Employees are tugging their forelocks and greasing the palms of their bosses with traditional rural specialities for the Tet Holiday.

 Mandarin oranges as a Tet present

Although Tet is over a month away, Nguyen Hai Ha, from Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District, has already asked her parents in northern Dien Bien Province to buy rice as a gift for her boss.

Ha said her boss ate a lot of luxury foods so homemade products would gain more favour. "Last time I gave my boss's family ten kilos of rice bought from my hometown. His wife really loved it so I asked my parents buy some as this Tet’s gift." she said. "Though people sell a lot of Dien Bien rice here, it’s often mixed with other varieties so I'm going to buy it straight from the farmers."

Tran Van Thang, an employee at a seafood company in Hanoi said he would give his boss two Dong Tao chickens which were offered to Vietnamese royalty in the past.

"I know someone who raises Dong Tao chicken in Hung Yen Province so I asked him to raise two chickens for me. Their just eat rice and corn and they must be free to roam around. My boss likes chicken so he will like my gift." Thang said.

Meanwhile, Tran Thi Loan, an employee in a real estate company said she and her friends' gifts would be meat and vegetables from Lang Son Province.

Giving genuine products from rural areas is also considered more thoughtful than other presents.

Lai Van Hue, an engineer found it difficult finding a gift for his instructor, who had helped him a lot though they do not work together. "His family does lack nothing so I don't really know what to give him. I'm thinking of finding something practical." he said.

Finally, his wife and he decided on the mandarin oranges. "My hometown grows a lot of these. Fruits from my hometown are always safer and better."

To make his gift more special, Nguyen Tuan Hieu, a ward official in Hanoi went to a wild boar farm in Nho Quan District, Ninh Binh Province so he could choose the best beast.

"My acquaintances told me this farm is known for its quality. I'll choose two as a gift to my boss this Tet."