorate the first month of their newborn. In my opinion, the full month celebration for the infant is not just an occasion for parents to share their fruit of their labour, after arduous months of carrying and delivering the baby, but it is also a good reason for friends and family to get together and be part of the new little life.

I was recently invited for a baby shower of a colleague. It is a blessing to be part of his baby shower celebration and it was enjoyable to see and play with the cute 1st-month baby! However, this question came to my mind like all my previous other red packet questions –

How much angpao money should I give to my baby/infant full month?

There are elements of similarity with red packets for weddings in this question, and I would say it would depend on:

• The type of event ( Can range from house visit to lavish hotel setting)
• Relationship with the couple

Typically baby showers are held at the couple’s house or a function room of a condo.

$50 seemed like a rate that I would give an ok friend. A simple $50 note is polite, but I personally find that you can go an extra mile to show that you care. For example, you can augment your red packet amount with auspicious numbers like $68, $88.

For close friends and relatives, I would go with $168. It bodes well as it sounds similar to 一路發, which means earning big money throughout the baby’s life journey.

If you feel like giving more, by all means! More is always better than less, especially for the couple as it can help defray some of the exorbitant expenses needed to raise the baby.

Hope this was useful for you

EUFASS

How much ang pao money to give at Indian wedding

Attending Indian weddings is not an everyday event for me, and I was pleasantly surprised to be invited by my colleague. While it was exciting to witness an Indian wedding, the natural question which I had previously for my friend's wedding in JB, as well as for my friend's Malay wedding, came into mind.

How much red packet money should i pack for an Indian wedding?

A little background: His event was held at Arena Country Club while food served was buffet style.

Seeking the answer

As usual, I poked my nose around and even asked the groom post-event. I came to understand that giving ang pao money for a wedding is primarily very much a Chinese custom. In Indian culture, the expectation of the wedding couple is to gather everyone for this joyous occasion, and typically no ang pao money will be expected.

However in Singapore, due to influence from Chinese counterparts or for some reason, friends and relatives do give a token sum to cover the cost of venue and food.

Eventually I went ahead with a red packet of $50 for the new couple. And as I always say, consider not only the cost but also the level of friendship you and the groom/bride share!

Some other notes

• I was intrigued by the wedding rituals that the couple did and wondered what they signify. Guess what, my friend told me he did not know either. He just followed the instructions
• I must say the food spread was awesome and delicious. I came to know that they catered from Riverwalk Tandoori. 10/10 would recommend.

Hope this was useful for you
EUFASS

How much red packet money to give for JB wedding

Attending a good friend’s wedding in Johor Bahru? I recently attended my friend’s wedding held at a local restaurant in JB and was wondering how much money to give for his red packet. Looking at the popularity of my post on how much money to give for a Malay Wedding, I decided to post on my current invitation to JB as well.

My friend held his wedding at Pekin restaurant. The restaurant was very well furnished, and the food was decent. I heard from a fellow guest that this restaurant is a popular choice among locals for wedding dinner.

I checked with 2 friends from JB and the first one told me 100 MYR should be enough for a Sunday night dinner. The second one told me that the 4-5 star hotels and the relatively better restaurants costs around 800-1000 MYR per table. I am actually quite surprised by the extent of difference between prices here in Malaysia and Singapore.

Thus for a wedding dinner, I guess a red packet of minimum 100 MYR or 40 SGD (give and take a little) should be good. But of course, always give more in the name of friendship/kinship!

If transport to and from Singapore is also provided

For my dinner, two-way transport was also provided, which costs 300 MYR for a 7-seater. Thus do remember to factor in the cost for your friend to charter transport to pick you up. 

Hope this was useful to you!

Eufass

How much money to give at a Malay Wedding

This Sunday, I’ll be attending my JC best buddy’s wedding. This is the first wedding invitation I received from friends of my age, and this will also be my life’s first malay wedding. Now after looking at the invitation, I immediately had 2 concerns I hadn’t thought about it before

1)      How much red packet do I need to pay?

2)      The time states 11am-5pm, Must I be there for the entire duration?

I believe these couple of concerns would be echoed by many, so I’m here to share my “research” (trust me, I’m an engineer)

How much red packet do I need to pay?

When it comes to money, it’s always a sensitive issue. There is always the balance between the tight budget constraints of a student and not wanting to give too little and embarrass yourself. However after reading the forum and asking my malay friends, I begin to realize money shouldn’t be the issue for a Malay wedding in the first place.

Culturally for Chinese weddings, the dinner is held in posh hotels/restaurants and it is good manners to give more than the cost of the table. Interestingly, the first thing is to register at the reception where there will be people to guide you. At the same time, they will collect your red packet and record your name on the red packet. This naturally is about the amount you are giving, as it will become a “face” issue.

For a malay wedding, it is culturally different, the size of the red packet does not matter. The bride and groom are less particular about money, but more interested in seeing you turn up for the occasion, as your presence is very much appreciated by them.

It seems like a $20 red packet will do. For my best buddy, I’m giving him a $50.

Must I be there for the entire duration?

I would recommend to check with your friend(the bride/groom) and see what time to turn up. For my case, even though the invitation writes 11am-5pm, my friend asked me to come only after 2.45pm. So, no harm checking first!

Hope this helps guys!

EUFASS