The first thing seen (the Vishukkani and the konna)
On Vishu morning the eldest leads the family with eyes shut to the lamp before the kani, and gives kaineettam. Kerala says the konna flower is Krishna's: a poor boy who asked only to see him was given Krishna's gold waist chain, was called a thief, and his mother threw the chain into a tree that flowered gold. Another telling loses the chain with the temple's dead flowers and has Krishna bring it back among konna blossoms.
The eldest lays the kani the night before: uruli of rice, cucumber, jackfruit, mango, coconut, betel, cloth, gold, coins, the Ramayana, the valkannadi, Krishna's image and konna.
Before dawn she lights the lamp and leads each of the house in with eyes covered; then kaineettam.
A poor boy prays daily only to see Krishna; Krishna appears and asks what else he wants; the boy wants nothing.
Krishna gives him the gold aranjanam from his own waist and vanishes.
The priest finds the chain missing; the village calls the boy a thief; his mother does not believe him, slaps him and throws the chain into a tree that has never flowered.
The tree blooms gold overnight: the first konna, laid in every kani since.
A poor boy, raised on his mother's stories of Krishna at Ambadi, prays daily at the small Krishna temple near his house for one thing only, to see Krishna. Krishna appears; the boy hugs him and, asked what else he wants, says nothing more. Krishna gives him the gold waistband (aranjanam) from his own waist and disappears. Next morning the priest finds the image's chain missing; the boy is found holding it and is called a thief; he says Krishna gave it, nobody believes him; his mother slaps him and throws the chain away, and it lands in a tree that has never flowered, which is covered in golden flowers, the kanikonna, the ornament of Krishna laid in the Vishukkani. Hindupad names the boy Unni.
A boy devoted to Krishna helps with the temple pooja; while clearing the dried flowers and cleaning the image he throws the gold aranjanam away with them by accident. The temple crowd scolds him and some call him a thief. Krishna later returns the chain himself: it is found in front of his image among yellow kanikonna flowers, which the tellers read as Krishna valuing the boy's love above gold. The flowers go into the Vishukkani.
What is different here:
No gift and no mother: the chain is lost by accident and Krishna brings it back among the flowers.
Sources: Taking in the grandeur of Vishu, Onmanorama (Malayala Manorama), 15 April 2018; Story of Vishu Kanikonna flowers, Hindupad; Waking up to Vishu, Amar Chitra Katha (blog)