But gifts, like most things in life, have changed over the years. Tiny bits of gold jewellery still flow in from the relatives, but a dinner set is not the inevitable wedding gift from office colleagues any more. The choices are many; the thought process is different.

“The trend has certainly changed. There are many more varieties to choose from. The idea is to gift something nice and different,” says Avantika Kar, 25, customer care executive, HSBC. What would she buy for her friend’s marriage or birthday? “Maybe a group of us would pool in and buy a microwave. And a branded T-shirt is the hottest birthday gift.” The most innovative gift she has received so far? “On my birthday, a friend made a beautiful collage of photographs for me,” she says fondly.

Use me

Utility is in. The concept of giving something useful — not sherbet sets made of coloured glass that are promptly packed again and dispensed at the next wedding as your gift — is catching on, feels Pooja Agarwal, proprietor of Utopia, a lifestyle store in Bakul Bagan Road that opened its doors last month. “People are buying practical gifts,” she stresses.

The purchase of home appliances as gifts has shot up. “The market of home appliances has grown by almost eight per cent. Microwaves and refrigerators are popular as wedding gifts. That is because people have less time on their hands. Microwaves are especially popular as anniversary gifts, picked up by husbands for their wives. They cost between Rs 3,500 and Rs 15,000,” says Sandeep Guleria, regional marketing manager, Whirlpool India Limited (eastern region).

The microwave rocks — and so does the treadmill. Inducing health is in — and not all exercise equipment is ugly. John Abraham gifted his girlfriend (‘ex’, according to Bolly talk) Bipasha Basu a treadmill once, which must have been quite good-looking, at least to keep up with its users.

And there are some special dumbbells. “People are buying workout equipment as gifts. They are mostly between the age of 30 and 50. Dumbbells that can be used at home are great gifts. Because they do not look like dumbbells, you can use them as showpieces,” says Anil Jain, business development manager, South Asia, TechnoGym. They have sold about “six or seven” pairs of these urethane-coated steel tools as gifts. The standard colour is off-white. It can be carried inside a bag. At Rs 48,000 a pair, it is a pricey gift.

Five-star packs

“Useful” now, of course, connotes more than utility — it also means eating out. Presenting someone with a wine-and-dine voucher at a five-star or a two-night stay in a deluxe suite at a swanky hotel is in vogue. “This has been a trend since last year,” says Anirban Simlai, director, food and beverage, The Park. Vouchers start from around Rs 2,000.

The list of gift givers has also changed. Several private companies, hoping to check attrition rates, are wooing their employees with such gifts. Membership cards of premier clubs housed in these hotels are also offered as gifts. “We have sold at least five or six such cards for our health-club. You can easily crack a business deal if you gift such a card,” smiles Simlai.

Massage packages are also becoming popular as “birthday and honeymoon gifts”. “The volume is more these days. Packages range between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000,” says a Hyatt spokesperson.

If vouchers are in, can gizmos and gadgets be far behind? “Previously on Rakhi, one used to concentrate on clothes. Now it is the latest collection of watches, laptops and mobile phones,” says Naveen Misra of Shoppers’ Stop (Forum). “A friend got an iPod as a gift for Rakhi,” smiles Manasi Sinha, a media professional.

The “discerning woman” is not buying gold cuff-links. She is buying the latest car accessories for her husband or boyfriend. “Small gifts like mobile holders, car perfumes, floor mats, iPod holders are favourite Rakhi and birthday gifts,” says Vinay Daga, proprietor of Glix, a car accessory showroom at Alipore.

Pets and pet accessories are popular presents

Dogs and dog shoes

Books still figure on the list of gifts, but not Tagore, Saratchandra or Shankar, the stock wedding gifts of yore. At least not the originals, though their translated versions may not be so rare. “Now all kinds of books are being bought, from books on contemporary themes to coffee-table ones,” says Rajiv Chowdhry, CEO, Oxford Bookstore. Among the new authors, Amitav Ghosh and Chetan Bhagat are pop picks. “Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome and Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone are popular. I got Five Point Someone as a gift a year back,” says Deboleena Guhathakurta, an M.Phil student at Jadavapur University’s women’s studies department. She, however, prefers old classics when it comes to choosing a gift for a friend. “I gave my cousin D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow for her wedding,” she recollects.

It’s not only GeNext that buys DVDs and CDs. “People from the older generation are also buying DVDs and CDs as gifts,” says Atanu Saha, customer service assistant at the Park Street outlet of MusicWorld. And burning a DVD or a CD is the made-to-order gift that costs nothing, or next to nothing. “It is very trendy and unique. I ask my friends to burn songs of Hrithik-starrers,” says 25-year-old ad copywriter Payal Ghosh.

If you have a dog, someone may just gift you a pack of lovely meat-and-liver biscuits for it. “Awareness has increased. Dogs remain popular birthday presents. The German Shepherd and the Golden Labrador are the preferred breeds. But we also sell a lot of T-shirts, dog-chews, pet nail-cutters and dog shoes,” says Mohammad Salahuddin, proprietor of Pet Pride at Simpark Mall in New Market. “I got two gold fish when I fell sick a few days ago,” smiles Roma Kapoor, a schoolteacher.

Belief in the aesthetic appeal and symbolic powers of plants has also gone up. “My friend once bought a potted plant, literally replanted one part and gave it to his girlfriend,” says Rohan Gupta, a second-year engineering student.

And some fathers like to gift their children customised cars. But that is another story altogether.

Yet some insist that the best gifts on this earth are those that come for free. “The best gift you can give is a hug: one size fits all and no one ever minds if you return it,” goes an oft-circulated online legend.

Some think the greatest gift is life, others love, yet others freedom. Cheapskates all!

(What gift would you love to give/receive? Tell t2@abpmail.com)