Guides · October 21, 2026 · 4 min read
A Lunar New Year lucky-tree draw for the office: the boss picks first, then every team
Picking a lucky bud on New Year’s morning is a lovely Vietnamese custom that is hard to bring into an office: there is no real tree, paper envelopes on a fake branch mean a queue, and every envelope looks the same. A 3D lucky tree on the projector keeps the moment — one person walks up, pulls a red envelope, the branch bends, the string snaps and the envelope flies out with a name — while the whole hall watches and nobody has to line up.
Why a tree on the screen works for the first day back
- Everyone sees it: the envelope flies to the middle of the screen and the name reads from the back of the hall.
- No paper envelopes to prepare, no mixed-up names, nobody “accidentally” picking two.
- The gesture stays: the person on stage pulls with a mouse or a touch screen, and the string stretches before it tears.
- The recipient is picked at random by the server the moment the envelope leaves the branch, and every pull is logged — even the boss cannot choose who wins.
A 30-minute run sheet
- 0–5 min: a short New Year greeting from leadership, the tree appears on screen; the host explains that every envelope carries a wish and a red packet, and one holds the big prize.
- 5–8 min: the boss opens the year with a single pull for the top prize.
- 8–25 min: each team sends one person to pull once; set that draw to pull five to ten envelopes at a time so red packets spread quickly.
- 25–30 min: a final round for anyone still empty-handed, then a company photo in front of the tree.
For a big company split it in two: small red packets at ten envelopes per pull, the big prize at one. Winners drop out of later rounds automatically; mark absentees and redraw on the spot.
Suggested prize tiers
- New Year luck (1 envelope): the biggest gift, pulled by the boss.
- Team luck (5–10 envelopes per pull): small red packets, one pull per team.
- Last luck (10 envelopes): small packets for the final round, for those who have not won yet.
- Give each tier a quantity so the draw stops by itself when the gifts run out.
The Spring fortune template — a lucky tree
A deep red background, a gold-framed panel, and a tree of 120 red envelopes marked “LUCK” in gold with golden buds on the branches; a gold PICK A LEAF button sits under the tree. The matching wheel and number draw are there if you want a second game.
Small things that make it run smoothly
- Change the label on the envelopes to your company name or the year (up to six characters) in the designer.
- Keep the stretch-and-snap sound on; play New Year music from the hall PC.
- Open the stage on the actual projector computer the day before; a weak machine falls back to a 2D tree that still works.
- Keep the real red packets at the reception desk: the name shows on screen, the winner picks theirs up — no searching for each other.