10 Holiday Gifts That Dazzle, Then Largely Disappear

For many years my go-to gifts for friends and colleagues were fairytale Bundt pans and wooden jigsaw puzzles with tiny novelty figures for pieces, often of a fairytale-like stripe (unicorns, damsels, you name it). Handcrafted, American-made, timeless, humble, familial, utilitarian and whimsical, these offerings seemed to be the perfect material incarnation of my notion of holiday spirit, all yummy goodness and light. But then I moved apartments after 20 years, packed up my parent's house (as one does), got schooled on Swedish Death Cleaning, and suddenly thought: Why would I ever impose a Bundt pan on a friend unless I knew for certain that they too enjoy baking elves' half-timber cottages? This stuff was heavy. Gifts, after all, should require nothing more from the recipient than joy.

So these days I choose to give items that dazzle...and then largely disappear. Handmade hippy soap, moody artisanal wine, Mitteleuropa micro-sweets, and single-ingredient pamphlet cookbooks are all top of list this year. Most were found while traveling, and a few—Cartier cards—are just my idea of basics. My one lasting imposition on the helpless cupboards and mantels of my pals is porcelain. Tiny bits of porcelain, made by artists I love, that could shatter in an instant but always bring a smile. It's a smidgen of responsibility, and when you inevitably clear house, pass it on.


Big Sur Country Soap, $12, shop-generalstore.com


I found this soap on a recent hiking trip in Big Sur. It's good in the hand, smells delicious, and reminds me of lazy Sunday mornings in Berkeley.


Camiliano Vermentino wine with label designed by Sue Webster, $38

The artist Sue Webster painted the label for this wine, which is made in Tuscany by Camiliano, after her divorce from her artist partner Tim Noble. It is crisp, tasty, and a little weird in the best way. And you can only buy it at Duck Soup, my favorite small-plate and organic vino spot in London's Soho. So get a case. From this Xmas to whenever your friends are feeling blue, break out a bottle and get happy.


Short Stack Editions the Sweetest Stack, $38, shortstackeditions.com


These mini cookbooks are designed beautifully, written by pros, full of clever achievable recipes, and just the thing to give anyone who has ever thought "chickpeas for dinner, yikes!"


Altmann & Kühne 5000 Kommode Größe chocolate box, $54, altmann-kuehne.at


Altmann and Kuhne makes the loveliest, tiniest one-bite sweets in the world. And then they pack them in jewelry boxes of dollhouse proportions. You have them shipped from Vienna and everyone swoons. Everyone.



Vanessa Hogge's divine porcelain flowers are meant for the wall, but are equally good as paperweights. Everyone needs something of such quiet beauty in their lives. Period.

source:- https://www.vogue.com/article/holiday-gifts-that-dazzle-then-largely-disappear

Shopping for Raksha Bandhan? This is your ultimate gift guide

Raksha Bandhan is right around the corner, which means you can look forward to a day where you can get over the longstanding rivalry with your sibling in the name of love. If you've been on the lookout for the perfect present but have been unsuccessful till now, fret not. We've put together a gift guide to make your task a tad bit easier, and it comes packed with some of the best rakhi gifts you can get your hands on from the online retail space. The best part? All 15 products are accessible (under Rs 10,000), meaning your sibling will definitely adore them, but you won't have to burn a hole in your pocket to make them happy.

Best rakhi gifts for your sister
Picking out the perfect rakhi gift for your sister is no easy feat. For the younger sibling who has put up with your temper tantrums through those rebellious teen years, a metallic liquid eyeliner from M.A.C can be a welcome payback. If your sister leans towards quirky things, we recommend a colourful crossbody bag from Zara's Raksha Bandhan edit. And while you may think that nothing will ever seem good enough for your older sister, a limited edition eye palette from Bobbi Brown on Nykaa might just do the trick.

Best rakhi gifts for your brother

Raksha Bandhan is not all about receiving gifts. Earn brownie points with your brother this festive season by gifting him something in return, when he hands you your rakhi present. Invest in JBL's noise-cancelling headphones or get him those wireless speakers with Bluetooth by Sony. If your brother is a jet-setter, treat him to a handy grooming travel set, or give him EUME's trendy backpack, which comes with an in-built massager too.

Scroll onwards for our edit of the best rakhi gifts for your sibling, all under Rs 10k.

source: https://www.vogue.in/content/raksha-bandhan-rakhi-gifts-for-brothers-and-sisters

Birthday Gifts for the Loud and Leo

Just as term symbolizes, ‘Leo’ means ‘Lion’ itself. Therefore, a person who’s born under the sun signs of Leo is sure to have all the characteristics of a lion. Embracing life with a fierceness that is rare among others, people born under the Leo sun sign tend to be popular with their outgoing personality. Born to be leaders, the ‘Loud and Leo’ phrase goes perfectly well to describe them as their drive to be the center of attraction, expecting others to give them the attention that is due to them. With their propensity for drama, they are passionate about everything they do and will go at any length once they have their minds set on one thing. Equally fascinating and awe-inspiring, Leos are fierce and a force to be reckoned with.

Your sun sign says a lot about your personality whether you believe in it or not. However, if you have a loved one who has his/her birthday between July 23rd and August 22, then read through these gift ideas which will provide you insight about their personality and buy gifts which will directly appeal to them. Whether you are on a one-man/woman shopping spree to get the perfect gift or resort to online gifting sites to buy birthday gifts for those with zodiac sun sign, this list of gifts will perfectly resonate with their loud personality.

• Designer Cake With a Little Oomph Factor– If there’s one link that aligns all sun signers, it’s cake which is a tradition in itself. However, Leos with their extraordinary personality need nothing less than extraordinary cakes and designer cakes more than rise up to the occasion. These cakes have all the qualities of a cake and more and are nothing less than an edible masterpiece which can leave anyone speechless on the first glance. To send designer cakes online, you can have them customized according to their interests so that your cake reflects their personality in the sweetest way possible.

• Travel Vouchers– With their outgoing personality and extrovert nature, all those born under Leo sun signs have a penchant to enjoy life every waking moment. Therefore, these free spirits love to wander believing that not all who wander are lost. Hence, a travel voucher is as good as a gift as any to make them feel loved and all the more driven to go after their dreams. These prepaid travel voucher will only ignite their passion to leave their stamp on the world by traveling and gaining new experiences.

• Personalized Mugs– Who doesn’t like a place or in this case, a mug which they can call their own? While somewhat cliche, a customized mug is a great way you can show your love to your Leo man. Although a mug is ordinary, it can be made even special when customizing it with bold designs or personal tidbits that go well with their loud personality and reflect it in true essence. Therefore, this very ordinary item when personally designed for your Leo coffee junkie will become more than special when they use it to refuel themselves every morning. Embellished with their pictures or even some quotes or movie dialogues, these personalized mugs will mirror their personality to a T when you order it via online gift delivery in India.

https://www.indiagift.in/blog/birthday-gifts-for-the-loud-and-leo/2183

On 73rd birthday, businessman gifts freedom to 17 jail inmates

Businessman Motilal Yadav deposited ₹32,380 as the penalty amount of inmates who could not afford to do so and were languishing in prison for an extended period after being booked in petty offences.

The 73rd birthday of a city businessman here on Saturday became liberation day for 17 jail birds, as he decided to ‘gift’ bail money for prisoners who could not afford it.

Businessman Motilal Yadav deposited ₹32,380 as the penalty amount of inmates who could not afford to do so and were languishing in prison for an extended period after being booked in petty offences. Superintendent of the district jail Shashikant Mishra said, “Today, on the occasion of his 73rd birthday, local businessman Moti Lal Yadav came with the offer that he wanted to pay the penalty amount of the inmates who were unable to do so and were forced to stay in jail.”

He said, “These inmates were arrested for various offences and were in prison for different periods. They were unable to pay the penalty amount.”

“A convict Sagar was arrested on August 17 in 2016 and his term ended a year ago. His conduct was good but as he could not pay Rs. 1,089 as penalty, he was forced to stay here,” Mishra said, citing an example. Businessman Motilal Yadav said, “After reading an article in a newspaper about a businessman who donated steel glasses for the inmates, my son suggested I should also do something for the inmates. After that I asked my younger son to approach the jail officials.”

“My younger son is an advocate and he suggested I should pay the penalty amount of the inmates who were unable to pay it themselves and were languishing behind the bars,” he said.

“Today, on the occasion of my 73rd birthday, I went to the district jail and after the formalities, 17 inmates from Agra and other districts were released,” Yadav said. “Besides, I also paid some money for the fare and food of about 8 inmates who were from other districts, so that they should not have to travel without a ticket and on an empty stomach,” Yadav said.

“Earlier too, I used to organise such things for needy people on my birthday. I also organised a ‘bhandara’ for visually impaired students of ‘Soorkuti’ in the past but this time I got the idea to do something for hapless jail inmates,” he said. His son Vijay said,“ Every year, he does something for needy people. So this time when he wished to do something for the inmates, we supported him wholeheartedly.”

source:- https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/on-73rd-birthday-businessman-gifts-freedom-to-17-jail-inmates/story-RPPWDe4ZwSOiWI4mq7G7YP.html

Buying Gifts Online: Surprise People Around You

If it’s one thing a present should do is to surprise the people you love the most. Gifts are awesome ways to show your love and appreciation to the people around you. They don’t have to cost a fortune, and they don’t have to be huge. All they really need to be is awesome and useful to the people you’re buying them for.

So without further ado, let’s see how to choose the perfect online gift that will surprise the people you love the most.

Make it an Event

The first thing that comes to mind when shopping online for gifts is to make sure that they will enjoy your gift. So the best course of action would be to get creative with the gift itself and try to sell it off as an event. Handing out gifts is boring, nowadays, and you can spice things up by thinking of the gift as an event. For this, we suggest you fool around with your friend and hide the gift somewhere where he will need to search for clues in order to find it. Send him on a scavenger hunt and try to give out simple, but highly confusing, clues that he will need to follow. This way both of you are going to have so much fun and it will be a gift present that he will never forget.




Make it Useful

The internet is a place where you can virtually buy anything. A lot of useful things can be bought online that can be used in multiple ways. We mentioned how the gift you’re buying should be useful for the recipient; this is very important as no one wants a gift that he will use once in their lifestyle and then store it in the basement. Think about the sort of gift that can be purchased online that will serve your friend to the maximum. These gifts don’t necessarily have to be expensive, as there are tons of gift ideas that are practical and useful, all while being incredibly cheap. If you’re looking to buy something foreign for your friend, something exotic from Thailand, make sure to visit NippanGift.


source:- https://thefrisky.com/buying-gifts-online-surprise-people-around-you/

After Dubai, UrbanClap arrives in Abu Dhabi

NEW DELHI: Services platform UrbanClap on Monday launched its one-demand home services in Abu Dhabi--the second city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after entering Dubai last year.

With the launch in Abu Dhabi, UrbanClap now provides its services across 10 cities in India and 2 cities in the UAE, the company said in a statement.

Founded in 2014, the company plans to initiate operations in Abu Dhabi with over 20 service partners by offering five services--deep cleaning, maid, pest control, handymen and AC servicing and repair, with home painting and packers and movers to be added soon.

"Abu Dhabi has a large pool of service professionals available who are not yet online. This is a huge opportunity for UrbanClap to explore the market and tap into this latent talent and enable them to be independent micro-entrepreneurs in the coming five years," said Abhiraj Bhal Co-founder of UrbanClap.

With the expansion into Abu Dhabi, UrbanClap aims to grow its UAE business two times (month on month). The platform is already empowering over 100 businesses and has strategic plans to expand to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

source:- https://www.livemint.com/

11 wedding traditions from around the world

From a month long of crying in China, to a turmeric bath in India and wearing wedding lassos in Mexico – Vogue takes a look at different wedding traditions celebrated around the world.

The event of a wedding always comes with traditions. From all around the world, see how different wedding traditions seal true love in numerous different ways. From faux kidnappings in Russia to Austrian brides being awaken from a gunshot, with fulfilling these wedding traditions those who wed will live a happy and long life together. 

Brazil

In Brazil it’s traditional for brides to write down the names of their single female friends inside the hem of their wedding dress (Greek brides also do this, but on the soles of their shoes). This blessing is to bring them good luck and marriage. The Brazilian bride also wears gold shoes which, during the “heel-and-toe dance” at the reception, are placed on the dance floor for guests to drop gifts of cash into.

Nigeria

Here it’s all about marriage material, literally. Vibrant costume changes are a customary wedding tradition for Nigerian brides, dressing for several ceremonies in various ancestral-rooted robes. Ensembles are made from aso oke, hand-woven fabric symbolic of the bride’s family’s tribe, her new husband’s tribe, or both. Fabric and colour consistency is key, with the couple setting a matching dress-code agenda, an aso ebi, for their guests to wear too.

Austria

Austrian weddings go off with a bang. In the upper regions of Salzkammergut, Tyrol and Styria, wedding traditions include gunshots or firecrackers to wake the bride up early on her wedding day, with neighbours and friends creating chaos outside the house to frighten off evil spirits.

Japan

The sake-drinking ceremony of san san kudo (meaning “three three nines times”) is one of the oldest Japanese wedding traditions, dating back to the 1600s. Instead of exchanging wedding vows, the bride and groom – and parents too – sip sake, three times each, from three different-sized cups. The first set of sips represents sealing the bond between the families, while the second three sips represent hatred, passion and ignorance. The last three sips represent freedom from those former flaws. Three is considered a lucky number and so nine sips is equal to triple happiness.

Tunisia

Drawing on very old wedding traditions, henna, which is believed to bring good luck, plays a special part in a Tunisian wedding, where the couple is celebrated for six days before the actual ceremony. In the initial henna ceremony the paste is painted in intricate floral and butterfly designs on the bride’s hands and feet by a female member of her family. The harkous ceremony comes the day after, where henna is reapplied as female musicians play traditional Tunisian songs.

source:- https://www.vogue.com.au/brides/trends/11-wedding-traditions-from-around-the-world/image-gallery/4f076add293c60b96adb61bfd9391a49

Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs Market to Exhibit Impressive Growth during 2018 – 2023

The Latest business intelligence report on Global Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs Market released by HTF MI aims to deliver an in-depth outline regarding the trends and market development scenario to outpace market with relevant strategies. The research is derived through primary and secondary data sources and involves both qualitative and quantitative data. The report highlights key challenges and growth opportunities available in the industry, along with the latest competitive strategies and growth plans enforced by the major players of Global Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs market , some of them are American Greetings, Card Factory, Hallmark, Spencer Gifts & Alibaba Group.

source:- https://theslapclap.com/16234/gifts-novelty-and-souvenirs-market-to-exhibit-impressive-growth-during-2018-2023/

Facebook friend’ cons on rise; Pune teacher loses Rs 6 lakh for ‘gifts’

Pune: Another woman has become a victim of forgery through social media. A 46-year-old woman from Pune has filed a police complaint saying she was duped of Rs 6 lakh by her 'facebook friend'. A school teacher by profession, the victim, Mohini Anand Yadav, said in her complaint that she received a friend request by one “James Smith” in February this year and both exchanged phone numbers.

Later, the accused called her to say that he is sending a 'gift' to her. The number from which the accused called contained the United Kingdom's country code. The victim is a resident of Wadgaon and lives with her husband and children.

According to a report, the accused made Yadav believe that he was currently in India on a visit. Later, the victim got a call from a woman, who said she was from the customs department and asked the victim to pay some charges for the gift.

According to BB Gaikwad, the investigating officer from Sinhagad road police station, Ms Yadav made multiple online payments to various bank accounts in the guise of various 'charges', including customs and courier tax.

In her complaint to police, the victim claimed that she made a payment of over Rs 6 lakh in total to the accused's bank accounts.

read more :- https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/crime/article/facebook-friend-cons-on-rise-pune-teacher-loses-rs-6-lakh-in-lure-of-gifts/451628

Budget extends tax on NRIs for receiving gifts from resident Indians.

New Delhi: The expensive gift that you kept for your overseas cousin or friend may attract tax from this year with the Budget 2019-20 proposing to impose withholding tax all such transfers, plugging an earlier loophole that allowed its tax- free treatment.


The Finance Bill 2019 has imposed tax on any sum of money paid or any property situated in India, transferred by a person resident in India to a person outside India, as it would be deemed to accrue or arise in India. The changes will be applied for all such transfers made on or after July 5, 2019.


Currently gifts given by Indian residents to non-resident Indians - apart from the specified list of relatives - would be claimed as non-taxable. This is because the earlier tax put the onus on the recipient of the gift to make the disclosure and pay tax. As a gift to NRIs means that income is accrued abroad, it remained outside the tax net.


But now, all gifts to NRIs will be income accruing in India and would be taxed as per the normal slab rates applicable to resident Indians. This means that the origin of the gift becomes important for tax purpose, instead of the destination of the gift abroad.


The onus will be on the recipient (the NRI in this case) of the gift to disclose such gifts received if they originate in India and then pay a tax on it.

So, if the value of the gift is above Rs 10 lakh, the recipient will have to pay 30 per cent tax. The tax rate would get higher if the value of the gift, be it payment for studies or a house abroad, is more than Rs 2 crore or Rs 5 crore. In such cases, the highest tax rate for the super-rich, i.e. 35.7 and 42.7 per cent respectively would apply.


For the purpose, the gift will constitute shares, property, vouchers, cash etc exceeding Rs 50,000 made to anyone, apart from the specified relatives or blood relations.


While making gifts to NRIs taxable, the Budget has proposed that in a treaty situation, the relevant article of applicable DTAA (double taxation avoidance treaty) shall continue to apply for such gifts as well.


This amendment will take effect from April 1, 2020, and will, apply in relation to the assessment year 2020-21 and subsequent assessment years.


The specified relative's list in terms of Section 56 of the Income Tax Act is fairly wide. It includes brothers and sisters, and their spouses. Gifts to this category will not attract any tax. But acquaintances, friends, and other close family relations would come under the purview of the tax.


read more :- https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2019/07/09/budget-extends-tax-on-nris-receiving-gifts-from-resi