Budget Buys

At my uncle’s retirement party last year, something mildly awkward happened. He’d arranged lovely return gift packets for all 80 guests—nice brass diyas in saffron pouches, very thoughtful. As guests started leaving, the distribution went smoothly. Then the caterers began packing up their equipment. One of the servers—a young man who’d been working the whole […]

Last year, I was staring at 80 return gifts sitting on my dining table in plain plastic bags. They looked…sad. Uninspired. Like something you’d grab at the last minute from a discount store. I checked online—decent gift bags were ₹25-40 each. For 80 gifts, that’s ₹2,000-3,200 just for packaging. My budget couldn’t handle that kind

Two years ago, I planned my daughter’s birthday party with military precision. I calculated everything: 50 kids × ₹150 per gift = ₹7,500. I was proud of myself for staying within my ₹8,000 budget. Then reality hit. The gifts arrived in plain plastic. I needed proper bags—₹600 more. They didn’t come with ribbons—₹350 for those.

Here’s a confession: I once bought 50 return gifts at ₹45 each, thinking I’d nailed the budget. When they arrived, my heart sank. Thin plastic boxes with gaudy colors. Cheap metallic paint already flaking off. I literally hid them in a cupboard for three days, embarrassed to give them to guests. That experience taught me

Three months ago, I needed 120 return gifts for my nephew’s birthday. I checked Amazon—₹180 per piece. Then I called a local retail shop—₹150 per piece. Total budget: ₹18,000 to ₹21,600. Then my friend who runs a small gift business said, “Why are you wasting money? Take a morning off and visit Sadar Bazar. You’ll

Let me tell you about the most satisfying shopping afternoon I’ve had in recent memory. It was January, two months before my niece’s baby shower. Her mother-in-law—a wonderfully practical woman named Sushma ji—had asked me to handle the return gifts. “Budget hai ₹45 per guest. Guests honge 90. Kuch acha dekhna.” Forty-five rupees per guest.

Last month, my neighbor hosted her daughter’s 5th birthday party. She bought exactly 30 return gifts for 30 confirmed kids. Guess what happened? Three siblings showed up unannounced, and one gift box got crushed when someone stepped on it. She ended up scrambling to the nearby store at the last minute, buying whatever she could