The joy of gifting, courtesy of Foodstories 

The month is knocking at its busiest and brightest. Faces aglow, our humble abodes all decked up, excitement at its peak, and this festive spirit is incomplete without the combination of good food and great gifts. The kind that makes your loved ones feel a little more special. This Diwali, Foodstories is here to do just that, joined by Mira Kapoor, who brings her own joy of gifting to a festive edit of thoughtful, edible and useful gifts, chosen for the season.

The edit lives inside Foodstories’ inaugural Festive Gift & Hosting Guide, A Joy of Gifting. It brings together food, gifts, recipes, hosting ideas, books, design, personal rituals and stories of provenance. It goes beyond the simple question of what we give, and looks at the thought, people and stories that make a gift worth giving.

For Mira, the story begins at home. “When I was growing up, Diwali was delicious and indulgent: jalebi, mathri and, of course, fruit,” she recalls. Families you hadn’t seen in years would turn up, and that, she says, is what made the season so special. But somewhere along the way, gifting turned hectic. “I looked at a fresh pile of gifts next to a cupboard still full of last year’s, and thought, ‘What am I going to do with all this?’” That was the turning point.  Today, her philosophy comes down to two principles: “a gift must be convenient, and it must not create clutter, and that includes the packaging.” Her answer is fruit, placed in a bowl that can go straight onto someone’s table or countertop, “with nothing to throw away.” That is the idea behind her Harvest Bowl (₹5,000), a mix of Kashmiri apples, dragonfruit, Kerala mangosteen, mini oranges, green grapes and Peruvian blueberries.

“For me, gifting is not about how expensive, large, or heavy the gift is, but about what it brings to the person you’re giving it to, and if it matches what their personality, life, and choices reflect,” she adds. Her edit also includes the Wellness Bar (₹5,000), inspired by the one she keeps at home, with Moringa Powder from Two Brothers Organic Farms, Foodstories Italian Truffle Makhana and Reishi Mushroom Powder. For the hour when 5 pm snacking calls, there’s the 5 O’Clock Tea Time Snack Box (₹2,000), with Bombay Chivda, Kolhapuri Murukku and Nani’s Nankhatai. 

That spirit echoes in the founders’ own festive memories. Avni and Ashni Biyani remember Diwali at their Nani’s house, where the kitchen became a kaju katli factory and the whole household pitched in to make some 500 kilos of the sweet, sent out to everyone they loved as “a little box of joy.” Taking a cue from that assembly line, they have roped in a little village of their own, from leading tastemakers to the people behind the photography and packaging, to create the Guide as a love letter to the season. A special hosting section celebrates the long, glittery nights that follow.

And as Avni and Ashni Biyani say, “The gift you give says something about you: your taste, what you have discovered, and how well you know the person receiving it. We wanted to make that process easier, more thoughtful and much more enjoyable.”

For more thoughtful gifting ideas, festive recipes and inspiration for hosting this Diwali, explore Foodstories’ Festive Gift & Hosting Guide at www.foodstories.shop.

Images: The brand

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