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This Diwali, gift thoughtfully
Bored of gifting and receiving the same old Soan Papdi packets, chocolates and juice hampers every Diwali, worry no more! With the festival of lights just around the corner, from eco-friendly hampers and care packages to food baskets and planters, we bring you a guide to options that are sure to impress your friends and family
Bored of gifting and receiving the same old Soan Papdi packets, chocolates and juice hampers every Diwali, worry no more!
With the festival of lights just around the corner, from eco-friendly hampers and care packages to food baskets and planters, we bring you a guide to options that are sure to impress your friends and family.
Bursting flavour bombs
Home bakers, chefs at popular restaurant and eatery chains, and recipe curators are busy cooking up a storm this festive season. With bulk orders piling up, and food preferences getting more and more varied, the biggest challenge, they say, is to satiate people’s festive cravings while keeping a close eye on the calorie count. This season’s food hampers have a bunch of different flavours – ragi chaklis, gond ladoos, baked nuts, granola bars, and what not! Almost all major sweet shops, restaurants and home bakers are offering these curated baskets. The hampers start from as low as ₹500.
Environment first
With more and more people opting for a sustainable lifestyle, gifting eco-friendly hampers is a great option. From coconut shell utensils, soy wax candles, and recycled stationery, to bamboo home décor items and cotton and banana fabrics, online as well as offline businesses are offering customisable one-stop solutions to all your gifting needs. The starting range of these hampers is ₹399.
Catering to spiritual needs
“Another major hit,” a Chandigarh-based pooja samagree shop owner Rajeev Makhni, says, “are gift baskets for one’s religious and spiritual needs.” Earlier people would buy statues of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi or Goddess Durga to gift on the occasion. But now, big hampers are a new trend. So, to cater to the demand, we are making basic pooja essentials baskets, starting at ₹290, and going higher with baskets containing idols, pooja essentials, brass bells, earthen diyas, organic dhoop, decorated thalis and more, he adds.
Addictive artisanal baked goodies
“This year, bulk orders started coming in from August. People are asking for artisanal, handmade baked goodies including breads, brownies, dry cakes, and more as they make the perfect gifting option in this season when everyone loves to indulge in some sinfully good deliciousness. Most have also asked us to ensure that the products are freshly baked and made with natural and chemicals or preservative-free ingredients. There’s demand for vegan chocolates and plant meat-based snacks as well,” says home baker Nisha Bhargav. The basic basket will cost you ₹850.
For greener spaces
One cannot live in the City Beautiful and not fall in love with the greenery all around. And if one can add to this greenery, nothing like it! Not just different kinds of cactus and succulents, fruit and flower plants are in great demand as gifting these represents showing respect. People are also looking for traditional as well as modern planters to gift their near and dear ones. Some corporate firms have also approached us with orders to spruce up their office spaces with decorative plants and classy or quirky planters, says Asmat, who works at a local nursery. The kitchen garden mini planters set costs just ₹939.
