Lohri return gifts for guests: what hosts of a first-Lohri party hand out, priced per familyLohri return gifts for guests: what hosts of a first-Lohri party hand out, priced per family

Who gives Lohri return gifts, and what the usual packet is

At an ordinary Lohri, guests leave with a handful of rewri, gajak, peanuts and popcorn. Return gifts in the bigger sense come up when a family hosts a large Lohri: a couple's first Lohri after marriage, or a baby's first Lohri. Then many hosts add a small keepsake to the sweet packet, one per family that came.

Count by families, not heads. Lohri invitations go to households, and one gift per household is normal. That keeps a guest list of 80 people closer to 25 or 30 gifts.

A candle is a sensible keepsake here, because it is light, it is used on the next festival, and it does not repeat the sweets. Raajkosh makes hand-poured soy wax candles in Jalandhar. Three that work per family:

• Lotus Candle, Rs 349 each: a layered lotus, green with a red bloom or all coral pink.
• Diya Candles, Rs 449 for a pack of 6: terracotta-red diyas; the family lights them on the next festival.
• Heart Bubble Candle, Rs 249 each: a white or light blue heart bubble candle, if the party is for newlyweds.

Cost per family, worked out

Every order this size crosses Rs 999, so shipping is free. If you want to spend less, split Sunflower Tealights (Rs 449 for 10) into small pouches of two, which gives five families a gift from each pack and keeps the cost under Rs 100 a family.

Picking by whose Lohri it is

Newlyweds' first Lohri. The heart bubble candle or a pair of tealights in a pouch reads as "for the couple's day". Keep the colours soft: white, light blue, pink.

A baby's first Lohri. Go warmer and more festive: the lotus or the diya pack. Families light them for the next pooja, which feels right for a child's blessing.

A big family Lohri with elders. The diya pack is the most useful and the least "cute". Older guests use diyas.

Putting the packet together

• Sweets in one bag, candle in another. Gajak and chikki leave sticky jaggery marks. A small sealed pouch for the sweets and a separate box or pouch for the candle keeps both clean.
• A printed tag with the occasion. "Thank you for joining Simran and Arjun's first Lohri" is what guests keep.
• Hand them out at the gate as people leave, not at the start, so nobody carries the bag around the bonfire.

When a candle is the wrong return gift

Skip the candle if many guests are flying home the next morning, since wax in hand luggage is one more thing to carry, or if the families on your list keep a strictly oil-diya mandir and will not light wax. In those homes a steel bowl or a dry fruit pouch gets more use. And if the budget is tight, a good box of rewri on its own is a perfectly complete Lohri return gift. Nobody expects more.

What other hosts give

• Rewri and gajak boxes from a good halwai, on their own. The most common, and enough for most Lohris.
• Dry fruit pouches, a step up from sweets.
• Steel bowls or glasses, useful and traditional, especially in larger families.
• Small clay diyas from a local potter, the cheapest light-themed option.
• Kites, where the family flies kites over Lohri and Makar Sankranti.

Ordering for a guest list

• For a large count, write to us first on WhatsApp (+91 85958 24586) or at maharani@raajkosh.com with the number and the date.
• Dispatch in 24 to 48 hours, then 2 to 7 days for delivery anywhere in India. Order by late December for Lohri on 13 January 2027, and check the delivery estimate for your pincode.
• Prepaid only, by UPI, card, net banking or wallet through Razorpay. No cash on delivery.
• Damage reported within 24 hours of delivery is replaced or refunded.

A line to print on the tag

Light on a heat-proof surface, never leave it burning unattended, trim the wick to about 5 mm and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours.