THE FESTIVE SEASON IS HERE...HOW ABOUT THE 'GIFTS'?

Image Courtesy - Indian Association Geneva

Finally, it's that time of the year when festivities, marriages and parties galore! You have Dussehra, Karwa Chauth, Diwali, Bakri Eid, Gurpurab, Christmas and the New Year all converging together during the last 3-4 months before the year comes to a close. Thus it's celebration time with plenty of bonhomie and bonding time between family, friends and loved ones! And it's also that auspicious time of the year when you exchange gifts to express your love towards family, friends, near and dear ones! Did I just say gifts? Did it send you into a tizzy? Or did it give you a panic attack?With the spiraling prices of essential items and household budgets going haywire...it's time to get creative and think out of the box! 

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No, I am not asking you to start making handicrafts,artifacts Et al. at home... though you could give that a shot if you had the time and inclination to do so! For example,you could recycle your old mithai /dry fruit/jewelry boxes by re-designing them as you paint it or add some mirror works, beads, buttons,ribbons etc. to add your personal touch and refill them with dry fruits, sweetmeats and miscellaneous knickknacks. Some of you could perhaps try your hand at making aromatic candles of different shapes and sizes. Those of you gifted with an artistic flair could make unique handmade sculptures or a painting on canvas/ glass as an expression of your creativity. And some of you blessed with good culinary skills could might as well bake some yummy cakes and sweet meats in your very own kitchen! 

Overall, it is any day better to see these lovely sculpted artifacts or canvas paintings grace the drawing rooms of any home rather than at random purchase a regular box of sweets over the counter from your local supermarket that everyone is going to end up buying and at the end of the day no one is going to remember the person who gifted it in the first place! And of course the situation becomes all the more tricky when you have a tight budget and you don't want to miss out on all the fun of partaking in exchanging gifts.What say? Thus I truly believe that such thoughtful handmade gifts would indeed make an occasion even more memorable! Agree? 

Now here are a few gifting ideas for those of you who are yet undecided, confused, do not have the time or patience to go shopping or to make your own personalized handmade gift. So here we are...

1. If you love gifting gadgets to friends during festivities then it's time to move on from the routine stuff like expensive smartphones, tablets, Bluetooth speakers, hard disk drives etc. You could try gifting something different. How about a niche product from Equinox - An Electronic Personal Scale? This versatile LCD scale not only helps you keep your weight under check but also has a calendar, clock with alarm functions,thermometer and humidity functions, strain gauge sensor, low battery as well as overload indicator. I am a proud owner of an Equinox digital personal scale and I treasure it immensely. Surely your friends will love it too and remember you each day of their lives as they keep their health under check and realize that you are their well-wisher in the truest sense! Priced at Rs. 2,600, this mini and portable electronic personal scale makes for a memorable gift that would last a lifetime! To purchase this product, visit website  of Equinox at http://equinox-india.com/

2. Instead of gifting sweet-meats, namkeen, biscuits, cookies and chocolates which are unhealthy food items as we are already well aware of (Or why else would we hit the gym or be queuing at the dentist once the festivities are over?)...try 'Pansari'! Brand Pansari may not ring a bell... however this relatively lesser known brand is worth giving a shot. Recently I was a recipient of a healthy food gift hamper in one of their digital media campaigns and I was completely bowled over by the contents in the box and the attractive packaging. This festive box contains two premium varieties of Basmati rice - Pansari Signature and Pansari Royal (both 1 kg each), half kg Poha and two half liter bottles each of cooking oil namely Oreal Kacchi Ghani Organic Mustard Oil and Purti Refined Sunflower Oil. This 3.5 kg box originally priced at Rs. 621 comes at a special festive offer of just Rs. 432. At this price, product and packaging...I say it beats out on competition! A little word of mouth would connect the consumers to this brand that can give confectioneries a run for their money in the years to come! So what are you waiting for? Book your order for an exclusive Pansari hamper and relax as a staff from their sales team gets ready to deliver this exclusive box at your doorsteps.Visit their Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/pansarigroup/

3. Imitation and Statement jewelry would make for a very good gift as far as festivals like Karva Chauth, Diwali, Christmas or even New Year are concerned. 

Since the prices of gold are at an all time high and diamonds were never really anyone's best friends unless you could afford them...so what? Fret not! Here are two amazing and lesser known online portals that you could try e-shopping from - Navyata and Tribalzone. 

They have a decent collection of accessories like Bangles, Bracelets, Rings, Earrings, Necklace, Bags, Ear Cuff etc. at affordable prices. 

In my personal collection, I have beautiful pendants, earrings, rings etc. from both the above-mentioned brands and I loved them! Thus I can vouch for their quality and design (of course, you can start with a small purchase to see if it lives up to your expectation or not). 

In my view it is preferable to gift a lady a pouch containing an assortment of accessories over clothes as they can mix n match them with their wardrobe and would be ever so happy and grateful to have received them in the first place!

So, here's recommending these two brands to you to shop from this festive season.

• To shop from Navyata, visit their Facebook page  and message them about the product you are interested in from the photos cataloged on their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/shop.navyata/

• To shop at Tribalzone, visit their e-shopping portal - www.tribalzone.in

After reading this post, haven't I saved you time, effort and the fuel that you'd have burnt hopping from shop to shop for a gift? Now it's time you made your pick!
Wishing you all a wonderful festive season ahead!

Regards,
Sonaal

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