Ditch the Mithai! 7 Innovative Last-Minute Diwali Gifts.
Diwali, the festival of lights, which we all long await each year. City landscapes change as each house is clad with bright lights, diyas and flowers. It’s the season where we love, we give and we appreciate the closest people in our lives, by showering them with “mithai”!
This year, why not ditch that age-old Mithai box and up our gifting game with some innovative gifts to stand out of the crowd? Here’s a list of cool last-minute out-of-the(-mithai)-box ideas you can gift your special people, to show them just how well you know them. (Heads up: They are guaranteed to drool over these)
1. Bay Cream: Coolest ice cream in town
With the changing hot and rainy Mumbai weather, there is no better treat than a cold, freshly delivered tub of ice cream! Bay Cream, a new Mumbai based home-business, home delivers high quality, premium, artisanal, cows-milk ice creams. All ice creams are vegetarian, low-sugar, completely preservative-free and meet international standards for “super-premium” ice cream!
With a wide range of flavors ranging from the flagship Sea Salt Caramel, to the evergreen Dutch Chocolate, to even the controversial Salt and Pepper — there is something for everyone. Bay Cream also introduced the new “Creamy Custard Apple” just in time for the season! Check out the full menu here.
You can order Bay Cream directly from the website https://www.baycream.in or call +91 82912–48280. For Diwali, you can also custom label your tubs with a short message to your friends and family (call the order helpline for more info on this)
Must-try flavors: Sea Salt Caramel, Creamy Custard Apple, Cookies and Cream
Price Range: ₹350/tub (500ml)
Order on: Bay Cream website (https://www.baycream.in), Phone (+91 82912–48280)
Delivery times: Same or next day, depending on the shipping address
Instagram: @baycream.in
2. All Things: Contemporary and innovative chocolate
Who doesn’t enjoy a whole bar of great quality chocolate!? …and what better reason to consume copious amounts than the festive season!? All Things, the premium handcrafted chocolate manufacturer is the perfect answer to satisfy these cravings.
Using premium cocoa as the foundation, each bar is built with personally handpicked ingredients from all over the world to craft chocolate, reminiscent of tales from favorite cities, colors, flowers or even the best part of the day. The
You can order a Bar of their chocolates from their website https://theallthingsshop.com or pick up your fix at stores across major cities (see a full list here)
Must-try flavors: All Things Water, All Things Tropical
Price Range: ₹370–380/bar
Order on: All Things website (https://theallthingsshop.com), Stores across the city (full list), Phone (+91 99711-54804)
Delivery times: 3–5 Days
Instagram: @allthingschocolates
3. Moonshine: India’s first meads!
Raise a toast to the festive seasons by gifting bottles of India’s first Mead! Moonshine has revolutionized the ancient traditional honey-based fermented drink while incorporating a local Indian twist. All the meads are made with the best sustainably sourced fresh honey, fruits, and spices.
They currently offer 3 flavors: the Traditional Mead — made with a blend of 3 kinds of honey: the Apple Cyder Mead — with a perfect combo of honey and Kashmiri apples; and the Coffee Mead — a coffee drinker’s dream.
You can pick up bottles of Moonshine at liquor stores across Mumbai, Pune, and Goa! (see the full list here)
Must-try flavors: Traditional Mead
Price Range: ₹220/bottle
Order on: Liquor stores near you (full list)
Instagram: @moonshinemeadery
4. Baker’s Dozen: It’s your bread and butter
You can’t go wrong with a hearty loaf of bread! Baker’s dozen is an artisan bread bakery, which offers an exquisite variety of international breads. The central idea behind their concept is to serve extremely high quality, authentic European breads freshly baked without any preservatives, chemicals, and emulsifiers.
They offer a wide range of European specialty breads including a Sourdough and Focaccia, and also homemade dips and freshly brewed coffee to go with it!
You can order a loaf either their website (http://www.thebakersdozen.in) or visit their retail locations across the city (see a list here)
Must-try: Brioche, Sourdough
Price Range: ₹200/loaf
Order on: Baker’s Dream website (http://www.thebakersdozen.in), Locations across the city (full list)
Delivery times: Same or next day, depending on the shipping address
5. Spotted Cow Fromagerie: Say cheese
Cheese can truly lift up any mood and occasion and your Diwali gift is no exception! The Mehra Brothers from Bombay whip up some mean international cheeses with an Indian twist. Their small Mumbai based creamery, Spotted Cow Fromagerie, makes 100% vegetarian and preservative-free handmade artisanal cheeses. All their cheese is made in small batches and aged with utmost care.
With a variety of cheese logs that range from plain, to savory roasted garlic, to sweet caramelized Hazelnut, you can conquer any pallet. The menu also offers interesting takes on European cheese, with an Indian twist.
You can order a variety of cheese on their website for as fresh a product as possible or pick up your fix from one of the stores they stock across the city (see the full list here). They also have gifting options on their site for you to personalize your Diwali gifts.
Must-try flavors: Fresh Cheese with Truffle, Bombrie
Price Range: ₹200–500/pack
Order on: Their Website (http://www.thespottedcow.in), Stores across the city (full list)
Delivery times: 3–5 days
Instagram: @comspottedcowfromagerie
6. Le15 Patisserie: Premium French desserts
Who hasn’t dreamt of spending a long vacation in France, walking through the picturesque roads and enjoying the delicate pastries? That’s exactly the experience you can expect from Le15 — a premium dessert brand, widely credited for bringing the French Macaron to India.
Today, Le15 is the go-to for the best traditional French desserts including macarons, tarts, eclairs, and pastries, offering a ton of eggless options too! You can currently order boxes of 12 or 24 macarons, choosing either a single flavor, one of their mixed boxes, or even make-your-own combo from the range of flavors.
You can either order a box online on their website (http://shop.le15.com/) or visit their Patisserie to pick up your box (list of locations). Alternatively, in Mumbai, place an order via Zomato, Scootsy, or Swiggy.
Must-try flavors: Sea Salt Macaron, Passionfruit Macaron, Paan Macaron
Price Range: ₹950/box (12 Macarons)
Order on: Le15 website (http://shop.le15.com/), Le15 location across the city (full list), Zomato, Swiggy, Scootsy
Delivery times: Depending on shipping address
Instagram: @le15india
7. Stranger & Sons: Inherently Indian gin
This season get your party on, by bringing a bottle of India’s finest Gin to your Diwali dinners and parties. Stranger & Sons crafts a great balanced Gin that is true to it’s Indian and Goan roots. The gin goes beyond the customary juniper and highlights inherently Indian botanicals and spices that are indispensable to every Indian household.
Each sip starts off with citrus peels on the nose, followed by a strong backbone of pepper, nutmeg, juniper, and Indian coriander, finishing with a smooth, warm note of licorice, cassia bark, and mace. You can easily whip up some incredible cocktails with a bottle of Stanger & Sons Gin, or simply add some ice, lime, and tonic water for a beautiful Gin & Tonic.
You can pick up a bottle of Stranger & Sons gin at liquor stores across the city. See a map with the full list here.
Price Range: ₹2575/bottle (Mumbai)
Order on: Stores across the city (full list)
Instagram: @strangerandsons
About the author
Hi 👋, I’m Gaurav! I live in the sunny city of Mumbai, India and make ice cream for a living. I work as the Recipe Mad Scientist at Bay Cream and along with my incredible team, we make premium artisanal ice creams using pure cow’s milk and the freshest ingredients.
We started out in 2018 with a small machine and a dream – To make good ice creams that people love, without the ridiculous price tags– and set out on a mission to learn the art of making ice creams. Today a year later, we think we’ve got the hang of it! We currently sell on our website (built inhouse) and cater to events across the city.
If you live in Bombay and are craving a sweet treat, get yourself a tub of the city’s new favorite ice cream, only at www.baycream.in.
