A working timeline for Diwali corporate gifting

Why festive gifting slips

Festive programmes fail on the calendar, not on taste. Every gifting vendor, printer and courier in the country is at capacity in the four weeks before Diwali, and the same lead time that is comfortable in July becomes impossible in October.

Fix the dispatch date first, then work backwards. Everything else is negotiable; the festival date is not.

Working backwards from the festival

• 8–10 weeks out: lock the per-person budget, headcount and recipient split between employees, clients and channel partners.
• 7–8 weeks out: shortlist two or three hamper compositions and request samples.
• 6 weeks out: approve the sample and the branding mockup. This is the last comfortable point for changes.
• 5 weeks out: freeze the address list. Late additions go into a clearly separate second batch.
• 3–4 weeks out: branding and kitting complete, buffer stock counted in.
• 2–3 weeks out: dispatch begins, metro addresses last and outstation first.
• 1 week out: exceptions only — re-sends, failed deliveries and late joiners.

Choices that buy back time

• Pick from stocked ranges rather than custom manufacture.
• Use engraving or foil on ready stock instead of full custom production runs.
• Keep hampers to items with long shelf life so early kitting is safe.
• Approve one composition for everyone; per-team variants multiply the kitting time.