In this low-key Diwali gifting season, handmade on a high

This Diwali, several people in Delhi ordered Vinny Khurana’s Japanese cheesecake, butter almond cake and sweet chilli almonds to gift to their friends. Three months ago, around Rakshabandhan, the home-maker with a passion for baking joined a home chefs aggregator platform called House of Kitchens and has been getting a lot of orders for her delicious fare, especially on festive occasions. Other home chefs on the platform too have had a busy Diwali with gifting orders aplenty for their chutneys, laddoos, home-made chocolates and pasta boxes.

Six days before Diwali, marketing consultant and coach Aparna Jain’s hobby project — a webstore with table linen she designed during the lockdown — went live. The timing was completely unintentional, she says, and the options were limited to three styles. But many found her artistic collection to be an ideal gift. “Surprisingly, my web store almost sold out in less than a week,” she says.

Remember how once upon a time we used to make sweets and savouries at home and exchange with neighbours on Diwali. Or, paint our own diyas. Then came the era of rampant consumerism, when gifting store-bought chocolates, juice sets, scented candles, etc., became the norm.

This Diwali, in the year of Covid-19, many are returning to old ways, though with a twist. Rather than make it themselves, they are shopping for handmade or buying from small businesses. With many people harnessing their baking, cooking, and craft skills during the lockdown and launching home businesses, there is a plethora of options to buy hand-crafted items.

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Facebook India analysed over 7.5 million posts on Diwali on its platform and found that #handmade was among the top ten hashtags this festival.

A survey by consulting firm EY of 385 homemakers in India finds that festivities are likely to be smaller, more intimate and more digital. Indeed, in keeping with the trend of shopping more online, many corporates, too, have chosen to gift vouchers from e-commerce sites. Several people have opted out of gifting altogether, only giving to their help at home and to charity.

Quite a few corporates, too, have opted for gifts that would support a cause. Take, for instance, BARC India, which has partnered with The Plated Project that creates one-of-a-kind plates by talented artists.

Coworking company Awfis has joined hands with Akshaya Patra Foundation to gift ‘Happiness’ kits to children in need. WeWork has collaborated with Grow-Trees.com, a web enabled service that allows individuals and companies to plant trees.