Presents to Please
GIFTING JUST CHANGED ITS SPELLING TO PERSONALISED. SIMPLY PUNE CUTS ALLTHE CLICHES TO BRING YOU INNOVATIVE OPTIONS THIS FESTIVE SEASON.
SIMPLY PUNE cuts all the cliches to bring you innovative options this festive season.
Move over mithai boxes and photo-frames. Gifts are getting a splash of quirk, colour and fun as Puneites are getting increasingly creative with presents. With the festive, wedding and partying season setting in, there are ample occasions to floor your hosts and loved ones with offbeat offerings. Bespoke is key this season as designers and store owners will make the gift just the way you want. From personalised murals and teddy bear candles to custom made chocolate-and-coffee cases, and wines with your very own label, the city is flooded with ideas for gifting. SIMPLY PUNE scours the stores to bring you some creative and fun pieces that you should gift wrap this season.
THE PERFECT STROKE
If pictures speak louder than words, then why not gift a specially commissioned painting or mural to mark an occasion? Skip the predictable photo frames and instead get a personalised mural or painting that city graffiti artist Wink can create on any surface of your choice. Paint the nuptials on a brick wall or have your pal sketched and coloured on a canvas cloth to make the artwork more personal. Urban sculptures that can stand as stunning pieces of art in a home or garden or wall murals make for a great gift and add a personal touch to the house. Murals take a week and canvas pieces up to three days, so plan your theme and call Wink. Price Rs 10,000 onwards Tel 9035029465
BOXED TREATS
Goodies in a hamper are a favourite treat in most homes. However, if you want your gift box to stand out, then skip the mithais and chocolates! Go exotic with freshly ground coffee, dried cranberries and French ceramic ware—something that’s bound to give your gift basket a new twist. Tell Salony Kane, founder of The Providore, a boutique gourmet store, what’s the occasion is, and she’ll help you put together a basket that your host is bound to love. If the receiver is a coffee lover, she’ll get you an array of freshly ground coffee; if it’s chocolates, then she’ll pull out the best Swiss and Italian fare from her shelves. Never put cheese in a wine hamper, she says; instead throw in dried cranberries, blueberries, crackers or a box of the delicious Italian Pernigotti. Diwali
hampers look dainty with dried fruits, freshly ground coffees and a French press with Emile Henri ceramic ware. Kane promises to give you the best wine accessories, chocolates, biscuits and teas from across the world and them into classy navy blue boxes with a splash of fuchsia, silver and gold for the festive touch. Price Depending on the hamper At 104, The Providore, Ground Floor, KV Saptnekar marg, Anand Park, near HDFC Bank, Aundh Tel 65601551
LIGHT UP
Little wax teddy bears to announce the arrival of a baby, Halloween candles for a bash or a cinnamon-cardamom studded scented wax pillar, candles make for charming gifts for just about any occasion. City interior designer Cinzania Rodrigues makes lovely wax offerings that, she assures, appeal to both men and women. Go for the regular scented trunk-shaped candles or ask her to make one in any shape, size or fragrance of your choice. She experiments with flavours such as cinnamon, clove, strawberry, orange, green apple and lavender and can add a personal touch with shapes depending upon the occasion. If it’s a housewarming ceremony, then gift a dinner table candle set studded with spices; spray the candles with silver glitter as a 25th anniversary gift. Rodrigues uses a mix of paraffin, soft wax and bees wax to make the candles last longer and give them a milky translucent look. Floral diya sets for Diwali and neatly packed candle gift boxes too are available. Price Diyas Rs 750 to Rs 1000 Gift sets: Rs 2500 to Rs 5000 At OIA-The Design Studio, Shop 1 and 2, Kohinoor Building, behind Reliance Megamart, Tain Square Tel 9970049000
VANITY FARE
Festivals are a great time for some pampering. So, if you are scouting for a gift for a friend who could do with some tender pampering, then put together a Pandora’s box of homemade natural lotions, lip balms and bathing bars. City girl and selfconfessed soap lover, Shreya Sharan, has launched Burst of Happyness— a range of products inspired by the home larder. The products are mostly seasonal. Prepare for the winter months with her milk and saffron lotions, a mango butter bathing bar infused with ylang ylang oil and spearmint essential oils to put the moisture back into winter-dried skin and True Desi, soap made of haldi and besan that’s been a grandmother’s remedy for glowing skin for generations. If you want the vanity hamper to look more exotic, then Sharan has a Red Wine Soap that is loaded with anti-ageing properties and a beer shampoo hair wash bar. Price From Rs 70 to Rs 500 At burstofhappyness.in
PAST FORWARD
If you prefer to stick to the traditional mithai- dried fruits gifting routine, then opt for packs in trays and boxes that will stay on as home accessories much after the goodies have vanished. Either Or gets creative this season and has introduced interesting quirky gift trays and baskets. The traditional fruit basket gets a funky spin as a vibrant cloth basket with coloured miniature dolls pinned on them, can serve as a pretty accessory in your living room. If you must gift salted cashews or almonds, then buy their New Love Nest, a pretty wooden tray to hold nuts, with a lid that has a screen printed game of Ludo with birds as tokens. So, get quirky and add in some fun element to these traditional gifts. Price On request At Either Or, 24, Sohrab Hall, 21, Sassoon Road Tel 26057225
INDIA ON YOUR PLATE
When all you see around this season is dressy ethnic wear, then why not take a slice of India when you go for festive visiting? Opt for charkha wall clocks, puppet coasters and Buddha-inspired cushions as you pack functional ethnic gifts this Diwali. Pick the blue-purple Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-inspired shot glasses or the ubiquitous black-andyellow rickshaw coasters for those who’d love to bring the outdoors into the home. With heady party seaaon kicking in, your hist could well do with lots of coasters so go ethnic with Taj Mahal or dance mudra printed coasters to add colour to the side tables. Our favourite are the wall clocks— with the regal peacock, Kathakali dancers and a charkha shaped piece. Price Shot glasses Rs 475, clocks Rs 750 onwards At madinindia.in
OUT OF THE BOX GIFTING
You might not be able to buy your fast wheels’-loving host a bike, but you can definitely gift him an all-expenses paid Harley Davidson riding tour. Or push your loaded-with-work friend to live it up with salsa sessions with a voucher to the neighborhood class. If you can’t think out of the box while buying presents, then just pick up a gift experience box that brings an array of unconventional experiences that make for unforgettable memories. From helicopter rides and parasailing trips to gourmet cooking classes, these neatly packed boxes offer almost any fun experience that you can think of. Experiences can start at Rs 999 and go up to Rs 18,000 Available at wittygift.com, giveter.com and Delightgifts.in
QUIRKY AND KITSCH
The next time you’re invited for a bash, carry along a drinking game that’ll keep one and all enthralled. Chemical Locha, a must-stop for those who love celebrating quirk, has some fun games that you play while you drink. We liked the Slurred Drinking Game where you grab your favourite beverage and get ready to slur your words with this board game. Another quirky item is the Drunken Tower— similar to the all-time favourite Jenga, but with a twist especially when you can’t keep your hands steady after a few drinks. The store has lots of other things that you can pick up for fun-loving friends. Price Ready To Take Off: Rs 3525; drinking games start at Rs 899 At Kapila Dairy Basement, Near Pingale Garden Restaurant, North Main Road, Koregaon Park thechemicallocha.com
WINE WONDERS
If it’s time to raise a toast, then do it with style. Don’t head to the local gourmet store to pick up a bottle of wine, charm your friends and associates this festive season with a personalised bottle of wine,