Why prepare Year of the Horse red packets for 2026
2026 is the Bing-Wu Year of the Horse in the lunar calendar. The zodiac is the most common element on New Year red packets: a horse, a blessing that contains the character 马 (horse), or a horse added to a brand packet, so the year is clear as soon as the packet is handed over. The catalog holds 28 red packets whose names or tags relate to horses or the Year of the Horse. Below they are sorted into four approaches.
1. Horse line art: one horse carries the whole picture
The most direct approach is to make the horse the main motif. The galloping-horse packet fills the red ground with a horse running toward the viewer, mane and tail streaming to both sides, with “马上有福” (“good fortune right away”, a pun on 马, horse) set vertically at the upper right. The floral horse packet has the horse looking to the left, its mane braided into hanging plaits and a small flower pinned at its forehead. The horse-and-福 packet adds a ring of fine dots and corner ornaments around the edge, like a small New Year print.
For a simpler effect, use only the outline of a horse: the two-color foil horse silhouette packet uses light blocks of color to outline a large horse-head silhouette, with no text on the whole face.
2. “马上” wordplay: writing the blessing into the characters
“马上有福”, “马上有钱” (“money right away”) and “马上发财” (“wealth right away”) are the blessings most often used in a Horse year. The two-design Year of the Horse blessing packet makes two designs in one go: one has the calligraphy “馬年大吉” (“great luck in the Year of the Horse”) with a horse leaping over auspicious clouds, and the other places a single calligraphy 马 character inside a round patterned frame. The “马上有钱” packet interlaces four large running-script characters with five galloping horses in different poses. The 2026 “马上发财” packet uses a rose base color and a black galloping horse carrying copper coins, which is unusual among all the reds.
3. Branded horse designs: horse and logo on one layout
When a company makes a Horse year packet, the brand name and the horse often share the same layout. The horse brand packet fills a dark red ground with gold and bright red horses in alternation, with the shop name printed in the middle. The DERMWISE horse packet puts the brand mark at the bottom and lets a patterned gold horse take the main picture. The brand packet with a vertical English blessing uses that blessing and a line-drawn horse head at the lower right, leaving a good deal of blank space.
4. Color illustration: a livelier horse
For a lighter feel, use a color cartoon illustration. The cartoon Year of the Horse packet is a set of three designs: three small horses with polka-dot markings each carry copper coins or gold ingots, with “马上有钱”, “马上开心” (“happy right away”) and “马上暴富” (“rich right away”).
What to confirm first for a Year of the Horse packet
- Focus of the picture: whether the horse or the brand mark is the main motif decides how the layout is divided.
- Blessing: choose the wordplay blessing to use, and check it character by character, including traditional versus simplified characters and any English text.
- One design or several: two or three designs in the same series can be given to different recipients.
- Paper and finish: the packets above record pearlescent paper, tactile paper, glitter paper and red card stock, with full-plate custom foil stamping as the main finish; see the foil stamping guide and the paper selection guide.
- Arrival date: Horse year packets are used in the weeks before the New Year, so state the date the finished packets must arrive; see the production timeline guide.
