New Year gifts for friends: one small candle for each friend in the group, one bigger one for your best friendNew Year gifts for friends: one small candle for each friend in the group, one bigger one for your best friend

Giving the whole group something on the 31st

New Year with friends is usually one evening: a house party, a terrace, a rented farmhouse, a long dinner that runs past midnight. If you want to give everyone something, the rule that keeps it easy is the same small gift for each friend, in different colours, so nobody compares and nobody feels left out.

Raajkosh hand-pours pure soy wax candles in Jalandhar. Two work as "one each" gifts:

• Heart Bubble Candle, Rs 249, in white or light blue: rounded wax bubbles dotted with tiny red hearts. Playful, and the kind of thing that stays on a bedside table.
• Spiral Pillar Candles, Rs 179 each, in ivory, pink, blue, yellow or navy. Let each friend pick a colour, or match it to them: navy for the quiet one, yellow for the loud one.

For the one friend who gets more than a token, see the best-friend section below.

What a gang order costs, with shipping counted

The set of five is the neat answer for a group of five: one of each colour, Rs 96 less than buying five singles. Shipping is free from Rs 999, Rs 79 below. Everything ships to one address, so order to whoever is hosting or to yourself, and hand them out at the party.

The best friend gets her (or his) own gift

Your best friend should not get the same thing as everyone else. Three pieces at a step up:

• Vanilla Reverie, Rs 549: our only scented candle, warm vanilla in an amber glass jar with a screw lid and gold flakes. Suits anyone, of any gender, and travels well if they live in another city.
• Blossom Candle, Rs 299: a round ivory candle ringed with pink and yellow wax blossoms. Bright and cheerful, for a friend whose room is all colour.
• Teddy Gift Candle, Rs 599: an ivory teddy peeking out of a gift box ringed with pink roses. For the friend who collects cute things.

Vanilla Reverie with the Blossom Candle comes to Rs 848: one to light, one to keep. If you want both your names on matching candles, that is a custom piece; our personalised gifts for your best friend guide explains how to ask for it.

Handing them out at a New Year party

• Before midnight, not after. After the countdown everyone is hugging, calling family and taking photos. Hand the gifts out over dinner or when people arrive.
• Write each name on the tag. Ten seconds per gift and it stops feeling like a party favour. You can add gift packaging and a note on the product page.
• Keep them unlit at the party. A crowded room with balloons and streamers is not the place. Tell friends to light them at home.
• If someone cannot come, keep theirs and give it at the first meet-up in January. It still counts.

Other things friends give each other at New Year

• Desk calendars and pocket diaries, ideally with your group photos printed in.
• Food: a cake for the party, a box of cookies, or a round of drinks at the next outing.
• A shared plan: a group trip booked for a long weekend in the new year.
• Polaroid prints of the year's best photos, in a small envelope.
• Funny gifts: a mug with an inside joke, a "resolution" card everyone signs.
• More scents than we make. We have one scented jar, vanilla. For lavender or floral candles, try brands that specialise in scented ranges.

Timing the order for New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve falls on a Thursday this year, a week after Christmas, and December is the busiest month for couriers. We dispatch in 24 to 48 hours and delivery takes 2 to 7 days after dispatch, anywhere in India. Order in early or mid December, check the estimate for your pincode, and do not leave a group order to the last week. We cannot promise a date.

Prepaid only (UPI, card, net banking or wallet through Razorpay); no cash on delivery. Request a return within 24 hours of delivery; damage reported in that window is replaced or refunded.

When your friends light them at home: never leave a candle burning unattended, trim the wick to about 5 mm first, and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours.