Hampering the holidays with gifts

By Mehru Jaffer

There is little doubt that there is indeed something charming about being hampered in the holiday season. However, when there was little to hamper, two stones were rubbed together to make a fire of dried leaves and twigs. The smoke then went up into the heavens to communicate to the gods how much they were adored by human beings. Later, sounds created on drums traveled to friendly or to warring tribes as a reminder of either peace or war. From one vale to another it is the sweet sound of the flute that still acts as a messenger of love between neighbors living in many a mountainous terrain.

Back in the jet-set, corporate world of most cosmopolitan cities like Jakarta it is the transportation of the fancy hamper and beautifully gift-wrapped tokens of love and affection and delivered by invisible hands that serve as harbingers of good tidings today, especially at this time of the year when there are so many obligations to perform and formalities to fulfill on the occasion of different festivals.

From humble beginnings of making goodwill deliveries in some parts of the world by bicycle and in some others by a bullock cart, baskets, boxes and gift tags has become big business today.

Eko is an engineer by profession. Two years ago he wanted to make a little extra money. Inspired by bigger businesses like Melrose Flower Boutique and Noel Gifts International, he started the Unique Gift Parcels along with a friend. Today both are happy that they did as, "The services sector is really growing here," says Eko.

Apart from giving him that extra income, Eko enjoys playing the role of messenger, transporting tidings of peace, love and friendship from one loved one to another. The most expensive hamper at Unique Gift Parcel sells for about Rp 1 million and is full of cooking ware. It is mostly ordered by people who want to impress the wife of the boss with an extravagant gift. The cheapest hamper still looks impressive but may be loaded with less expensive items like biscuits and chocolate boxes and can cost as little as Rp 100,000.

A much talked about incident in town is about the VIP who once received a Mercedes Benz in a hamper. Whether he accepted the gift is not so clear.

Hampers are nothing but a basket or a box with a cover for packing, storing or transporting food and other articles. A hamper made often of wickerwork and filled with food and drink is the one carried to most picnics, yet another occasion that brings families and friends together.

Apart from putting to practice sentiments like loving and giving, this time of the year is also used to send hampers full of gifts to improve business relations and to grease the ego of influential politicians. It is the belief of the corporate culture with slick public relations that is responsible for the boom in this business and that the trend started in the west.

Like many others, Ken Warne in the United Kingdom supply thousands of corporate hampers today. The wide range of gifts come wrapped in eight standard hampers but it is also possible to put together your own hamper. All that one has to do is to simply e-mail, telephone or fax the requirement.

Noel Gifts International started business in 1983 as a festive hamper packaging company. Since then they have diversified to offering an extensive range of hampers, floral arrangements and gifts for all occasions. Today Noel commands about 40 percent of the hamper market here. From the plain baskets of the early 1980s they are responsible for having transformed them into creatively packed gifts to suit any occasion.

The two most popular hampers at Noels remain the pyramid- shaped and traditionally wrapped ones for festive offerings. It was in the mid 1980s that Noel capitalized on its expertise in the hamper business to diversify into other related gift areas as well.

Throughout the year, Noel creates about 500 new designs and packages to cater to the gift needs of the increasingly gift- oriented customer.

Noel allows its customers to say it with flowers all the year round for any occasion from the birth of a baby, thank you, house warming, start of a new business and with heartfelt messages for not so happy events too. The recently decorated Hari Raya hampers include attractive names like Delima, Kembara, Anggun and Puteri.

Seeing the boom in businesses and the amount of money both the corporate world and individuals were willing to invest in courtesies, Melrose Flower Boutique opened in September last year offering a variety of products from flower arrangements, wedding bouquets to holiday gifts and hampers. As a promotional tactic, Melrose offers one free gift to new customers and after accumulated purchases within the same month it is possible to earn vouchers for either a free night at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta or something from the Body Shop.

While it is all bows and buns on the surface of it all, behind the business there is sometimes a little less to smile about. One harassed housewife howled that she was actually fed up with all the flowers that were sent to her. And as for the hampers, well she had kept some of the goodies for herself, the rest was distributed among all her servants, with a smile, of course.