How to Plan Diwali Corporate Gifting Without the Last-Minute Panic

Every October we hear the same story: procurement realised too late that Diwali hampers need three weeks. Here's the timeline that avoids the panic.

Six weeks out: freeze your budget bands and recipient lists. Segmentation matters — CXO hampers, employee hampers and vendor hampers should differ in value.

Five weeks out: finalise the hamper design and place your order. Popular items sell out, and custom sleeves need print lead time.

Four weeks out: approve samples. Check branding quality, packaging strength and — importantly — taste the food items.

Two weeks out: lock addresses and delivery slots. For remote employees, direct-to-home shipping with individual tracking removes HR's biggest headache.

One week out: keep a 5% buffer stock for the inevitable last-minute additions.

The teams that follow this timeline don't just avoid stress — they get better pricing, first pick of premium stock and their choice of delivery dates.