I guess I’ll always remember Chinese New Year in 2020 as the time I had to decide whether I want to stay home (and risk having relatives gossip about my absence) or just show up and probably risk getting infected with the Wuhan virus as my delivery of masks had not arrived yet. (@_@) Anyway, speaking about gossiping, isn’t it ridiculous how people gather not to wish each other good fortune or to partake of CNY goodies in friendly company but to comment about who’s not married yet, who hasn’t had babies, who’s had so many babies, who’s getting divorced or is sleeping around, etc? If we only see each other once a year, I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for that. *cough* Well, the point of this post is to share about the pretty ang pow packets I’ve gotten this year (without money in them), my KitKats and masks which are so hard to find in stores.
Like me, you may have participated in a poll asking if you’d prefer giving / receiving angpows with cash in them OR a digital angpow. I do still prefer cold hard cash. Call me old school. Anyway, whether you want to give out one of those slips with QR codes on them or not, red packets do seem like a necessity. I’ve received quite a few packs of red packets from various organisations, sometimes because I’ve purchased something from them. And I’ll rank my top 3 favorites here:
In first place is the Health Promotion Board’s angpows:
I love the color combinations and how they don’t have rats or ‘2020’ on them so the extras can certainly be used next year. The pineapple also looks a little like ‘bolo pau’, no? 
I’m hungry now.
And if you are wondering, these angpow packets were given out at the HPB roadshows. You must have received a message via the Healthy 365 app that you are eligible for the angpows and shown that message to HPB staff at the roadshows in order to claim the red packets while stocks last. And yes, if you didn’t get the message (probably ‘cos you haven’t been participating in the Steps Challenge), you don’t get the angpows.
In second place are these angpows from SingPost:
There’s a message on the back saying that the paper’s from “responsible sources” so that’s good. I like these because they look like they are fit for everyone – from your Grandma to your next-door-neighbor’s kiddo.
And in third place are these angpows from StarHub:
I don’t even know what customers need to do / buy in order to get these StarHub angpows. As a member of the StarHub Community, I received a set, around the same time I, like the rest, had to do a survey.
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Besides pineapple tarts which I’m particularly fond of, I splurged on some Mandarin Orange KitKat this time round. I use the word ‘splurge’ because each of the small packs cost around 50 cents. Almost as expensive as premium pineapple tarts. They are sold in a “Prosperity Pack” of 8. Who’s prospering? I think it’s Nestle.
I even bought two of these prosperity packs because there was some promotion at FairPrice. Interestingly, the first ‘two fingers’ tasted pretty good. My next two had a strange aftertaste.
Probably one of those CNY-related gimmicky items I’ll try not to buy again in future. And just stick to KitKat Chunky. 
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And today, I rushed home in order to receive my delivery of masks from Guardian. Earlier this week, I was at a Guardian pharmacy and found that face masks were out-of-stock. Only one particular brand of masks for kids was still available. It made me think that perhaps I’d better find a way to get my hands on some masks. Things seem to be getting serious.
SO I went home and placed an order via Guardian’s online store. There was even a promotion for the N95 masks: 20 masks for $38. The surgical masks are going at $11.55 for 50 pieces. And *cough cough* My Beauty Diary masks at $12.50 per box of 9 (8pcs + 1 free).
I got home just in time to find the delivery man, dressed in traditional garb, at our doorstep!
Are you concerned about the spread of the Wuhan Virus in Singapore? I sure am. Because (1) the authorities are coming out to say that reports that travelers from Wuhan were turned away are actually untrue (why aren’t they turned away?!) and (2) the Chinese seem to be, perhaps, overly confident that they aren’t going to be ill so they can visit Singapore and Malaysia, and other countries. Why? They are immune to the virus is it?
I shudder to think what the post-CNY situation will be like, when the Chinese return to work in Singapore. I think I’ll stay at home a lot more then.
If you haven’t stocked up on masks, do get some online so there’s no need to queue.
Actually, since masks are so expensive now (have you seen the prices on Carousell?) we might as well give them away in red packets, instead of cash.