8 Fruit Gifts Worthy of Any Lunar New Year Spread

Used to make festive centerpieces and shared at the end of meals, citrus fruits are a Lunar New Year essential, signifying happiness and prosperity for the coming year. This limited-edition box features Cushman’s Florida HoneyBells (available via gift purveyor Pittman & Davis), which combines two winter citrus fruits — tangerines and grapefruits — to form an extra sweet hybrid that’s only available in January. This year, that timing coincides perfectly with an early Lunar New Year.

The Fruit Company’s exquisite holiday gift box bundles together a variety of auspicious fruits, from plump oranges symbolizing good luck to pomegranates that embody prosperity. To help start the Year of the Rabbit on a sweet note, the set also comes with a blood orange chocolate bar and chocolate-covered cherries, with everything packaged in a vibrant red and gold box.

Native to China and also popular in other East Asian countries like Korea and Japan, permissions are beloved for their luscious texture and honey-like flavor. They’re only available for a few short months every fall and the only way to enjoy them after the season is dried, making this box a wonderful New Year’s gift for fans of the fleeting fruit. Following the Japanese practice of hoshigaki, hachiya persimmons are peeled, hung and gently massaged for weeks to yield a shriveled fruit covered in white. But don’t be deceived by its withered look, slices of the preserved fruit are known for being subtly chewy and intensely sweet.

Round, golden pomelos are yet another citrus fruit that’s thought to bring luck. The fruit’s name in Chinese is a homophone for “protect” so it’s often included in holiday decor with hopes that it’ll help usher in a smooth and prosperous year ahead. Per Chinese tradition, it’s best to gift in pairs and this box of two sweet honey pomelos from Umamicart has you covered.

This dried fruit collection from Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés features a colorful selection of California-grown produce. The dried slices of oranges, dates, apricots, pineapples and more are hand dipped in milk or dark chocolate to form a dreamy bite that Oprah dubbed one of her 2022 Favorite Things. The pieces are artfully arranged in a vibrant floral box that’s ideal for gifting.

The first character in the Chinese word for apple sounds the same as the word for “peace,” making it another popular auspicious symbol. Here, each crisp sweet Fuji apple, typically grown in the north of China, is emblazoned with a lucky character and packaged in a beautiful bright red box as a set of nine, another number with fortuitous meaning — “jiu” sounds exactly like the word for longevity.

California-based Laumière specializes in gourmet dried fruits that are as beautiful as they are delightful. Free of sugar, gluten and preservatives, they’re sure to get the coveted “not too sweet” compliment. The dainty morsels feature a combination of fruits and nuts such as dates, almonds, jujuba and cranberry and this special Lunar New Year collection includes handcrafted toppers for the occasion.

Tết tradition calls for creating a mâm ngũ quả, or five fruit tray, as an offering to ancestors. As its name suggests, five fruits are included, each representing a different blessing for the new year, and the variety differs from region to region. Common additions include bananas, citrus, and tropical fruits such as dragonfruit, sapodilla and more. This Taste the Tropics collection from Tropical Fruit Box has an array of beautiful in-season fruits perfect for Tết celebrations.