After All the Singing, Dancing and Merry Making, Send Guests Home With Memorable Return Gifts for Lohri

The folk festival of Lohri marks the starting of the harvest season, and is celebrated primarily by Sikhs and Hindus of the Punjab region. The festival commemorates the onset of the harvest season and the passing of the winter solstice by lighting a holy bonfire and performing Puja Parikrama around the bonfire with prasad. Unlike other festivals in India, Lohri falls precisely on the 13th day of the first month according to the Gregorian calendar.

This festival, which is celebrated to welcome the sun to the northern hemisphere is essentially termed as the festival of the farmers, hence celebrated with great pomp and show. Since this festival is associated with the harvesting of the rabi crops, and since January is the best time to harvest sugarcane; many farmers usually consider the day after Lohri, Maghi, as the beginning of their financial year.

Lohri is a festival which celebrates the harvest of winter crops, it is customary to mark this occasion by eating winter food on this day. Anyone who has celebrates this wonderful harvest festival will tell you that gur rewri, peanuts and popcorn are the three food items associated with this festival. Besides this, in Punjab it’s a tradition to eat gajjak (a well-known dessert), sarson da saag and makki di roti (mustard leaf curry and cornbread) on the day of Lohri. It is also traditional to eat 'til rice'--sweet rice made with jaggery and sesame seeds.

The reason behind celebrating the festival with these food items as the main focus is to celebrate the healthy and wonderful options we have available during winter.

The festival of Lohri is all about getting together with the family members around the holy bonfire, dancing around the bonfire to the beats of the dhol and enjoying a delicious meal. It is believed that if one walks around the holy bonfire on Lohri, miracles will happen. Many devotees of Lord Agni believe that their prayers will be answered immediately, and things will change for the better. And while walking around the fire, Punjabi women sing "sunder mundriye ho", a Punjabi folklore. The folklore, “sunder mundriye” is a tale of a man called Dulla Bhatti, who can be likened to Robin Hood.

On the day of Lohri, it’s also a custom to exchange gifts with family members as a token of love and respect. For this Lohri why don’t you choose a pretty wicker basket and fill it with wonderful and meaningful gifts like mini packets of popcorn, peanuts, rewari and gajak. You could decorate with fresh, seasonal flowers to add a pretty and feminine touch to it. If you want to personalize it further, add the recipient’s favourite item into the basket, like a box of chocolates.

This Lohri be bold, be different and be modern. Make a homemade mason jar filled with dry fruits as a gift. Just like sweets, dry fruits are also considered as a conventional choice when it comes to Lohri gift options. However, instead of gifting a box of dry fruits, be innovative and gift it in a mason jar prettily decorated with bows and ribbons. You can take it a step further and write a handwritten note with a label to give it a personal touch.

If you are tight on budget, we’ve got the best option for you – popcorn. As we’ve already told you, popcorn is a food item that’s usually associated with Lohri. So, for this Lohri give little packets of popcorn as gifts. Ditch the same old butter and salt popcorns, and instead give flavoured popcorns you get in the market, e.g cheese popcorn, caramel popcorn, butter pepper etc. Or better yet, make the popcorns yourself and add delicious chocolate syrup, strawberry or caramel cream to make unique, unusual flavours. Pack these in beautiful gift boxes, wrap them and you’re done.

Chocolate And Gur Revdi With Mango Gazak In Gift Boxes will make the perfect for Lohri. No matter who it is, whether it’s your mother or mother-in-law, this gift box packs everything you need to say that you’re thinking about them and wish them the best this Lohri. This beautiful hamper comes with sweets made of sesame seeds, rewri in chocolate flavor, and gajak in mango kaju flavor. You can purchase this on IGP for Rs.920.

This Lohri, if you want to steer clear from the traditional gift items and you want to buy something unique and pretty, we’ve got just the thing for you – Casual-Wear Multi-Colour Stole. This stole can be paired with any outfit and will come in handy during the winter season too. This chequered pattern stole, made out of soft fabric, is a must-have piece in any wardrobe. Get this right away from IGP for Rs.830.

If you’re looking for something ethnic to give as a gift for your loved ones for the upcoming Lohri, why not give a beautiful Jaipuri quilt? This quilt is made out of silk, and has a spectacular modern design on it. This will make a wonderful Lohri gift to the new addition to your family, co-sister or sister-in-law. It’ll add an elegant touch to the bedroom and whoever you give this to will definitely love you for it. This product is available on igp.com for Rs.875.

Do you want to keep it simple and get a gift that’s pocket friendly? A box of barfis will make an amazing gift. Can you think of anyone who’d hate a box of Indian sweets? It’s a perfect gift for a traditional Indian festival such as Lohri. Celebrate the harvest festival with a gift box containing assorted mawa barfis, white mawa barfi, kesar mawa barfi, chocolate barfi and mawa pista barfis. You can buy sweet box which comes in a Ghasitaram's branded box, from giftalove.com for Rs.299.

Do you want to impress someone with your Lohri gift this year? Red Healthy Box is the answer to your prayers. This gift set comes with a 2 Designer Silver Plated Brass Bowl with spoon and a tray tucked in a red box. That’s not the healthy part, the healthy part of the box is the dry fruits that comes with this gift set – 100 grams of almonds and 100 grams of cashew is the healthy part in the gift set. Most of us love dry fruits, it’s rich in nutrients making it an amazing gifting option for traditional festivals. Place your order for this ‘rich’ Red Healthy Box on Gift A Love for Rs.899.

If you are proud to be from a Punjabi family or know a friend who is Punjabi you’re getting a gift for, we’ve got the most amazing gift for them – T-shirt with the quote Punjabi BRUAAAH! Not only will they get a laugh out of it, but they’ll actually love it too. Made out of pure cotton it comes in sizes ranging from small to 3XL. You can pick this brilliant T-shirt from Redbubble for Rs.2,079.

If you’re looking for a gift for a typical Punjabi family, who love their culture and their roots the Art N HubCultural Punjabi Traditional Bhangra Couple Statue Gift Item could be just the thing for them. These beautiful figurines are made out of fine grade marble powder and painted with durable and long-lasting colours. The length of it is 25 cm, width 10 cm and height 25 cm. You can purchase this fancy Bhangra couple set from Amazon.

Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. This Lohri if you know of a person who follows Guru Gobind Singh, a beautifully painted magnet will make an amazing gift. These magnets are made out of high-quality material and is professionally printed on a 2.13 x 3.13 inch metal shell. You can use it on anything, on a fridge, locker, or cubicle. You can get this wonderful piece of work on Cafepress for Rs.345.

Express yourself boldly with statements that promote your causes and beliefs. With the Nirbhau - No Fear Oval Decal, your family and friends too can express themselves. Gift these oval shaped stickers which says no fear to those who want to embrace who they are and what they believe in. It’s a simple yet effective gift. The high-quality bumper sticker is printed on durable 4 mil vinyl with top-quality inks that resist the sun and other elements, so your message will most definitely last for the long haul. You can purchase this sticker from Cafepress for Rs.345.

Are you looking for a feminine gift for a female member in your family? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered - Phulkari Duppatas. Made out of cotton, these dupattas are handmade and comes in various designs and varieties. From embroidered to chanderi silk work, you name it and it’s available on Itokri. Starting from around Rs.750 it could go up to Rs.4,000. Enjoy the mayhem in selecting the perfect dupatta for your loved ones.

Lohri is all about the holy bonfire, 'sunder mundriye ho', rewri, peanuts and gajak. All the aspects make Lohri a fun festival to enjoy with your family and friends. This festival is all about coming together of all, men, women, and kids. So, if you’re thinking of getting gifts to celebrate that love that you share with your family and friends. Make sure your return gift is sweet, funny and celebrates love.