New Year gift for your girlfriend: something for the year she is starting, plus a midnight moment, from Rs 349New Year gift for your girlfriend: something for the year she is starting, plus a midnight moment, from Rs 349

A gift that is still around in March

Christmas gifts are about the moment. A New Year gift for your girlfriend can do something different: sit on her desk, her shelf or her bedside through the year that is starting, so that in March or June she still has something from you in sight. That is why small decor and things she uses often make better New Year gifts than one-night presents.

If you already gave her something at Christmas, the New Year gift can be smaller. If you skipped Christmas, this is the main one.

From our range, hand-poured in pure soy wax in Jalandhar:

• Heart Rope Candles, Rs 999 for a set of 4: heart-shaped candles with a rope-weave rim, in taupe, butter yellow, sage green and dusty pink. Four hearts for four seasons, if you want a line for the card. A single heart is Rs 279.
• Vanilla Reverie, Rs 549: our one scented candle, vanilla in an amber glass jar with gold flakes and a black screw lid. Works for a girlfriend who studies or works from home and likes a candle at her desk.
• Heart Tealights, Rs 349 for 10: red heart tealights in clear cups, for the midnight countdown.

Picking for the year she is about to have

Ask what her next twelve months look like. The answer picks the gift better than her star sign.

The midnight ten seconds

Most New Year's Eves in India are spent at a house party, on a terrace or at home with family. Whichever it is, the minutes around midnight are the ones she will remember. A small set-up works better than an expensive one:

• Line ten Heart Tealights along a balcony ledge or a coffee table and light them a few minutes before 12.
• Give her the real gift right after midnight, so it is the first present of her year.
• If you are together, light one tealight each and say one thing you want for the other person this year. It sounds cheesy. It works.

Heart Tealights plus Vanilla Reverie is Rs 898: the moment and the keepsake in one order. For free shipping, choose Heart Tealights plus the Heart Rope Candles set, Rs 1,348.

If she is in another city on 31 December

Many couples are apart at New Year: she is home with family, or you are both working in different cities. You can enter her address at checkout so the parcel goes straight to her, choose gift packaging and add a gift note on the product page.

The last week of December is a busy time for couriers, with Christmas and New Year back to back. Dispatch is 24 to 48 hours and delivery 2 to 7 days after dispatch, so order in the middle of December rather than the 28th, and check the estimate for her pincode on the product page. If the parcel arrives a few days early, ask her to keep it sealed until midnight. Half the fun is opening it on the call with you.

Other New Year presents boyfriends give

Candles are a small gift. Other common New Year gifts for a girlfriend in India: a new planner or diary for the year, a smartwatch or fitness band if she has a goal, a pair of earrings, a book she has been meaning to read, a weekend trip planned for January, a perfume, a cosy hoodie, or a framed photo of the two of you from the year that just ended. A planner plus a Heart Rope candle on top is a nice pairing: one is for her plans, one is for her shelf.

We do not sell fairy lights, LED candles or party decorations like balloons; get those from a party store or a marketplace. If she wants a wide choice of scents, a specialist scented-candle brand will have more than our single vanilla jar. If you want a gift for a wife rather than a girlfriend, see our page on the New Year gift for a wife.

Paying and returns

• Prepaid only, through Razorpay: UPI, card, net banking or wallet. No cash on delivery.
• Free shipping from Rs 999; Rs 79 below.
• A return request must come within 24 hours of delivery; damage reported within 24 hours is replaced or refunded, with refunds in 5 to 7 working days of approval. Cancel free before dispatch.
• WhatsApp +91 85958 24586 or email maharani@raajkosh.com with questions.

On the night: keep tealights away from party poppers, curtains and dupattas, never leave them burning when you head out, and blow them out before you sleep.