Inside a packing day before Deepavali
Four hundred hampers, six people and a lot of marigolds: one day in our packing room.
Return gifts that guests actually keep
What works for weddings, seemantham and house-warmings, and what ends up in a drawer.
Return gifts are the one part of a function every guest takes home, and the part most often forgotten in a cupboard. A few things are kept and used for years.
Small brass and German silver pieces do well: kumkum boxes, little diyas, a single bell. They suit almost every family, they do not expire, and they look better with age. Cotton is the other safe choice; a good hand towel or a block-printed pouch is always used.
Food gifts work for house-warmings and naming ceremonies, but keep them dry and small: 100 g of good dry fruit, a jar of honey, a pack of filter coffee. Avoid anything that needs a fridge.
What ends up in a drawer: plastic showpieces, photo frames, and anything with the couple’s faces printed on it. Names and dates on a tag are a better keepsake than names on the gift itself.
For 100 guests, allow at least 10 days. That leaves time for a sample, printing the tags, and a recount before the function.
