Daddy’s gift

26 May

A simple Father's Day giftWhat can I get my daddy

For this special day?

He needs nothing,

“I have everything”

I always hear him say.

Boy, this is really got me thinking

So I guess, this is what I’ll do…

Gift wrap

A big empty box

Put a note in it

That says,

“I love you!”

-      By D. Alsup

When was the last time you gave a handwritten note to someone? This Father’s Day, pick up a pen, take a piece of stationery and write “I love you dad” on it. Give this to your father.

Sometimes, the simplest gift is the best.

P.S: This year, Father’s Day is on June 17.

 

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Gifted, cheap and original

17 May

Today presents a new milestone for my blog. I’m proud to present my first guest post by Vijayakumar Kotteri, a written communications expert and fellow blogger.

Read on as he ponders on whether gifting has become just another transaction and the gift, just a commodity and, how he has managed to buck the trend.

Choosing a gift is tough, especially when you look at it as a “gift”, a concept that has been hijacked to spawn a multimillion business. The easy way is to pay a price to keep up with trend and be “correct”. The other option is to do or give what feels right, even if it does not strain the wallet or entail a visit to the gift shop.

I had a tall, thin colleague working with me. He was in accounts department and our interaction was limited to occasional matters of money. One day, he surprised me with a lovely contribution to the house magazine I was editing. I discovered he had a good sense of humor, when I spoke to him about his article. I gave him an extra-long pencil with a back-scratcher attached to one end, with a small note: “For the difficult-to-reach writer’s itch.” He was very pleased and said: “I never thought you were capable of doing something like this.” I am not sure if that was meant to be a compliment, but he remains a good friend.

Last Valentine’s, I had this urge to get my wife a cake. Went to the bakery right across the street and found some garish ones, glistening and multi-colored and what not. Both of us are allergic to food colors and I was too lazy to go bakery-hunting. Just then a batch of fresh, juicy chocolate walnut cakes arrived. I bought one at one-third the prize of the special Valentine’s Day offers. Back home, lined the edges with almonds and pushed in pistachios to make a heart in the center. Surprisingly, my wife liked it enough to photograph the cake before finished it.

To welcome her home the night of our marriage I invested in some drawing paper and crayons. Every room welcomed her with a different message, apologizing for the incomplete state of that rented house but assuring her that she had long been a tenant in my heart and would remain so forever. I had also cued up our tiny tape-recorder to play a song that celebrated the arrival of my sweetheart, the moment she switched on the light. She ended up in tears, hopefully, not because she had walked into a future with a pinch fist.

Are inexpensive, original and very personal gifts now limited to school assignments, when the teacher makes you do a card for mom and dad? I notice that even the young go for the branded, not justified by their pocket-money. And when they hear the price of the gift the oldies have given, they politely hide a smile.

Is there a generation gap in gifting too? Or is it that the gesture has become just another transaction and the gift, just a commodity?

Vijayakumar Kotteri writes for business and pleasure. He blogs at http://www.wrisources.com/blog.html

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My top ten picks for Mother’s Day

7 May

With Mother’s Day is just around the corner, here are my top ten gift picks for this year. Take a look.

Note: This post is an attempt to help those looking for a special something to gift the mothers in their lives. Stop reading right now if you think this is another attempt to commercialise the thought behind Mother’s Day.  If you, like me, believe in celebrating all year round and not just specific days, don’t wait for Mother’s Day to even tell your mother how much you love and cherish her. Do it now!

For those still looking for some gift ideas, read on…

1. Family tree: Check out this personalised family tree with some lovely phrases by Inviting Moments. Make your own family tree with motifs of leaves, birds or hearts.

2. Bird family necklace: Looking for something your mother can wear? I absolutely adore this elegant bird family necklace in sterling silver that I chanced upon in the Chiky store on Etsy. Top it up with a matching bracelet if you like.

3. M.O.M: The ‘Mom Operating Manual’ by Doreen Cronin and Laura Cornell is about the ‘most advanced human models on the planet’ and what makes them tick:-). Meant as a hilarious guide for kids and fathers, it will appeal to moms too.

4. Wooden post card: Instead of the standard greeting card that are dime a dozen, try this one. Given that I love all things Jumbo, I immediately fell in love with the one that had a mother and a baby elephant. But the one I’m suggesting here is a fun one from the Optometrist Series by Yvonne Leong.

5. Songs for my mother: This album by the artist Ronan Keating was recorded in memory of his late mother Marie Keating and also to celebrate Mother’s Day. The songs that Ronan chose are songs that he remembers his mother listening to throughout his childhood. You could create your very own album with songs that your mother loves.

6. Personalised cutting board: You know how mothers spend a lot of time in the kitchen dishing up delicious food for the family? Well, this one is for them. Created by Red Envelope, you can customise it with your mother’s name or the family name and choose from four design options of silverware, rolling-pin, pig or elk.

7. The Small Stuff Bag: This little bag by Jane Says Vintage can be used in so many ways and is environment friendly. Perfect for moms who are always doing so many small and big things to make our lives happy.

8. Sewing: Does your mother love sewing? Look no further than ‘The Sewing Book’ by Alison Smith. As the publisher puts it, “written by a passionate stitcher and teacher, with her own sewing school, eager to produce a one-stop sewing bible for her students, this book leaves no hem unturned”. Loaded with information on techniques, tools and patterns, it aims to answer every sewing question.

9. Engraved jewellery box: Personalization Mall, the creators of this wooden engraved jewellery box, allows you to choose from nine poems written for your mothers, grandmothers, godmothers or aunts. You can edit one of our poems, or even write your own.

10. Chicken Soup for the Indian Mother’s Soul: Being an Indian, I couldn’t resist adding this one to the list. This book pays tribute to the phenomenon of motherhood – the universal calling that requires the skills of a master mediator, mentor, cook and counsellor. For all Indians out there, this could be a thoughtful gift if your mother likes to read.

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Wrap it up

2 May

Fun and creative gift wrapping ideas

Ever since I started blogging about gifting, I’ve been on the lookout for blogs on a similar or related topic. To my delight, I discovered that there some truly wonderful blogs by amazingly creative and talented people. Some of the posts closely related to my pet topic of gifting have been on gift wrapping.

What’s a gift without wrapping…it’s like a cake without any icing. Besides, it adds to the mystery of what the gift could be. So here we go…presenting some creative, whacky and fun gift wrapping ideas. (Disclaimer: I do not claim credit for any of these wonderful ideas. The true geniuses behind these ideas are mentioned below).

Confessions of a wrapper: I discovered this post on the blog P.S aka Paper Source. Ann, a self-confessed wrapaholic shares all the planning and perfection that go into her wrapping plans each holiday season. Check her drool worthy ideas here.

Wrapping with a theme

Cheap and chic: Looking for some cheap but chic gift wrapping ideas? Well check them out on the papernstitch blog. The simplicity of this one is stunning. Who would’ve thought you could use library cards to wrap gifts!

Wrapping with library cards

Brown and simple: Who said brown paper was boring? It’s the most versatile wrapping paper (other than white of course). The pictures say it all. I found these on the blog Julie Rose.

A simple brown package with an elegant trim and cute little tag

Some rope, a nice big cut out of an initial and it’s done

Some rope, a nice big cut out of an initial and it’s done

Brown paper, berries, leaves and ribbon and it's done

A name cut out from good old newspaper and glued on to the brown paper wrapping

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This time it’s personal

24 Apr

Taking heed of the advice I generously dish out to others, I gave myself ample time to think up the perfect gift for my husband’s birthday this year. Much thinking later I still had no idea on what I was going to do.

Having ticked off the normal suspects like shirts and ties (has several!) ), I realised I needed help and decided to revisit one of my earlier posts — gift ideas for the hard to gift – in which I had shed some light on some gift ideas for the singular group of people who are hard to gift…men! As I read the post, I mentally crossed out the options. Books? Nah, I’ve given them before. Watches? No again. It wouldn’t be special enough as my husband has already has received watches as gifts from others.

A painted set of my daughter's hand and foot prints

A painted set of my daughter's hand and foot prints

It was time to do some serious thinking. After putting my brain into the overdrive mode for several days on what could be the perfect gift, I decided to do things differently. This time the gift would be personal… this year I, no make that two of us, would make the gift. What could be more personal for a father than getting a gift made by his little girl?

I decided to make a painting with a set of four canvases I painted in bright, cheerful colours. My daughter, just two and half years old, pitched in with her hands and feet (literally) by turning out a perfect set of her hand and foot prints in just one go. That she had loads of fun playing with normally inaccessible colour goes without saying. Completing the painting was a message that read, “To dad, with love”.

So if you’re in a quandary about what to gift a man in your life, I would say maybe it’s time to get personal. From a collage of special photographs to a set of coasters with personal messages, a framed hand painted caricature or a beautifully designed family tree, the options can be endless. Give it a shot.

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Feed that fetish

10 Apr

I have nine elephants and I miss them.An elephant in Kerala, India

No, I don’t own a zoo or work in an animal park. I have a fetish for collecting elephant figurines of different kinds and these nine belong to my precious collection (if I can call it that). They are made from different material like wood, glass, clay and stone.

For various reasons (“too bulky, will take up too much place”, “too heavy”, “what if it breaks?”) I decided not to carry them with me when I moved from Mumbai to Copenhagen. Now that I’m doing up my new home, I regret not having carried them. I feel as if something’s missing.

In my collection are some that I bought and some that were thoughtfully gifted to me by family and friends. This brings me to my main point — the connection between gifting and a fetish.

From my elephant collection

From my elephant collection

Everyone has a special interest, hobby or passion. When you’re wondering what to gift a person, it helps to know what their passion or fetish is.

My nephew has a fetish for collecting car models. Just nine years old and he already has a collection of over a hundred! One would think that with such a big collection, there isn’t any car out there that we can gift him. Yet someone in the family manages to find something new to add to his collection. My nephew welcomes each new car — small or big, common or unique –with much excitement and glee.

So, if know someone who is a collector of things, you know what to gift that person. The key is to look out for something that the person does not already have. It could be a special edition piece or something common but made in a different style or material. It can even be something that is related to the fetish.  In addition to innumerable car models and toys, my nephew has been a recipient of gifts like a bag in the shape of a car, books on cars and car movies…you get the drift.

Go ahead. Feed that fetish.

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A piece of a place

4 Apr

Cushions with typical Mumbai phrases

A cute elephant motif passport holder

When some of my friends learnt that I would be moving from India to Denmark, they put together motley gifts. Ranging from cushion covers, bookmarks and badges with witty words to a clock representing a south Indian, they all had one thing in common…they represented something fun and unique about my home town and country. Another friend gave me colourful, passport holders that had motifs of things uniquely Indian.

They were meant to remind me of Mumbai and India and at the same time comfort me in a new place. It’s like taking a piece of a place you love with you when you move to another place. It could also just be a memory of a brief but beautiful time you spent…like a holiday. I call them my take away memories and I display them with pride in my new home in Copenhagen.

A Mumbai auto rickshaw

A Mumbai auto rickshaw

I recently created a gift that was a take away memory of Mumbai. A European colleague of my husband visited Mumbai for the first time and I hit upon this idea giving a painted auto rickshaw or tuk tuk as it is affectionately called in some places. An auto rickshaw is a cute looking 3 wheeled mode of public transport in Mumbai that can take you places quickly and without costing too much. I purchased a metal auto and customised it by writing Mumbai in three different languages…English, Hindi (the national language) and Marathi (the language of the state that Mumbai belongs to). Not only was it quirky, it was uniquely Mumbai…one of a kind!

Take away memories can be a meaningful and fun gifts. From fridge magnets, show pieces and mugs to t-shirts, key chains and bags, the possibilities of take away memory gifts you can create is endless. Just add in your personal touch and you can gift a piece of a place as I call it.

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What to gift a toddler

27 Mar

Ever since I wrote about gift ideas for men – the hardest to gift — in one of my earlier posts, I thought it would be interesting contrast to write about gift ideas for toddlers –  the easiest to gift. As a mother of a toddler, I get invited to a lot of birthday parties of other toddlers and I have some fail safe gift ideas I use all the time.

There is so much the little ones are interested in, so much they do on a daily basis and so many things they like that there is an amazing variety of gifts for them. It’s certainly no surprise that Santa carries such a heavy bag of Christmas goodies!

 So, here are gift ideas you can’t go wrong with.

Sweet lullabies: I love singing lullabies to my daughter. And when I run out of lullabies, I just put on a CD that has the instrumental version of lullabies like ‘be still baby’, ‘rock a bye baby on the tree top’ and ‘ten little fingers, ten little toes’. The music works on you steadily, soothing and relaxing you.  Lo and behold, the baby is sleeping blissfully. Sometimes the music has worked so well that mum and dad are asleep too:-)

Cosy and warm: Speaking of nap time, toddlers love to have their own pillow and a blanket. You can choose from pink heart shaped pillows to pillows that have cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse and Snow White on them. Match that with a soft, fluffy blanket and you will have a gift that any toddler would love.

Curious cats: Toddlers have this amazing curiosity to know everything in their lives. They have an insatiable appetite to learn new things each day. It could anything from a new word or a new action to the name of a flower or a person. What could be better than books to help them learn? Bookstores have a whole range of books on different topics – from numbers and alphabets to flowers, vegetables, colours and shapes.

Tell me a story: Most of us still remember the stories we heard as children. My grandmother, an enthralling story teller, told us stories of kings and queens, of gods and goddesses. Gift a story book or a story DVD – complete with dialogues and songs – and you will have made both child and parent happy. Look out for special ones with folk tales from your country that not just entertain but help carry on the good old traditions.

 Like I mentioned, it is easy to buy gifts for toddlers!

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Gift ideas for the ‘hard to gift’

27 Mar
Red Panda from Titan's WWF collection

Red Panda Titan watch, a perfect gift for the animal lover

Men…sigh. They really can be troublesome right?

Before you think of the many possible reasons for this statement, let me get straight to the point. The problem with men that I’m referring to is one several of you will identify with, but thankfully a small one. You know how some people can be really hard to buy gifts for? For me, men top that list. They definitely belong to that singular group of people who are the ‘hard to gift’. Let’s face it. All of us have at some point in time had trouble coming up with a really good gift for the men in our lives — father, brother, lover, husband or friend.

This is certainly true for my life. In my family, this group of hard to gift people is led by my father, father-in-law and husband. Creative and thoughtful as I am with my gifts, there have been occasions when I just haven’t been able to figure out the perfect gift for them and, the nice people they are, they’ve pretended that they really liked what I got for them!

So why are men so hard to gift? I have a simple explanation for this. Men just don’t use the numerous things women do and even among the things they use, the choice is pretty limited. Let’s take a few examples, shall we? For instance jewellery – for women the list includes finger rings, ear rings, bangles, bracelets, anklets, lockets, chains, and necklaces. And for men? Finger rings…yes, cuff links…yes, ear rings…rare (generally in just one ear), chains…maybe…and that’s the whole list!

How about clothes? Women have a repertoire of clothes to wear – blouses, skirts, dresses, pants, suits, jeans, t-shirts, salwar kurtas and sarees. Some of this can be accessorised with scarves, stoles and dupattas. Contrast this with the clothes men wear — shirts, pants, jeans, t-shirts, shorts… that’s it and that too in very few styles!

But there is hope. Here’s my recipe: Know the man’s likes & dislikes (essential), put in some thought and, give yourself ample time (very important!) to source out the gift. You will find that getting the perfect gift becomes a little easier.

Here are a couple of gift ideas that have worked for me. Try them out.

Books: I am of the firm opinion that books can be great gifts even for people who aren’t too fond of reading. For the book lover of course, there are options galore depending on his preference. But nothing can beat gifting an early/special edition that is hard to find.

Even for the not-so-much-into reading man, you can choose from coffee table books, books on specific topics like say cricket for the cricket lover or a book on gourmet cuisine for a person who likes to cook. Even comics can work well. I know someone who didn’t really read too much, but was thrilled to receive a big fat, hard-bound book. And what book was that? It was a compilation of his favourite comic strip…Calvin&Hobbes! The idea is to know the person’s interests and hobbies and choose a book that caters to that.

Watches: Here’s one thing that all men wear irrespective of who they are and the kind of work they do. Better still, it’s something that most men would be happy to have more of. A word of caution here: the kind of watch a person wears is to a large extent influenced by the kind of person he is and the lifestyle he leads. For example, the watch of someone who loves nature and is outdoors a lot would have to be robust, waterproof and have some kind of in-built navigation support. On the other hand, a man with simple preferences would be happy with man a classic and elegant watch, while a teenager who like something flashy. The good thing is that there is an amazing range of watches suiting different preferences and budgets. Try the Titan WWF collection for the animal lover…it’s sure to work.

I guess, you’re thinking that’s it, just 2 gift ideas! Well, I haven’t included things like shirts (common), pens (can be boring), ties (not everyone wears them) and shoes (great gift but really difficult to get the perfect fit without trying it on the feet in question).

I did warn you that men are hard to gift:-)

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Women’s Day: No gift good enough for her!

6 Mar

I’m in a dilemma.  How do you celebrate women in a day? Do you praise her to the skies for the various roles she essays? Do you recognise her for her achievements? Or, do you shower her with gifts on Women’s Day? And, what can you possibly gift a woman to make her feel special about being one?

I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t any such gift that can possibly do justice to these objectives. The reason I say this is because celebrating women or making them feel loved and special is not just about one day. It’s about a lifetime of doing several different things. Things that are still not being done even one hundred years from when Women’s Day was first celebrated.

I’m going to refer to these things as gifts because they are a rarity, even today, in many parts of the world. These are gifts a woman would value, cherish and receive happily.

The gift of individuality: Women play so many different roles (and excel at it!) that we tend to view them in the confines of that particular role – it could be mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, mother-in-law, grandmother, a colleague or boss. We forget they are individuals in their own right — individuals with their own dreams and desires, quirks and qualities, thoughts and opinions. Dreams they keep aside for their families, quirks and qualities that get submerged in the roles they dawn, thoughts and opinions that don’t get expressed or, in many cases are sadly not heard.  

It’s easy to say that women themselves are party to this. Of course we are. But, let’s be honest here, a lot of that blame is not just ours to own. It’s a function of the societies we live in, the mindsets people cultivate and the behaviour they display.

Let’s begin by treating the women in our lives as individuals and respecting them. How about loving them for who they are and not just for the roles they play in our lives. To the women I will say, let’s not forsake our individuality when we take on new roles. Who we are should shape our roles, let’s not get stereotyped by the roles we play. How about treating ourselves and our clan with respect and dignity; the world will be happy to follow suit!

The gift of a conducive environment: Conducive environment. Big words; what do they mean? Simply put, an environment that encourages them to follow their dreams, that supports them in their journey to get there and, nurtures them to blossom to the best of their abilities. Even more simply put, a family that treats the woman’s career just as important as the man’s and offers the same privileges to both; parents that don’t distinguish between what their son can do and what their daughter can;  a family that gives a homemaker the chance to pursue a hobby simply because it gives her pleasure; a husband who gives his wife everything she needs to be the best homemaker she can.  

I have seen this up close. My sister went back to college to become a doctor,  years into her marriage. Was it easy? Certainly not.  She had a 7-year old daughter and had to study in a town away from her family. But, it was made possible because her husband decided that her education was important and took over the responsibility of the house while also managing his work. They were supported by their parents who took turns to be with their granddaughter when required. Their belief in themselves and the steadfast determination was amply rewarded by the sense of achievement at fulfilling their dream. There are examples galore; we just need to make sure that women, like men, have the choice to do what they want with their lives and have the wholehearted support they deserve.

Let me clarify here; I’m not against Women’s Day. By all means, let us celebrate women in all their glory. But, we would be wrong to think our work is done. For a woman to truly celebrate her being, she has to feel good about herself not just on March 8 each year, but all-year round and during her entire lifetime.  

Let’s gift the women in our lives these 2 things and we will have made Women’s Day more meaningful to her.

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