Diwali is on Sunday, 8 November this year, and the gifting list is probably longer than your free evenings. Most lists follow the same pattern: mithai for the relatives, dry fruit for the neighbours, something vaguely nice for the office. By the third week of October the first of those has taken over every kitchen counter you know.
A snack hamper is a good way out of that loop. Polka Foods sells ready-made hampers in its Bundle collection, and individual cookies and rusk in the Gifting & Festive collection if you'd rather put a box together yourself. Below, the options are sorted by who you're buying for. Prices are what's listed at the time of writing (14 October 2026), so check the product page before you order.
Why a Snack Hamper Works as a Diwali Gift
Sweets are the default Diwali gift, and that's the problem with them. They arrive in bulk, everyone gets the same thing, and the recipient quietly passes half of it along. A hamper of baked snacks avoids most of that. It doesn't have to be finished in a day or two the way fresh mithai does. Cookies, rusk and khari are dry bakes, so a box can sit on the counter through the whole festival week while people dip into it. It also mixes sweet and savoury, which helps when you don't know whether the person on the other end has a sweet tooth. And it gets used. A box of rusk and cookies turns into chai-time snacks for the next fortnight, which is more than most Diwali gifts manage.
Hampers for Family
Family gifting is mostly elders and children, and the two want different things.
For parents, in-laws and grandparents, start with the Heritage Indulgence Box (Rs. 1,153). It holds Desi Ghee Atta Patti Cookies (360g), Crispy Rusk (600g), Eggless Cake Rusk (360g) and Kaju Pista Cookies (360g). Polka's own name for the atta patti is "The Heritage Home Cookie," and it fits: a ghee cookie that tastes like it came out of a home kitchen. The rusk covers the morning chai that older relatives never skip, and the kaju pista cookies are the richer treat for the evening.
For a house with children, the Kids' Tiffin Treats box (Rs. 676) is the better pick. It has French Heart Puff, Oat and Cranberry Cookies, Millet Kaju Pista Cookie, Atta Rusk, Chatpata Cone Namkeen and Corn Raffles, so there's something sweet, something crunchy and something spicy, and each child gets a favourite to argue over. Corn Raffles is the spiciest thing in the box, which means the adults will probably end up claiming it.
If you're visiting a big joint family and want one box for the whole household, the Chai Time Medley (Rs. 808) is the safest all-rounder. It has Tea Toast Rusk (600g), Masala Marori Khari, French Heart Puff, Handmade Atta Patti Cookies and Roasted Makhana Fusion, so there's a bit of everything on the tray by the time the chai arrives.
Hampers for Friends and Colleagues
Friends are the easier group. The Festive Gifting Box (Rs. 1,003) looks most like a gift the moment it's opened. It has Desi Ghee Atta Patti Cookies (360g), Rich Dry Fruit Cookies (400g), Corn Raffles and French Heart Puff. The sweet half is properly rich, and the spiced namkeen cuts through it so the box never turns into too much sugar at once.
For a dinner invitation, the Evening Chai Spread (Rs. 735) works as a host gift. It has Crispy Rusk (600g), Eggless Cake Rusk (360g), French Heart Puff and Chatpata Cone Namkeen. Nobody needs to open it that night, which is what you want from something you hand over at the door.
For a colleague, a manager or a team desk, look at the Office Munch Mix (Rs. 788). It pairs Eggless Cake Rusk with a multiseed cookie, Corn Raffles and Millet Bhujia Mint, and it suits the slow part of an office afternoon. If you're buying for a whole team, we've also put together a guide to corporate Diwali gifting [Nupur: link once the 19 Oct post is live].
Building Your Own Box from the Gifting & Festive Collection
A ready-made hamper isn't the only route. The Gifting & Festive collection carries the individual pieces, and three or four of them make a box that's entirely yours.
The richer end of the range is Kaju Pista Cookies (Rs. 330), Rich Dry Fruit Cookies (Rs. 330), Milk Almond Cookies (Rs. 300) and Butter Kaju Cookies (Rs. 290). Desi Ghee Rusk (Rs. 165) is the quieter option for someone who'd rather dunk than show off.
A simple formula: two cookies, one rusk, one savoury. For the savoury, pick Ajwain Fan Khari or Masala Marori Khari (Rs. 130 each) from the Khari & Namkeen collection. If you're buying for several households, the pack-of-three option brings Kaju Pista Cookies to Rs. 921, which works out to Rs. 307 a pack instead of Rs. 330.
We went through the same idea for the Rakhi season in Beyond Rakhi: Building the Perfect Festive Snack Hamper, and the logic carries straight over to Diwali.
When to Order Before Diwali
Dhanteras is Friday, 6 November, and Diwali follows on the Sunday, so the real deadline for most gifts is the week before. If anything is going out of town, order earlier than feels necessary. Delivery times depend on the pin code, and festival weeks are busy for every courier.
The easiest way to plan it: write down your list this week, group it into family, friends and colleagues, and place one combined order instead of five small ones.
Start with the Bundle collection for ready-made hampers, or the Gifting & Festive collection to build your own.