Li Xi Puns

Local is NorCal, 94518. Priority to locals

I don't speak/read Chinese but would like to know the phrases on these li xi.

I would also very much appreciate translations of the auxiliary text (like inside the squares, lanterns, circle seal).

I've labeled the images as A and B to make it easier.

Thanks so much in advance!

A

B

Happy New Year all! I was invited to my best friend’s family celebration of Tet. I was able to acquire some envelopes to give to my friend’s little cousins. There are 6 of them and I don’t know what an appropriate amount to give, any way I could get some advice?

We all know that xi and li do not get along and had suspicians that xi blocked everything that li did. We noticed less and less activities from him from foreign ministry website. However, on the 23rd, it specifies that li spoke with others instead of xi. This has never happened before. Any speculations on what is happening?

I was reading a bit about how Li Keqiang was originally slated for the Presidency as a kind of "heir" of Hu Jintao's government, but that Xi was elected instead somewhat by surprise. I don't entirely know the validity of this because I'm not familiar with the nuances of Chinese government electoral processes but I'm to understand the Premier is technically the legally more powerful position; however, I've seen quite a bit about Li and Xi being rather uncooperative with each other as they have very different ideas on how to run the government. From what it sounds like, Li seems to be quite a bit more invested in the local lives of people rather than the general bureaucracy of the state. What are your thoughts on this?

EDIT: I looked through information again and found that I made a mistake in my statement that I was under the assumption Li was slated for Presidency. He was always intended to be Premier, and this was a misconception on my part. I've decided to leave the post as-is otherwise because I think the question and other information still stands. It should be noted that my understanding of the different levels of Chinese government is a work in progress only knowing some rudimentary basics and I do not necessarily have any frame of reference in understanding political dynamism in the CCP or cultural contexts thereof. I'm an external observer interested in the modern developments of a part of my distant heritage.