The Art of Gifting

It's your parents 25th/50th marriage celebrations and if you are like me, you will be more lost than Paris Hilton's Chiwawa in Bihar. And if your last brilliant gift was an All-in-One Emergency light cum tape + CD + FM player cum torch light and of all things a swiss knife too, you need serious help. This article may or may not solve your problems, but a total faltoo timepass is guaranteed You can now either choose to read further and risk brain and physical damage or close this browser window and go to the nearest mall and pick up a nice pair of costly designer watches for your parents (DIE!!! you rich buggers!!!)

Will the reader return or walk off to the nearest Mall? All this and much much more after this short break. Stay tuned and don't go anywhere

If you have managed to survive this far into the show, let me congratulate you and also warn you that the road ahead is not easy (life never is..smirks). Only the one with a strong heart and stronger sense of timepass than the author will eventually '..bujhao his satya ki pyaas'. The challenge here is huge and most of you will eventually dropout and bitch about the ones who actually make it to the finish line, so all you Jane Goody wannabes... you are not welcome here.

Now comes the stage where we sit down and think hard about what makes a gift for such special people really special. It is of course very hard to define that, as for most parents, just a call from their kid(s) is enough to light up their day. Since most of us don't do that much these days and come up with convenient excuses like “..no time from work..” “..every time I call them, they ask me when I am getting married..” and so on, this would be good time to make up for all the heartache you have caused and make sure that your parents don't bug you for the next couple of years for marriage (sigh.. if only this were true...).

Essentially this is what such a gift should have:

1. A very personal touch

2. Something which celebrates their togetherness as a couple

3. Something which makes them realize and cherish their long time together

4. Elements which make them remember how it was like when they set their eyes on each other and the romance and love they share (before you came with your dirty nappies, teenage tantrums, financial demands and of course your marriage issues :-P)

5. Things which connect them to the people they really love and care about

6. Something which tells them why they are so special for you

Hmm... I can sense a general feeling of skepticism and bewilderment in you. “in your dreams” is what most of you want to say, I am sure. But ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to disappoint you because such a thing is possible (No Sharan... the pair of watches don't make the cut!!).

What it is and how it can be, find the answers after this short break. Don't go anywhere...

OK that was not a commercial, but just Sharan's reaction when he read the above paragraph.

So without much ado, allow me to break the suspense of this mystery gift. It is nothing more than a simple, handmade (or printed if you as lazy as Sharan) anniversary book cum scrap book cum photo gallery. Surprised? Read on to find out how you can take this simple idea into a really Jhakhass project.

First of all, you need to plan this project at least a month or so in advance to the day when you want to gift it. You will need to drop in at your parents and relatives places and collect all pictures of them. You need to talk to their immediate family (sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, childhood and closest friends etc.) and get as much information about them as possible. You will also need to talk to your parents and ask them some rather insightful questions like:

1. Their childhood (school, college etc.. growing up years)

2. Loves in their lives

3. Their ambitions in life (yessir... they also had ambitions. Trust me on this one :) ) and what happened to them

4. First meeting with each other and how did their love blossom (some stories are even wackier than most romantic movies you watch!)

5. Problems they had in life (inter-personal, economic etc.) and how did they overcome them.

6. How was it like having you as children and seeing you grow up and move away

7. Lots and lots of interesting anecdotes (during vacations, everyday etc.)

8. Lastly and most importantly, get them to write each other a testimonial (if anybody has a good idea on how to get it done, please share)

Of course you will have to very innocuous while doing all this, so as not to raise any suspicions. After you have gathered all the information and dope on your parents, now you can sit down and collate all that information into a concise form called A Hard Day's Work.

But before that, please be subjected to the last ad of the program

The story so far:

You have done your research, collected the data and collaterals and are extremely tired (reading this story of course..) and want some help in making sense out of all that data.

Now the actual fun part starts. You can now start work on the book concept, the design and layout. A simple template would look like this

1. Cover design with a nicely done collage of pictures showcasing their lives together

2. Forwarding note from you and your siblings

3. Table of contents

4. Introduction on the individuals (bibliography has to be written and this is to emphasize and celebrate them as individuals)

5. Testimonials on each other just after each introduction

6. Celebrating the 'couple' with pictures, anecdotes etc.

7. Celebrating the 'family' again with pictures, anecdotes etc.

8. Testimonials from you and your siblings

9. Testimonials from their childhood friends, siblings, relatives etc. peppered with pictures, trivia and messages

10. Milestones for each person connected to them in a yearly fashion with pictures (like birth, school, events, marriage, kids etc. till present)

11. Ending note wishing both persons all the best

Like I said right at the beginning, this is not an easy project to execute and the option of a pair of watches is still cute, but make sure you do it with feeling 'cause at the end of the day like they say, it's the thought that counts and not the gift :)

This is a pretty wild idea and 99.99% of us (including myself) probably won't/can't pull it off. If anyone does, please let us know :). Lastly a word of thanks to Jahnavi, whose dilemma led to me formulating this grand plan.

PS: Please do click on the google ads/links. Even I want to be rich

Rate this article