Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated all over India and around the globe where NRIs are settled in larger numbers. Diwali, also known as ‘Deepawali’, originates from the word ‘deep’ meaning the light from a row of tiny diyas in order to brighten the lives of each and every one as well as to spread positivity around. In essence, Diwali is celebrated to spread the light of love and hope.

To add value to your gift giving ritual, The Mint publication unveiled more than hundred enterprising ideas. It carried a special edition of the Lounge section devoted entirely to the tradition of gift giving in Diwali.

A series of special features covered a whole gamut of ideas - from environment-friendly products and almost-free gift ideas to splurge-worthy goodie. The idea was to find festive bounty for every budget.

The introductory essay noted: “No matter how lean the year, this is not the time to scrimp. In fact, it’s the season for some serious retail therapy. That’s why we went shopping for some beautiful goodies. There’re price tags suitable for every pocket.”

They made a conscious effort to steer clear of the diyas and candles. Their list covered the whole gamut of items from nice eco-friendly products and jewelry to beautiful handicrafts and fabulous almost-free gifting ideas.

Enlarging the spirit of gifting and giving, the Lounge team noted: “We also believe Diwali is not merely about exchanging gifts. It’s also a time to share our good fortune with those who may not perhaps have as much. Hence they also covered various ideas on giving gifts that have the power to change lives.

The Mint accumulated for readers to gift your near and dear ones to bring smiles on their faces. Click on the link below to check about enterprising gift ideas:

http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/09203732/104-ideas-to-be-everyone8217.html#

Tags: corporate gifting for employees, Corporate gifting India, corporate gifts companies, gifting india, business gift baskets, Gifting occasions, gifting etiquette, Worst gifts, low cost gifts, promotional gifts

Bookmark to:

Teachers Day is right here in the first week of this month. As a sign of respect and tribute to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, his birthday is observed all over the country as Teacher’s Day in India.

We have been celebrating Teacher’s Day on September 5 since 1962. Dr. Radhakrishnan was considered one of the most learned persons and a great scholar and teacher of his times.

You can thank your teacher, coach or guide who has been a great source of help, inspiration and motivation to you. Here are some really thoughtful and nostalgic gift ideas that your teacher will definitely appreciate.

Picture it forever: Take a picture of your class and put it nicely into a special or even simple picture frame for the teacher to proudly hang up in the classroom or retain in his/her home office. You can opt to personalize the frame with the teacher’s name and your feelings about the teacher engraved. Ask an artistic student to paint it right onto frame.

Memory album for your teacher: Here is another variation of the above idea. You can put together a memory album for your teacher. Take a photograph of each student creatively against a nice background; develop the roll of film right away.

You can then have many colors of scrap-booking paper cut into same sized triangles for the students to choose from and to write a message for the beloved teacher. Each kid will also sign his or her name on their triangle.

You can then put the photographs and the matching triangles together in a creative album that will make an everlasting memory. You can title the first page with your teacher’s name, class and the year. It will sure prove to a big hit as the teacher can share it with his colleagues and family members as well.

Bookmark to:

Raksha Bandhan sure is the most awaited occasion siblings look forward to. Apart from being an opportunity to show their deepest feelings for each other, the festival also presents an exciting opportunity to exchange heart-felt gifts. Insightful articles appearing in the mainstream newspapers tracked this trend.

Take a look what this ToI report has to say, “There has been an evident transition in the gifting trend on Rakhi. Forget those 1,000 bucks brothers dished out from their pockets. Rakhi gifting is much bigger now.”

Owing to several exciting promotions, the concept of gifting has clearly changed, Attractive sales ‘n’ deals are now arranged to lure discerning siblings on the eve of d Rakhi.

New Delhi based model-cum-DJ Barkha Kaul was quoted as saying, “Earlier it was only some cash sisters got from their brothers. Now things have changed. It’s more about showing off. One can say that sisters have become much more demanding because the advertising industry is getting stronger with several new packages and promotions designed for Raksha Bandhan. In my case, my brother being ten years younger to me and not earning yet, I didn’t really expect anything from him. Instead I like buying stuff for him.”

Another interesting report, titled ‘unique gift this raksha bandhan’ listed some off-beat ideas that brothers considered to please their sisters. Among them were gift ideas such as pampering package at the spa, an exclusive trip to foreign shores, a dental care package, a hamper with beverages, confectionaries, and health food items, as well as cell phone coded with vouchers that can be used to buy a wide range of items at various online and retail outlets.

Take the case of a new job aspirant Devarshi Shag who gifted his sister a unique spa experience at Udaipur’s Angsana Spa (Radisson Plaza). “She loves pampering herself, so I felt this would be the perfect gift for her,” the proud brother was quoted as saying.

Tags: corporate gifting for employees, Popular corporate gifts, Corporate gifting India, Worst gifts, gifting india, Best corporate gifts, Business etiquette, Corporate gifting, Business Gifting
Corporate gifting, business gift baskets

Bookmark to:

Friendship Day, as we are all well aware, is a day of celebrating your ties of genuine friendship. It’s a significant occasion that fortifies the bond between friends. The day is not far away. And you may well be thinking of an appropriate gift idea for the occasion.

Instead of going for a rushed, last-minute purchase of flowers, here are some gift ideas to work on to make your friend happy.

1. An eclectic picture perfect photo frame with nice personal touch can be presented. Rummage through old photo albums! Reprocess an old birthday, anniversary or a picnic. An intelligently conceived, calligraphic text will make it look classy.

2. Mouse pad with a message is also worth considering. Many computer accessory stores readily customize the mouse pad with photos or illustrations of your choice. You could redo a ubiquitous penholder or mug in the same manner.

3. Burn a CD of your friend’s favorite duets or solos or classic poems. A music CD with personalized messages sneaked in between songs for you friend will make him or her special. Customize the CD cover with a childhood picture that you can source from your family album.

4. Get a personalized piece of art if you friend is an art lover. Gift him or her one of those beautiful, original prints.

5. Engraving your feelings or simply your initials on a gift will make it a memorable and treasured one. A generic gift may not stand out, but it is possible to give a complete twist to even the simplest and commonest of gifts, making them appear fantastic! For example, by engraving a bracelet or a pretty key chain with a special message for your friend, you can make him or her happy.

Gifting your friend something he or she has been thinking to buy for a while is a perfect way to capture the spirit of the day.

With a bit of thought and imagination, you can come up with an interesting Friendship Day gift ideas.

Bookmark to:

We pointed out in our previous blog how Sachin Tendulkar was excited at the mention of his favorite gifts. According to him, the greeting cards his kids made for him were very special.

Your child might well have received some interesting gifts on their birthday. But how much you do you spend to conceive a return-gift idea on your child’s birthday? Let us check some interesting birthday return gift ideas.

A child’s birthday party is not only about the candles, musical chairs, cakes etc. It is also about nice return gifts for a child. The off-beat take-home tokens remain an integral part of the birthday celebration. Most children indeed look forward to the goodies. If they do not get any, they are disappointed.

Birthday party planners mention that often parents choose to outsource birthday party. However, but they are keen on doing their own return gifts. Their advice to the parents is avoid deviating from the basic party theme and not to treat return gifts as the least priority on their list or else they will end up getting the wrong things.

Also, spending huge money is not the way. Your gift will stand out if it is unique, and not costly. Think what the child’s friends would like take away and make the birthday party gift a memorable one. You should give back gifts that are related to their interest.

According to professional children’s party organizers, the moment ones gets a child involved in the act of decorating or working out a return gift idea, it becomes more compelling and meaningful. They advise parents to plan some activity leading to a birthday party return gift.

One example is planting and nurturing trees will make children aware of nature.  

Tags: Gifting events, gifting to clients, Worst gifts, Gifting occasions, Popular corporate gifts, Cheap corporate gifts, gifting india, business gifting, promotional products, Best corporate gifts

Bookmark to:

In the previous two blogs, we found out gorgeous green gift ideas in keeping with the spirit of the International Plant Appreciation Day. In this blog, we try to see out how to help your friend or colleague to make his home or office settings more beautiful.

Water, as all of us are aware of, is considered to form the true ‘essence of life’. It’s the ‘serene spirit of life forces. The same finds apt expression in modern designs. Fabulous fountains - outdoor and indoor - offer a captivating connection to nature and infuse calmness.

Indoor fountains blend look and functionality. Research has demonstrated that they can increase productivity, if placed near the office desk. You can go for well-crafted magical miniature outdoor garden fountains. Garden wall fountains sure will make a lavish gift.

They are amazing artifacts of beautification, available in captivating color schemes. Consider a wide array of materials for further enhancement like copper, ceramic and sandstone. One may put potted plants, statuary, etc. around an indoor fountain for enhancing its decorative value. Enticing and ravishing rose varieties will spread fragrance. There are about 150 species so you can choose one that suits the overall décor or typical tastes.

Illumination will make them even more appealing. Garden wall fountains, made in the shape of a basin (with low sprays), are available in various patterns – classic and contemporary. They look more elegant when embellished with detailed carvings.

Indoor fountains can prove to be the most ingenious means of bringing the most soothing properties of nature. They come in captivating designs; you can buy one that will suit the person’s tastes. You can opt to customize it for a personal touch to it.

Indoor fountains are ideal for gifting because of their soothing properties. There are ready-to-gift fountains in catchy configurations.

Tags: Business etiquette, gifting india, Best corporate gifts, promotional gifts, promotional products, Best business gifts, Business Gifting
Corporate gifting, corporate gifts companies, corporate gifting for employees, Popular corporate gifts

Bookmark to:

Here are some more ‘ridiculously stupid’ gift ideas that well fit the April Fool spirit from a sneezing, yawning monkey to a screaming rubber chicken. You can come up with ‘stupid’ gifts.

Slingshot Monkey
The Slingshot Monkey is a stuffed monkey that’s dressed like a superhero. It can fly up to at least 50 feet and scream along the way. Scary and funny, both in one go, isn’t it?

Mistletoe to Go
In the mood for love, but unfortunately, on the go? Turn to this portable mistletoe. This attractive arrangement of faux mistletoe carries a suction cup, which attaches to your forehead.

USB dancer
This bikini-wearing dancer can plug into your computer’s USB port & audio port and when audio files run on your system, she will dance and gyrate around the pole.

Get off the Phone Excuse Machine
If you’ve trouble getting off the phone from some unwanted callers, this small electronic device could be the solution. Press a button for ‘Whoops, there’s the door’ or ‘I can’t hear you, you are breaking up,’ and you can thus get off the hook, as the caller will get easily fooled.

Inflatable Moosehead
No need to go through the effort and expense of tracking down a moose and then shooting it dead when you can merely buy an inflatable moose head for the trophy wall. Show that you are brave, even if you are not!

Electronic Yodeling Pickle
The electronic yodeling pickle is a plastic pickle with a high-tech interior. When you opt to press the pickle’s button, it belts out a yodel that’s reminiscent of the Swiss Alps.

Poo-lar Bear Candy
It is a peculiar plastic polar bear, which one may choose to fill with candy poop so when one presses down on the bear’s hind quarters, he will poop out a tasty treat.

Tags: business gift baskets, Corporate gifting, Business etiquette, promotional products, promotional gifts, gifting india, Gifting events, Best corporate gifts, gifting etiquette, Best business gifts

Bookmark to:

Play Clan is place tucked away in a glassy mall in the capital city that offers experimental and alternative gift ideas. It is not a commercial enterprise; it’s a rather small-scale retail venture.

Eccentricities that expressed in ink & paper in the form of illustrations in popular graphic novels spill onto accessories showcased here. They represent age-old icons, urban pop culture, and other symbols of everyday life. These are Wonderful artifacts with a contemporary touch!

You get to see a sage from Kashi on a colorful, classy mug — with the Ganges ghats illustrated over his body, or a DTC bus as an illustration in a small frame, or a rickshaw colored in with letterings ‘Taxi no. 9211’, ‘CNG’ and ‘Roses are red, violets are blue’. The ravishing rustic metal kettle and captivating chai glass cups are iconized here.

T-shirts and formal shirts sport a larger picture, with the Indian “Hum do hamare do’ family sharing a Bajaj scooter, an Old Delhi nook flush with kites flying high on Independence Day,  or superstar Rajinikanth posing with his bike. Mumbai’s towering skyscrapers and VT (or CST) are etched in cushion covers and frames. Snatches of Kolkata are also there. The Presidential House is splashed on other curios

Himanshu Dogra started Illum Designs almost eight years ago. He unveiled the first Play Clan retail store in 2007. He has mentioned in an interview: “Our themes change every couple of months.” Their current theme is India images, across cities. They will soon introduce a Goddess Saraswati theme.

The wonderful artifacts in this store are politically correct and at the same time entertaining and humorous. They will help you to strike a chord with the person whom you opt to gift them.

Bookmark to:

Is your marriage anniversary just round the corner? You obviously want to relive those golden moments with your partner. If you are still unclear about what to really gift him or her on this memorable occasion, there is no need to worry.

We offer you some simple albeit interesting gift ideas:

Giving your partner something he or she has been thinking to buy for a while is a perfect way to display your love. It’s showing that you care about his or her tastes and understand what makes him or her truly happy.

You can conceive a more personal gift like cuff links, a watch or locket engraved with his or her initials or a very special message. Consider making a scrapbook of photographs and mementos of your beautiful relationship.

A picture perfect photo frame will also work. All you require is a good quality photo frame. Pick one that jells well with her or his personality - not necessarily a mushy one. Rummage through your old photo albums to strike a memorable note on this romantic occasion!

Opt for any moment-defining like one on the birthday, anniversary or your first ever photo snapped together. Glass cube frames make a good choice, as they let you put three photos instead of one, as in a regular frame.

From the day you met your lover until today, you must have amassed some great memories. Jot them down with a touch of sentiment and gift it to him or her with a single red rose. Pick a classy leather trimmed diary, ideally with a buckle to close it.

And don’t forget to personalize your gift with some engraving. This will make your gift romantic and sweet.

Tags: Cheap corporate gifts, promotional products, Gifting occasions, low cost gifts, corporate gifts companies, Gifting events, gifting etiquette, Best business gifts, business gift baskets,

Bookmark to:

Nearly eight in 10 Indians (77%) prefer Clothes, Sweets (including chocolates- 69 %) and Books (49%) as their preferred gifting items. Importantly, more than half of the people surveyed indicated they would shop online.

Following are the broad findings of a survey conducted by Nielsen India on gifting patterns research panel.

• Differences are there across different age groups in terms of gifting items, budgets and shopping channels.

• Sweets, Clothes and Books are universally popular, but more so with the mature group aged 45 and above

• The younger crowd (15-24 years) prefers to gift technology gadgets such as mobile phones and MP3 players.

• Holidays (travel and accommodation), travel tickets and tickets to amusement parks are popular new-age gift ideas.

• About 20 percent would like to give wine as a gift.

• More than half of the people surveyed indicated they would shop online.

According to N. S. Muthukumaran, Director, Online Panel, the Nielsen Company, India, the technology that has entered our lives in the last 10 years is deeply affecting young people in their twenties who have grown up with it. He says, “To many, it is cool to be seen with the latest model of phone or music system and giving one as a present is in the same league, albeit a costly option for these young folks.”

Look for more findings of the survey indicating the habits and beliefs of Indians regarding gifting in the next blog posts…

Pic Source

Bookmark to: