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Q: What's a good spring festival gift to give a Chinese host?
A close Chinese friend invited me to go to their parent's house for Spring Festival. What's an appropriate gift to bring? some sort of food? nuts? seems everyone here likes those.
Oranges and moon cakes are traditional gifts. Or tangerines. Basically, gold colored fruit is supposed to be good luck.
If you are traveling from one province to another to give the gifts, then something "famous" (typically some sort of food) from your province would be a good gift too.
Hongbao for the children of the host would be 'expected' and if you have children and are taking them, it would be expected that they give hongbao too, (it would also be expected that you both put the same amount in the hongbao, my wife gets that right every time but I have no clue how.)
Nessquick:
I really worry about this : How much did you put inside ? ok, i will do same. na, here you are, small boy ... 
Hugh.G.Rection:
It confuses the heck out of me too, I get given pre-stuffed hongbao by my wife and I get told who to give them to, end of problem.
Usually people visit each other during the spring festival with fruit, food, health care products, something you can buy in the market. To visit friends' parent, health care product is a good option.
Scandinavian:
this is my northern European thinking, but giving health care products seems inappropriate. I can understand your intention, a whish of good health.
Is this a common thing to give ?
I will provide home baked cookies the my wife and me will bring as appropriate. My skills in the cookie making department by far outperforms any commercial products available in China.
Maybe some hongbao will be used as extra supply in the likely event that I eat most myself (as quality control)
For me ,a traditional Chinese,i would say,fruit,nuts,or some native produces,at least here,in China,we do it.
Do not think hongbao is a good idea....it's old trandition and it's happened in a family, not for friends. Just take some food politely is ok.
I would give as appropriate...For Cantonese families...seedless Morrocan tangerine which is pronounced as " Kum" a homonym for Gold but really depends on the timing/situation. If he or she just lost someone then probably something sweet and nuts would do and definitelyiHong Bao because thee are tons of unexpected expenses that comes with such situation including your visit that she or he had to attend to politely...BUT never ever give Clock whose homonym means death in Cantonese. For Beijing I find people relish giving new flavoured Ice Cream with fruits. Winter tends tobe dry there and heating thermostat tends to be on High and fresh fruits are not that common winter time. This was a pleasant surprise for me as I did unusually well for my ice cream plant in Beijing. In Fujian were I come from they would appreciate sweet dried meat jerky and nuts and being the earliest entrepreneurs to trade outside China even before China was open, if you were to give luxury goods make sure it is not fake. For Shanghai and Northern China, I think expensive tea from Fujian would be best along with some western style tidbits French pastries specially. Chongqing and Chengdu are plateau and humid. They do have plenty of fruits and anything agri related..so give something else they do not usually have. Like an Ipod or I-pad. Being a younger generation Chinese. I prefer that people do not give me HongBao as it seems effortless unless it is from some acquaintance I do not really care about and the HongBao may have been recycled over many hands.
