New Shop Opening Gifts in Thailand: 15 Auspicious Ideas With Prices
New shop opening gifts in Thailand, ของขวัญเปิดร้านใหม่ in Thai, carry a wish for the business: brisk trade, customers who come back and a steady start. As a small community business ourselves, we know how much that first day means.
Here are 15 ideas from Macrame by Nicha, each with its meaning and its price. After our first pick and a quick look at opening-day customs, the rest are grouped by meaning, style and budget.
If it is a new home rather than a shop, our housewarming gift guide has its own ideas and etiquette.
What to Give for a New Shop Opening
Give something that carries a wish for good trade and can stay in the shop. Our first pick is the Malai Petite Purity Red, a red cotton malai garland that suits a business opening.
1. Malai Petite Purity Red, 1,290 Baht
The Malai Petite Purity Red is named for luck and prosperity. It also suits Thai-Chinese families and New Year gatherings.
It is cotton, 10 x 22 cm, at 1,290 baht in a plastic box or 1,590 baht in a wooden box. Allow 10 to 20 business days, or 5 to 7 around Chinese New Year and Mother's Day.
Opening-Day Customs in Thailand
Knowing how the day runs helps you choose a gift that fits.
Choosing the ฤกษ์ (Auspicious Timing)
Thai-style and Chinese-style openings both begin with choosing a ฤกษ์ (auspicious date and time) for the opening. Some owners also set a separate timing for installing the shop's sacred objects.
A Thai-Style Ceremony
For a Thai-style opening, the owner invites monks, usually in an odd number such as 5, 7 or 9. The owner lights incense and candles to the Triple Gem and pays respect to the spirit house and the guardian of the land.
The owner invites relatives, close friends and neighbours to join the ceremony.
A Chinese-Style Altar
For a Chinese-style opening, the altar holds nine kinds of auspicious fruit.
In either style, one Thai guide for shop owners lists the first things carried into the new shop: rice, auspicious Thai sweets and 999 baht.
Thai opening guides also advise against free giveaways on day one, and suggest coupons instead.
What Guests Usually Bring
On a Thai forum thread, a guest shopping for a friend's restaurant opening ruled out clocks, pictures and fans, because she wanted something useful. She priced a nice flower basket at 2,500 baht and up.
One Thai list of opening gifts features beckoning figures: แมวกวัก (the beckoning cat) to call customers in, and นางกวัก (the Thai beckoning lady) to call wealth.
Thai opening gift lists also suggest an auspicious plant, a wish for the business to grow. For a gift that stays on display, here are our ideas.
Auspicious Shop Opening Gifts and What Each Piece Means
Many opening gifts are ของขวัญมงคล (auspicious gifts), where each motif carries a wish for the shop. Here is what the main ones mean.
2. Barb Fish: Pla Ta Pian Keychain, 390 Baht
The ปลาตะเพียน (barb fish) is a merchants' charm, hung at the shop front or on a boat's bow. A merchants' rhyme pictures customers as a school of fish that keeps circling back, for brisk sales and plenty of wealth.
The name also plays on เพียร (diligence), since ตะเพียน (barb) ends on the same sound: a wish to work hard and earn well. Read more in the story of the woven barb fish.
Our pla ta pian keychain is cotton, 11.5 cm tall, made to order in 5 to 10 business days.
3. Elephant: Elephant Keychain, 390 Baht
According to a Thai horoscope site, in feng shui the elephant stands for stability, a good wish for a new business.
Our elephant keychain is cotton, 10 x 8 cm, in six colours. Clip it to the new shop keys, so the wish goes wherever the owner does.
4. Mongkol: Premium Mongkol Keychain, 390 Baht
The มงคล (mongkol, the Muay Thai headband) is worn as a charm that brings blessing and protection. See what a Muay Thai mongkol is and whether anyone can own one.
Our premium mongkol keychain is a cotton mongkol motif in three colours, 12 cm, made to order. Carry it high, the way a mongkol is kept. In the shop, hang it high by the door, with nothing above it.
Bell, Gourd, Rooster and Coins
In Thai feng shui belief, a wind bell's soft sound brings good energy, calls wealth and keeps bad influences away.
A Thai horoscope site calls the gourd a Chinese symbol of health and long life, and its figure-8 shape is believed to hold on to wealth.
A Thai folk explanation says the rooster wakes earliest, which is why ก.ไก่ (gor gai, the rooster letter) opens the Thai alphabet, as a reminder to work hard.
Chinese coins on red cord are hung at the entrance, a wish for wealth to come in. One Thai source says to hang no more than three.
Red and Gold
In Chinese tradition, red stands for luck and happiness, and gold for balance and luck. At Chinese New Year, blessings are written in gold letters on red paper.
The next three ideas come in those colours, and the last one also comes in silver.
5. Malai Glin Rak, 499 Baht
The Malai Glin Rak is a Thai scent piece in cotton and wood, 3 x 6 in. Pick from eight colours, including red for vitality and gold for prosperity.
6. Malai Supreme Purity Red, 1,990 Baht
The Malai Supreme Purity Red is named for good luck and prosperity. It is cotton, 10 x 25 cm, at 1,990 baht in a plastic box or 2,390 baht in a wooden box.
It takes 10 to 20 business days to deliver, and special colours are available by quotation.
7. Malai Prestige Gold or Silver, 3,090 Baht
The Malai Prestige Gold is in gold, believed to bring success to a new business. Its name wishes wealth and prosperity, and it measures 10 x 28 cm and takes 10 to 20 business days.
In Thai, เงิน (silver, and money) is one word, so silver is believed to bring money in. In the same Prestige line, the Malai Prestige Silver is named for a bright future, also at 3,090 baht.
Door and Hanging Pieces for the Shop Front
A hanging piece greets every customer at the door. Thai feng shui guides call the main door the mouth through which wealth comes in, and say to hang pieces beside the door or on the gate posts, never centred in the door frame.
8. The Elephant Net, 1,990 Baht
The Elephant Net is a เครื่องแขวนไทย (Thai hanging piece) in cotton, 80 cm long, with cotton champa flowers. It is pre-order, so allow about one month.
9. The Crocodile Fragrance, 2,590 Baht
The Crocodile Fragrance is a Thai hanging piece whose name stands for brave protection, a fitting guard for a new shop's entrance.
Minimal New Shop Opening Gifts
For an owner who loves clean design, these three pieces are simple, useful and easy to place.
10. Handmade Cotton Coasters, 490 Baht
Our handmade cotton coasters come as a pair, 10.5 cm across, and they absorb water. A useful pick for a café counter.
11. Malai Petite Purity White, 1,290 Baht
The Malai Petite Purity White is natural cotton with a white lotus, named for a calm mind. It is 10 x 22 cm, at 1,290 baht in a plastic box or 1,590 baht in a wooden box.
12. TULA GARLAND, 650 Baht
The TULA GARLAND is a 1 m string of cotton rope and wooden beads, easy to hang in a corner with two small hooks.
Lucky-Charm Gifts (ของขวัญสายมู)
If the owner is สายมู (a lover of luck rituals and charms), pick a piece tied to them personally or to a charm they know.
13. Malai Petite in a Birth-Day Colour, 1,590 Baht
The Malai Petite birth-day colour garland has a band in the owner's สีประจำวันเกิด (birth-day colour): red for Sunday, yellow for Monday, pink for Tuesday, green for Wednesday, orange for Thursday, sky blue for Friday and purple for Saturday.
A custom colour is also possible. It is cotton, 10 x 22 cm, on pre-order.
14. Muay Thai Mongkol Keychain, 350 Baht
The Muay Thai mongkol keychain is the cotton mongkol motif as a souvenir, 12 cm, delivered in 5 to 10 business days. Like a real mongkol, keep it off the floor and never step over it.
Choose by Budget
Here are all 15 ideas by price band, so you can match the gift to your budget. Under 500 baht, a keychain also pairs well with flowers.
| Budget | Ideas |
|---|---|
| Under 500 baht | Muay Thai mongkol keychain 350, pla ta pian keychain 390, premium mongkol keychain 390, elephant keychain 390, handmade cotton coasters 490, Malai Glin Rak 499 |
| 500 to 1,500 baht | TULA GARLAND 650, Malai Petite Purity Red 1,290, Malai Petite Purity White 1,290 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 baht | Malai Petite birth-day colour 1,590, Malai Supreme Purity Red 1,990, The Elephant Net 1,990, The Crocodile Fragrance 2,590, Malai Prestige Gold or Silver 3,090 |
| 3,500 baht and up | Malai Empress 4,555 |
Lead times run from 5 business days for keychains to about a month for the hanging pieces, so order ahead. To compare more garlands side by side, browse our cotton malai garland collection.
Ordering for a Partner's Opening
When a client or partner opens a new shop or branch, a company gift is a warm way to show support. Send us the opening date early, since the larger pieces take up to a month.
We can add a tag with your company logo, and every company order starts with a quotation, so tell us the date, the pieces and the quantity. See how we handle gifts for business partners.
15. Malai Empress, 4,555 Baht
The Malai Empress is named for strength and success, and at 12 x 38 cm in cotton it is the largest malai in this guide. It is pre-order, so allow up to one month.
Not sure which piece suits the owner? Send us the opening date and your budget on LINE, and we will help you choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I give for a new shop opening?
Give a ของขวัญเปิดกิจการ (business opening gift) that carries a wish for trade and can stay in the shop. The Malai Petite Purity Red at 1,290 baht is our first pick, and a barb fish keychain at 390 baht wishes for customers who keep coming back.
Is a clock a good opening gift?
A clock is best left off the list. In Chinese gift belief, the word for clock sounds like "the end", so it is considered an unlucky gift. A barb fish or a red malai carries a clearer wish for the shop.
How much should I spend on a shop opening gift?
Spend what feels right for how close you are. On a Thai forum thread, one guest priced a nice flower basket at 2,500 baht and up, and our ideas here run from 350 to 4,555 baht.
What should I give an owner who likes minimal design?
Go for something useful or quiet on the wall: handmade cotton coasters at 490 baht, the TULA GARLAND at 650 baht, or the Malai Petite Purity White at 1,290 baht.