Christmas flowers and hampers in Bangkok: what to send, by who it is for

Christmas is not a public holiday in Thailand, which is exactly why it works so well as a gifting week: everyone is at their desk, the malls are lit, and a delivery on the 23rd or 24th lands on a normal working day. The colours are the easy part — red, green, white, a little gold. The harder question is who the flowers are for, because that decides the shape.

For the office or a client

Send something that sits on a reception desk for a week without help: a vase arrangement or a fruit-and-flower basket. Hand-tied bouquets are the wrong shape here — nobody in an office has a vase, and by Boxing Day it is in the bin. Put the company name and the floor in the address; towers route deliveries through reception.

For a hotel stay

December is when family flies in. Flowers to the room on arrival is a small thing that changes how the week starts. Give the hotel, the guest's name as on the booking and a contact number; the front desk holds them and brings them up at check-in.

For the family dinner

A centrepiece, low enough to talk over. Red roses with white, or a basket that doubles as dessert. Choose the afternoon window on the day so it arrives after the table is set and before the guests.

For the one person

This is the only category where a bouquet is right: roses, hand-tied, delivered to wherever they will be at the hour you choose. If it is a surprise at a restaurant, the restaurant trick works at Christmas too.

Timing

The week from the 22nd to New Year's Eve is the fullest delivery run of the year. Book early on the Christmas page — up to 60 days ahead — and read the lead-time guide for what needs how long. Express still runs to 19:30 for the ones you forgot.