Diwali gift for your boss: what is appropriate, what is too much, and handmade picks from Rs 449

Festive, modest, and nothing that needs explaining

Giving your boss a Diwali gift is a small social puzzle. Too cheap and it looks like an afterthought; too expensive and it looks like you want something. Too personal, like perfume or clothes, and it is awkward. The safe zone is a festive object for the home: something for the mandir, the entrance or the Diwali table, that the whole family can enjoy and nobody has to wonder about.

That is where a handmade candle fits. From our range, hand-poured in pure soy wax in Jalandhar:

• Urli Candles, Rs 699 for a pair: two flower-shaped urli bowls with a gold rim, gold-flecked wax and a sunflower top. Looks good in a drawing room and is clearly a Diwali gift.
• Shankh Candle, Rs 799: a cream and caramel conch filled with gold-flecked soy wax, with pink lotus blooms. For a boss whose family keeps a mandir.
• Diya Candles, Rs 449 for 6: terracotta-red diyas with a carved lattice rim. The modest choice if your office keeps gifts small.

Where the line sits between thoughtful and too much

A few rules most Indian offices follow, even when nobody writes them down:

• Keep it in the range your peers spend. If colleagues give a box of sweets, do not arrive with something worth five times that. Under Rs 1,000 from one person is usually comfortable.
• Give as a team when you can. A gift from "the team" reads as goodwill. A gift from one junior to the head of department can read as lobbying.
• Nothing to wear, nothing to drink unless you know. Skip clothes, perfume and alcohol unless you are sure of the boss's taste and beliefs.
• Check your company's gift policy. Many companies cap what employees can give a manager, or ask that gifts go only to clients. Read it before you buy.
• Faith is personal. A shankh or a diya assumes your boss celebrates Diwali with a puja. If you are not sure, the urli pair works as decor in any home.

Picking by the boss you have

Vanilla Reverie is our only scented candle. The urli, shankh, diya and lotus candles are decorative with no fragrance stated, which is safer for someone whose likes you do not know.

A team gift, worked out

A team pooling money can give something that looks generous without any one person overdoing it.

• Urli Candles plus Shankh Candle, Rs 1,498. Five people pay just under Rs 300 each. Ships free, because it crosses Rs 999.
• Two packs of Diya Candles, Rs 898, for a boss with a large home and many windows. This is under Rs 999, so it carries the Rs 79 shipping fee, or add a Lotus Candle to cross the line.
• Shankh Candle plus Vanilla Reverie, Rs 1,348, for a team that knows the boss well.

Sign the gift note from the whole team, with names. If you need gifts for many people, for clients or for an entire department, our corporate gifting page takes a quote request with the number and the budget.

Handing it over before the office closes for Diwali

Diwali is on Sunday 8 November this year, so the last working day before it is the natural time to give a gift. Most people hand it over in person at the office rather than sending it to the boss's home. Turning up at a senior's house uninvited, or having a parcel arrive at their door from a junior, can feel intrusive.

So ship it to yourself, then wrap it or choose our gift packaging and gift note on the product page. The store's banner says "Order by 4 November for Diwali delivery". Check the delivery estimate for your pincode on the product page before you pay; we cannot promise a date.

What else people give their boss at Diwali

The usual Diwali gifts for a manager in India: a box of dry fruits or good mithai, a small indoor plant like a money plant or a jade plant, a desk organiser or a nice pen, a tea or coffee hamper, a silver coin (common in some trades, but often too much from a junior), or a framed Lakshmi or Ganesh picture. A dry-fruit box plus a pair of urli candles is a combination that looks considered without looking expensive.

If the gift has to sit on a desk in an office, an unlit candle is fine as decor, but most offices do not allow open flames. A plant is the better desk gift.

Paying for a team gift, and returns

• Prepaid only through Razorpay: UPI, card, net banking or wallet. No cash on delivery.
• Dispatch in 24 to 48 hours; delivery 2 to 7 days after dispatch. Free shipping from Rs 999; Rs 79 below.
• Request a return within 24 hours of delivery; damage reported within 24 hours is replaced or refunded. Cancel free before dispatch.

If they light it at home on Diwali night: keep it on a steady, heat-proof surface away from curtains and crackers, never leave it unattended, and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours.