Send Festive Onam Gifts to Family and Friends in Kerala, Even if You're Not Around: 10 Top Notch Gifts to Fill Your Absence This Onam (2019)

Onam, the harvest festival and the state festival of Kerala is celebrated with great pomp and show during August – September. The festival lasts for ten days and it is dedicated to King Mahabali, the mythical king who ruled over Kerala. During his rule, Kerala had witnessed a great time. No one ever returned empty-handed from his door and the king sacrificed himself and everything he had to stand true to his words. As a reward, the people and his followers remember him through the festival of Onam. The interesting rituals associated with the festival make the celebration a fascinating one and the best time to visit Kerala.

Some major attractions of the festival are - Pookkalam, which is a decoration of flowers, Onasadya, a nine-course meal served on banana leaf, Onakalikal, all games played during the festival such as Talappanthukali or Ambeyyal, etc., Vallamkali Boat Race, known as the snake boat race, elephant procession, the most awaited event of Onam where the elephant is decorated with gold, metals and flowers and Folk Dances like Kaikottikali which is a clap dance performed by the women during Onam. The ten days of Onam are called Atham, Chithira, Chodi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketta, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradom and Thiruvonam.

The Onam festival is celebrated for ten days with huge decorations of flowers, preparation of banquet lunch, Puli Kali, snake boat race and the Kaikottikali dance. Gifts are an inseparable part of the Onam festival. People celebrate the festival with warm wishes, delicious food and exchanging silver coins, gold and garments along with household appliances and gadgets.

Nothing can beat the charm of personalised gifts and hence, the wooden poster is a fabulous way to celebrate the Onam festival with your loved ones. Send a beautiful hanging poster on this auspicious occasion which will make a difference instantly to the wall. This wooden poster from Woodgeek Store is a custom engraved item with an artwork of a Kathakali face engraved on wood. This will be a new addition to the festive home along with the traditional gifts like ‘Onakkodi' (new clothes) and pieces of jewellery.

It can be used as a home decor accessory anywhere you want. The thickness of this poster is 14 mm solid wood panels, sizes are 12 x 12 inches and 9 x 9 inches, the weight is approx. 500 to 900 gm and the price is INR 1,999. It is made from natural wood and you can expect variations in colour and grain structure. You will get two variations in colour - wood and mahogany. You can add a wooden bracelet for INR 99 and a greetings card for INR 199. There is a keyhole hanger to mount the art on the wall and it comes in 9 inches or 12-inches size.

A festival or regular puja is not complete without a beautiful diya (lamp) lit in front of the idol. Onam is an auspicious occasion and an artistically designed diya can be a stylish and festive gift for your loved ones in Kerala. Silver is an auspicious element which signifies spirituality. It is also considered apt for religious ceremonies and temple decor. This silver-plated Diya looks like a daisy flower which looks modern but also serves the traditional purpose. It has five petals where you can put tea light candles and a handle to hold it. The measurement of the candles is 12.5 cm, 17 cm and 3 cm. You can purchase this beautiful diya from episodesilver.com for INR 1,418.50. It comes in a beautiful gift box which can be easily shipped to Kerala during Onam to your friends and family members.

For many of us, true happiness can be something different than shopping for clothes and jewellery. It can be sitting on a table on a sunny morning with uninterruptible security, with a stack of blank papers and a fountain pen! Taking a break from the click-clacking of the keyboard and writing something by hand is a uniquely pleasurable activity. Quality stationery like a fountain pen can be a real joy. If you know someone who likes to pen their thoughts on paper, gift them a fountain pen. This fountain pen feels easier in the hand and allows extended periods of writing without fatigue. It is also more environment-friendly because with a ballpoint pen once you use up all the ink, you toss it into the trash while most fountain pens are not meant to be thrown away. When you run out of ink just refill it and you are all set again. It is also more economical in the long run.

It can also provide an aura of timelessness that can eventually become a family heirloom. It makes the cursive handwriting look better and of course, brings a class in itself. A fountain pen is common but a mini fountain pen can be extremely enjoyable and beautiful to hold. This Diamond Mini Clear Fountain Pen comes with a benchmark piston ink-filling mechanism and it has all the detachable parts. It features a clear body and a steel polished nib engraved with the TWSBI logo and branding. It is a compact fountain pen and can hold more ink than other mini pens.

The clear diamond-faced barrel has a built-in piston filler which makes the ink visible to view from outside. It has a threaded capped mechanism, the nib size is medium and is made from steel. The dimension is 107.6 mm X 13 mm and the base material is plastic. You can buy this beautiful mini fountain pen for INR 6,990 from William Penn and you will get a 1-year warranty against manufacturing defects.

A festival or any meal is incomplete without sweets and it is an age-old tradition to serve or gift sweets to guests or loved ones during these occasions. During Onam, the feast of sumptuous dishes from Kerala on the giant banana leaves let you know that it’s a grand festive time. The ten-day-long festival marks the homecoming of King Mahabali, the Mythical king and it is celebrated with a lot of gusto in the southern state of Kerala. Among the traditional nine-course meal, the dessert part plays an important role and the traditional dessert is ‘Payasam’. Some other desserts that are prepared are ‘Ada Pradhaman’, ‘Paal Payasam’, ‘Rava Ladoo’ and many more.

But when you are staying away from your home, friends and family during the Onam festival you might think of sending assorted sweets to your loved ones back home. Assorted khoya sweets from Send Best Gift is one of the easiest ways to send Onam gifts without any hassle. The pack comes in two sizes, 1 kg for INR 1,299 and 2 kg for INR 2,199. You just need to select the delivery city, date, type, time, name and the mobile number and send it to your chosen destination.

Sending gifts is the best choice to let your loved ones know that you are remembering them on the festive occasion. Gifts like flowers are considered to be the best option to extend warm wishes to your friends and family during special occasions like Onam. A combination of dry fruits also offers good health and nutrition along with beautiful flowers which bring a smile to any face. You can check out Online Delivery which has a gift option that combines a bunch of ten extremely beautiful mixed roses and a nice pack of 1/2 kg mixed dry fruits. It will cost INR 1,295 and you can get it delivered to your preferred destination in just 24 hours.

Make the home of your loved one beautiful by sending a decorative gift to Kerala on the auspicious occasion of Onam. A decorative ceramic plate with a vibrant image of ‘wish for Onam’ written as ‘Happy Onam’ looks perfect as a gift for the Onam festival. It is a special keepsake gift which will look elegant both on the wall and on the tabletop. These ceramic plates are highly suitable for home decor and you can easily send this gift to your loved ones. This denotative plate makes a statement of style on the walls but they are not meant for serving food items. But you can certainly adorn the home cuisine, kitchen or guest table with style. You can wipe off the dust with a soft dry cloth to keep it looking new.

It is ergonomically designed and features subtle contours and a smooth edge. It will be a marvellous addition to the home of your loved ones. It is durable and handy and sure to be admired by your friends and family. The size of the plate is 8 inches in diameter and it is microwave and dishwasher safe. It comes with a hook at the back of the plate for easy wall hanging and you can buy it from Amazon for INR 595. Gift this beautiful piece of art to your loved ones in Kerala and enhance the decor of their home.

An Indian woman always falls in love with a beautiful saree which tells a unique story. The major difference of a saree from other garments beside its elegance and uniqueness is that it is a nine-yard long cloth which can be draped in various ways. The designers around the world experiment with sarees and create beautiful versions of it. Painters also makes wonders with their artistic touch which are known as hand-painted sarees. It is the new canvas medium of a garment where the imaginative display of the painter’s mind takes place.

Either abstract or distinct, the brush and colours create a magical touch on the nine-yard canvas with motifs and designs. The mesmerising collection of hand-painted art in cotton and also silks like tussar silk and Murshidabad silk are available in bright, mute and pastel shades to make a woman look gorgeous while wearing and give a feeling of style and class. Like other states, Kerala has also a unique hand-painting design on the sarees which is known as mural print or mural painting. At the Kerala Gift Shop the mural print is done on a Kerala cotton saree by making a ‘Devi design’. It is a colourful painting flawlessly done on the white-based cotton saree. The price for this saree is INR 6,648 and it is an exquisite traditional gift for the Onam festival.

A silver coin gift shows your thoughtfulness to your friends and family especially during an occasion like Onam. Silver is considered an auspicious metal from ancient times and its passion is associated with good luck, wealth and prosperity. It is a budget-friendly, customisable and high-quality liquid asset. It provides a sense of appreciation, love and care to members of your with family and friends. It is also a great corporate gift if you want to send someone related to your work-field in Kerala. It is one of the most popular options to gift during Onam as it is considered to be auspicious and traditional. A specially designed Onam collection pure silver coin from C. Krishniah Chetty of 5 gm will cost you INR 239 and after taxes and making charges the total comes to INR 280.

Gift cards are now well appreciated and you can put them to good use as and when needed. Although some may feel that a gift card reduces the gesture of gifting but if the recipient has everything and you cannot think of anything special as a gift, you can, of course, think of a gift card. The e-gift card can be sent from anywhere in the world to Kerala simply by entering the denomination you want to gift. It is valid for a period of one year from the date of purchase at woohoo.in.

Who will not love to see a pack of delicious chocolates as a gift on the occasion of Onam? This chocolate hamper comes with a gift packaging and a bunch of chocolates like Lindt, 2 Dairy Milk, 3 KitKat, and 5 Ferrero Rochers. The price for this all-time favourite chocolate hamper on giftsmate.net is INR 1,299 only.

You can always add a touch of love with the DIY handmade little something with your gifts that you want to send to Kerala during Onam. Let your loved ones be surprised with the special handmade gift that you make or help to enlighten the festival.

You can gift accessories needed for setting up the fabulous traditional lunch table for Onam or use a gift card. That will include palm leaves, jasmine or mogra flowers, Angavastram as a table runner, brass puja accessories, white, green and gold palette, camphor stand for candles, brass ‘Kalash’ to hold Rajanigandha, traditional lamps, and gold elephant trumpets to complete the look and feel.

Children love to make a card and gift it to their elders or friends. Try to make a card at home and send it with your gift to the people you love during Onam.

This wall hanging is easy to make and when you will send it to Kerala to your loved one, it will make the festival more enjoyable for them.