Store-bought is passé, give your Valentine a handmade gift this year

  • | Wednesday | 13th February, 2019

Forget the predictable box of fancy chocolates, store-bought greeting cards and the dozen long-stemmed roses this Valentine’s Day. “It has been five years since we got married, and every Valentine’s Day I get my wife some expensive gift and we go for dinner. There are several V-Day chocolate-making workshops in the city for couples who want to take the class together. So I held a special Valentine’s Day-themed workshop on the weekends this month,” says Garg.— With inputs from Ashni Dhaor Most people take these classes before Valentine’s Day, so that they can surprise their partner with chocolates or cake they made themself.

Forget the predictable box of fancy chocolates, store-bought greeting cards and the dozen long-stemmed roses this Valentine’s Day. Many Delhiites – both young and old – are going for personalised and handmade gifts this year. While the trend of personalised gifts has been around for a while, now people are now taking it to the next level by by getting their own hands dirty in preparing them. Classes and workshops for chocolate-making, baking and pottery are not just full, but full of people wanting to make personalised Valentine’s Day gifts. The number of queries and bookings for such hobby classes by couples have gone up and the idea is not just to create something special, but also to spend quality time with their partners.The couple that bakes together, stays togetherEnrolment for chocolate and cake-making classes start almost a month in advance. Couples usually opt for one or two-day sessions of around one hour each. Most people take these classes before Valentine’s Day, so that they can surprise their partner with chocolates or cake they made themself. “Each year, we start getting bookings in January from couples and individuals who want to create something special for their partners on V-Day. We offer a one-day two-hour class to couples. This year, we have bookings from eight people, which includes couples and individuals. They take the class before V-Day so that they can surprise their partner with customised chocolates. Apart from creating chocolates in heart or rose shapes, some people also try special moulds to customise the chocolates according to what their partner likes,” says Sharmila Sengupta from Cookery Expressions in Sector 7, Dwarka. There are several V-Day chocolate-making workshops in the city for couples who want to take the class together. “We had a special workshop for couples on February 3. I think couples take these classes to not just create something special or spend quality time with each other, but also to encourage their partner to pursue their hobbies,” says Rakesh Kalkhambkar, owner of Food Destinationz in Rohini, Sector 7.Neeta Khurana from Neeta Khurana’s Baking and Cooking in Kalkaji says that among her students are several newlywed couples who feel learning to bake together can help them bond. “They feel that creating something together will be a special memory for their first Valentine’s Day together after marriage,” says Neeta.The baking classes are popular in the age group of 20 to 40-year-olds. “Apart from students and homemakers, young working couples also come for these classes. They rarely get to spend time with each other and going for dinner or lunch dates gets boring after a point,” says Pooja Anand, who works at Art Chocolat Academy of Chocolate Arts in Greater Kailash I.Nisha, a college student living on MG Road, Gurgaon, says, “My boyfriend loves chocolate and I was planning to give him some exotic chocolate before a friend suggested that I should try to make the chocolates myself. I attended weekend classes for a month for that. It is not just a special gesture but fun for me too. I’m learning a new skill."Delhi-based model Rashmi Singh at Savita Duggal’s chocolate-making class in Sector 21, NoidaPottery is the second most popular choice after baking classesAfter cake and chocolate-making classes, pottery classes are a popular choice among couples around Valentine’s Day. “We have 37 bookings already for our class on V-Day and we are expecting more registrations. Last year, we had around 50 couples who came in to learn pottery. These couples feel that spending time doing something creative is better than just going on a date on Valentine’s Day. Moreover, whatever they create can be with them forever,” says Dipti Gupta, owner of Pitampura-based Earthen Aura Ceramics.“The two weekends before Valentine’s Day this year have been completely booked by couples who are looking to gift each other handmade artefacts as well as spending quality time together,” says Suresh Mawandia from Kalawati Pottery Classes in Noida.Noida resident Poornima Rawat and her husband Umesh have enrolled themselves for a one-day pottery workshop at Claying Thoughts in Sector 21. “It has been five years since we got married, and every Valentine’s Day I get my wife some expensive gift and we go for dinner. This year will be different because we will get our hands dirty together and create something for each other,” says Rawat who works in a bank in Delhi.Girish Singh from Gurgaon attended a pottery class and made a small vase for his partner for Valentine’s Day. “My partner will always cherish that because it is something that I put effort into. I’m not the kind of person who does crafts and she knows that. That is what makes this idea so special,” he says.Pottery teachers in Gurgaon say that unlike chocolate and cake-making workshops, where youngsters are going alone, pottery workshops mostly see couples walk in together. Divya Dandona, who takes pottery and ceramic workshops in Sushant Lok, tells us, “The trend of couples getting together for pottery workshops for birthdays and anniversaries has been around for a couple of years but doing so for Valentine’s Day is new. Pottery is almost therapeutic and is a good bonding exercise, which is why a lot of couples come for it together.” Rati Singh, who attended a pottery workshop with her boyfriend in Gurgaon last week, says, “I went alone at first because I thought I’d learn something and make a small gift for him for V-Day, but then I realised it would be more fun to actually do it together. Doing pottery together was our Valentine’s Week date and it was a lot of fun, trying something new. On top of it, we were able to make some small gifts for each other. They are nothing great but we created them ourselves so they are special.”Delhi-based model Rashmi Singh at a chocolate-making classAlka Singh, who organises chocolate-making workshops in the city, says, “My workshops on the two weekends before Valentine’s Day were fully booked almost a week in advance. Lots of youngsters send queries well in advance about wanting to enrol or simply attend two-three classes so that they can learn the basics of chocolate-making for their Valentine.” Some bakers and chocolatiers even organised special Valentine’s Day workshops in Gurgaon, seeing the high demand. Varun Gupta, owner of a bakery that organised a workshop for making heart-shaped cakes in South City, tells us, “We get quite a good response from people wanting to learn how to make cakes, particularly V-Day themed, which is why we organise this special workshop every year. About 15-20 people sign up, most looking to learn how to bake a romantic cake for their date. Some stay in touch and ask our feedback when they try it again at home.”Delhi-based model Prince Pal poses for us with Niharika Garg, who holds art workshops in NoidaArt workshops are also seeing a spike in queries from people looking to make handmade cards for their partners. “When I was a kid, I used to make greeting cards for my friends and parents on every occasion. So I thought why not let the creative juices flow again and create something special for my girlfriend. I have made her a greeting card with a floral pattern on the border and written a poem for her,” says Ritvik Mahajan, who works in a consultancy firm. According to Niharika Garg, who holds painting workshops in Noida, the trend of making handmade greeting cards has only recently caught on. “I generally hold art workshops for people who want to paint in their leisure time. But this year, a lot of queries have come from those looking to make cards for their partners. So I held a special Valentine’s Day-themed workshop on the weekends this month,” says Garg.— With inputs from Ashni Dhaor

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