Looking for an Eid gift? Look beyond clothes.

A very common practice on Eid is giving gifts to loved ones. As wholesome as this tradition may seem, this joyous exchange of presents often becomes an obligation. We watch our parents struggling to buy gifts for every single relative, including their kids. And the strangest part? The gifts are usually clothes.

Everyone tries to buy new clothes to wear on Eid day which, besides being a pretty nice thing to do, also makes Eid more eventful in many ways. However, buying clothes for so many people can be very difficult and tiring.

First of all, it's hard to remember and buy outfits according to all the sizes and style preferences for each relative. Then there is the struggle of going shopping during Ramadan, with all the chaos in the malls. For shoppers, the heat waves on top of being dehydrated result in immense exhaustion, especially if you're fasting. If it's not a fixed priced shop, there is no option but to bargain until you and the shopkeeper are spitting feathers.

Secondly, gifting clothing items is a pretty expensive affair as you may require a high budget to buy suitable clothes for many relatives. Our loved ones are probably buying clothes for themselves for Eid anyways, so gifting them clothing items might not be a very felicitous decision.

Now, we have to figure out what these non-clothing gifts for loved ones can be. Home decor accessories make great gifts because everyone is usually pretty enthusiastic about decorating their homes for Eid day. Things like beautiful rugs, nakshi kathas, wall hangings, handcrafted flower vases and traditional clay pots as well as jewelleries, crystal and porcelain pieces can be significant, charming as well as useful gifts.

Eid cards along with a box of sweets or a fruit basket for each family is also a pretty delightful gift option. Gifting plants should actually be a real thing. Apart from the fact that plants make great accessories to a house and have countless benefits, it's also considered a very nice gesture when you give someone a plant. Not to mention it's an environmentally friendly choice and very easy to buy.

When we consider these kinds of things as gifts, we don't have to worry about personalising every single gift and it can be cost effective for us as well. In this way, exchanging Eid gifts can be creative and relatively stress free!

Nadeemah always wraps her head around the thought of what she's going to eat next and thinks that the glass at her bedside table is half- full. Say hi at nadeemahafrose13@gmail.com