This is a collaborative post: Gift giving should be a joyful experience. Watching someone open a present that you know they’ll love and enjoy can bring a huge smile to both of your faces.
Sometimes it’s easy; you spot something perfect, just at the right time. Other times, life gets in the way a bit and you realise that you have a family member or friend turning a year older and not a clue what to get for them. It’s easy to panic and spend more money than you intended just to get something suitable, but you don’t need to.
Here are my go-tos when time is tight, but I still want to gift someone something special.
Photo related gifts
Photos are always a thoughtful gift. With most people having a smart phone on them 24/7, never before have we taken so many photos and yet printing them out seems to be a rarity; gone are the days of photo albums to flick through and I for one think that’s quite sad!
From a large canvas print of the grandchildren to a printed photo book with memories of holidays or nights out, firms like Bonusprint will print and deliver gifts directly to your friend or relative’s house. It only takes a few minutes for you to upload a photo you have taken onto their website, or you can download the app to your phone or their desktop editor and create photo books via your devices quickly and easily.
If you have a little extra time and want to go DIY, you can buy prints of photos for as little as 7p and then create and frame your own collage. For a big birthday, or a hen night, asking family and friends to send over pictures (the more embarrassing the better, obviously!) and then using them to create a large collage to display at a party is a really fun idea and a bit retro and quirky!
Cake by post
If you can’t be there for the day, how about a cake through the post?
Either contact a local bakery, or go online to one of the many businesses who will print personalised cakes and send them directly to your recipient such as Bakerdays. They even make cakes small enough to fit through the letterbox and quite frankly, who doesn’t like cake on their birthday?
A gift hamper
Who doesn’t like food and drink? Birthday gift hampers filled with all their favourite goodies are a great gift which you can order online with fast delivery. Whether they prefer wine, beer or spirits or are more into their cheese, there is something that will put a smile on their face.
Experience days
For the person that has everything, experience style gifts work well and can show that you’ve really thought about what the person would like.
It could be anything from a cooking class to a massage or a skydive. I’ve been for a wine tasting, a nice meal out, a tea tasting day and afternoon tea at the zoo all of which I’ve loved and appreciated much more than another box of chocolates or a new jumper.
These days there are hundreds available, so it is really easy to find something suitable. In fact, choosing from all the options is probably the hardest bit!
Of course, there is also the option to buy concert, exhibition or event tickets. If the person you are buying for loves art you could potentially buy them a ticket for an upcoming exhibition at one of the big galleries, or tickets for a show (with an offer to babysit!) could be a winner.
Vouchers
If you are very unsure of what to buy, you can always fall back on the old faithful option of buying some gift vouchers.
The downside is of course that your recipient will know exactly what you’ve spent, and it might not seem as personal as choosing the gift yourself, but lots of people will appreciate the freedom to choose something that they actually want.
Most of the big retailers and many independent shops both on and offline sell gift vouchers, so if you know where the person you are buying for likes to shop or the kind of thing they like – clothes, nice food, toys? – you can buy them a gift card from that shop or retailer.
If it’s an online retailer, there is the option to have them delivered electronically, so they are ideal if you’ve really left things to the last minute. For businesses, having efficient gift card management ensures everything runs smoothly, making it easier for customers to pick up the perfect present, even at the eleventh hour.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, I have gift guides for mums and dads!