Valentine's hamper in India: a handmade chest of teddy, heart and peony candles, built by you, with the price of each pieceValentine's hamper in India: a handmade chest of teddy, heart and peony candles, built by you, with the price of each piece

A Valentine's box that turns into an evening

Most Valentine's hampers in India are a teddy, chocolates, a card and a rose in a basket, bought sealed. They are cute and they are the same as everyone else's. A hamper you build yourself says more, especially when the pieces set up the evening as well as fill the box.

Raajkosh makes Valentine's candles by hand in pure soy wax in Jalandhar. With our gift chest builder you choose 3 to 6 pieces, then a chest style, a ribbon and a personal message. Four or more pieces get 10% off the pieces. Each piece is charged at its listed price plus the chest style, and the builder shows the full price before checkout. Ready-made hampers are listed as coming soon, so the chest is how to do it today.

The pieces from our Valentine's range

• Teddy Gift Candle, Rs 599: an ivory teddy with a pink bow peeking out of a gift box ringed with pink roses. The teddy and roses, in wax.
• Heart Tealights, Rs 349 for 10 red hearts in clear cups. Spell something on the floor, or line the balcony.
• Floral Candle Duo, Rs 649: two peony candles, rose pink and ivory. Flowers that do not wilt by the 16th.
• Heart Rope Candles, Rs 279 single or Rs 999 for four in soft colours.
• Bonnet Teddy Candle, Rs 449, a teddy in a blue bonnet and coat, and the Heart Bubble Candle, Rs 249, wax spheres dotted with red hearts.

Three chests, three kinds of Valentine

Add the chest style to each. The first two cross Rs 999 on the pieces and ship free; on the budget chest, the builder will show whether the total with the chest crosses the free shipping line or adds Rs 79. Vanilla Reverie is our only scented candle, for a chest that should smell warm as well as look pretty.

How to give it so it lands

1. Hide the Heart Tealights. Give the chest, then light the tealights on the table or the floor while they open it.
2. Write the message by hand in your head first. The builder's message step is short; one specific memory beats "Happy Valentine's Day".
3. Add what we do not make: her chocolates, his favourite snack, a single real rose. Pick them up the same day.
4. Want her name on it? Names on the tag or initials on the box are a custom order, by enquiry. Ask early in January, since we reply with the timeline only once we know the idea.

For gift ideas beyond a hamper, see our page on a Valentine gift for your boyfriend.

Married couples often skip the teddy and keep the peonies, the vanilla jar and the heart rope candles, which belong in a bedroom long after February.

When to buy a different hamper

If your partner lives in a hostel or PG that bans flames, or simply loves chocolate more than decor, a chocolate or bakery hamper from a dessert brand or a gifting site will make them happier. Those sites also do same-day delivery in many cities, which we do not. Choose our chest when you want the gift to be on their shelf in March.

Delivery before 14 February, and payment

We dispatch in 24 to 48 hours; delivery is 2 to 7 days after that, anywhere in India. We cannot promise delivery on Valentine's Day, so order in the first week of February and check the estimate for the pincode. Payment is prepaid only, with no cash on delivery. Damage reported within 24 hours of delivery is replaced or refunded.

For the evening itself: tealights on a heat-proof tray, nothing near curtains or rose petals that could catch, wicks trimmed to about 5 mm, each burn kept to 3 to 4 hours, and never left alone.