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As much as we all know that a simple greeting read SMS would suffice, Diwali these days does come with commercial trappings.

Written by Jagmeetathindjoy

October 22, 2008 12:00 AM IST

4 min read

This Diwali, you can choose to present with a personal touch

As much as we all know that a simple greeting read SMS would suffice, Diwali these days does come with commercial trappings. While the debate to give or not and receive or not goes on, we take a side step. Despite the gloomy economy, festivities are still in the air, the stores are decked up and so are you! Along with all of that come shopping sprees that bring in gifts for the family, friends and the corporate world too. The gifts have gone from sweets to silver, candies to champagne, juices to jewellery! While it is really easy to flit from one store to another, picking up neatly packaged hampers and Diwali 8216;specials8217;, you can be a tad different this year. How8217;s that? 8220;By choosing to personalise a gift,8221; shares Anaheeta Mehra, boutique manager at Mont Blanc. Inundated with corporate orders, here you can get anything from a belt to a card holder, a pen to a bracelet to even a wallet tagged with a personal note. 8220;We personalise products like pens, card holders, bracelets by engraving initials or the first name while all the leather items are embossed. It8217;s a huge hit,8221; adds Mehra.

Speaking of all things personal, here8217;s an option that will have your five-year-old thrilled. Imagine reading her a Little Mermaid story where she features in herself! 8220;These are personalised story books. For example in the Little Mermaid your child8217;s name is printed as part of the title and he or she features as one of the characters in the story,8221; explains Manoj C Dayal who was in the city recently to introduce 8216;My Personalized Mall8217;. 8220;We work through our website mypersonalizedmall.com and offer a gamut of personalised products like story books, key chains, pens, gift sets, photo mugs, plates, mouse pads, T-shirts, magnets et al,8221; Dayal informs. Another new addition here are the DVD comic movies that can actually have your child star as the hero. 8220;All we need is a photograph and your child can be Spiderman,8221; smiles Dayal. And how much does the special something cost? 8220;The story tale book for instance is yours for as little as Rs 349.8221;

Given the fact that you are making efforts to keep the Diwali gift special, you can try and work out a list depending upon people8217;s interests. 8220;And if you know their colours, it8217;s even better,8221; smiles Kamal Grewal, one of the city8217;s best 8220;linen-designers8221; if we can call her that!. This Diwali, Grewal has a new addition to her specialised linen collection. 8220;It8217;s about coordinated dining sets,8221; mentions Kamal as we eye four arrangements. So if you know your friend has a dinner set in blue and green with no linen to match, Grewal comes to the rescue. 8220;Using the colours of the plate, I design matching table mats, tissue napkins complete with holders and even tablecloths if the budget is magnanimous,8221; says Kamal who works out of her studio in Sector 8.

Speaking of specials, one of the safest bets is chocolates. With everyone around shedding the kilos, skip the mithai for customised chocolates and there are plenty of options. Mohali8217;s Rameet Bakshi who has been dishing out chocolates under her label 8216;Crown Chocolates8217; and has a delicious lineup. 8220;You can choose your flavours and the look, we8217;ll personalise it to the T,8221; mentions Bakshi. If you are looking for corporate specials, head to the Taj where you can choose from three box sizes varying from 12 pieces to 32 pieces. Prices start at Rs 200 excluding taxes for 12 pieces. Go on, take your pick.

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