Giving your friend, loved one, neighbor, teacher, or any other special person a gift is a difficult task. You want something that will be visually appealing, emotionally touching and something that will last them a long time. While there is nothing wrong with getting perishable items such as a bar of nice chocolate, it is best done together with something that will last a bit longer.
When you are out looking for gifts, you will find all kinds of products at different price points. If money is no object, you can spend thousands of dollars on a single gift. However, buying the most expensive thing doesn’t mean you are getting the best. The best gifts are those that will connect with the recipient at a deeper level. Here are a few creative gift ideas for you to consider.
Custom Pet Pillows
If your friend has a pet or had a pet that recently passed away, consider getting them a pet pillow as a reminder. All you need is a good-quality image of their pet. You can find a number of local printers who can print the picture onto a pillow cover. Some specialized gift shops can handle the entire process for you and you will just need to provide them with a picture of the pet. You can get the picture made in many different sizes but generally, something that can comfortably fit in their arms will be a good size.
You can also have the picture edited to make it look a bit better. These pillows are inexpensive so you can easily get a few of them each with a different photo of their pet. Pair these pillows with a nice flower bouquet and you have an excellent gift pack. Get a nice big box for all the pillows and place the flowers on top of the box. You can either mail this to your friend or deliver it in person.
Love Vouchers
We’ve all seen discount vouchers and redeemable vouchers for different products and services. You can change it up this year and make some vouchers so that the recipient can redeem some love. You can make these vouchers at home or buy premade vouchers. Some vouchers will be for a long hug, some will be for a nice cup of coffee, and some might even be to get cozy and watch a movie together at home.
Think of all the different things you like doing with your partner or activities that they particularly enjoy and make vouchers for that task. If you are planning on getting them some fresh flowers from your local flower shop, then add on the vouchers instead of a traditional greeting card. This will be a really interesting surprise to an otherwise ordinary gift and it will give you guys some time to spend together.
Personalized Cosmetic Cases
If you are planning on traveling soon with the person you are getting a gift for, then get them something they will be able to use on that vacation. For a female partner or friend, a personalized cosmetics box will be a great gift. Depending on her requirements, you can buy a small compact one roughly the size of a small handbag or a much bigger one that looks more like a small suitcase.
You can personalize it with a message on the inside, or have her initials engraved on the outside of the suitcase or have the design and style personalized to her liking. If you aren’t good with cosmetics yourself, consider packing a flower bouquet in the case when you first give it to her. This way you can get her a nice gift with some surprise flowers as well. Make sure you don’t leave the flowers in there too long otherwise they will wilt.
Flowers
Flowers themselves can be an excellent gift and they work for all kinds of occasions. Whether it is a good occasion or a somber event
, there is always a flower for it. If you aren’t too familiar with what kinds of flowers work for different occasions, talk to your local flower shop to learn more about them.They can arrange the perfect flower bouquet for your event and deliver it to your doorstep. This way you will have amazingly fresh flowers for wherever you need to go. Make sure you get the right type as it can be a little embarrassing and disrespectful to show up with the wrong kind of flowers.
Pillows
If you are getting something for a spouse, parent, or someone you live with, you can surprise them with some fresh pillows. Also, if it is a special occasion, such as valentine’s day, you can get a personalized pillow cover with a special message on it for them. You can make the day even more special by getting a flower delivery to your home and having them answer the door.
These don’t have to be regular sleeping pillows; they can be any kind of cushion as long as it is customized especially for your partner. You can have their name, a special date, a special message, or any kind of other text written on it. Try to keep it hidden and let them find the pillows themselves.
Mugs
You can also customize mugs in several ways just like how you can customize pillows. In fact, there are even more options with mugs. If you would like something classic then get a customized heat-sensitive mug that transforms into a picture when you pour something hot into it. You can even make these mugs yourself but it is much easier to do it professionally. This will also give you the freedom to choose from a larger variety of mugs and personalize it to exactly how you like them. You can even get large mugs with your pictures printed on them permanently so they will show at any temperature.
Plantable Wish Cards
If your friend or partner enjoys plants, then a flower bouquet is a must-have but you can take it one step further with plantable wish cards. These are small cards, much like greeting cards, that have a seed in them. Some come as blank bits of paper, others have a message written on them. It is a way to write down your wishes and plant them into the ground from which a plant will grow.
You can get different kinds of plants to do this. Talk to your local flower shop to see if they have any plantable cards for the flowers they sell. This way you can buy a flower bouquet and have the seeds for those very plants in the plantable wish card. In a few months, you won’t need another flower delivery because you will be growing your own.
Candles
Candles are another fantastic option. You will find lots of different gift candle sellers online that allow you to customize the candle you are ordering. This way you can have names written on it, you can have them made to a certain size, or can even change the form and structure of the candle. There are endless possibilities when it comes to customizing candles. Get a flower delivery together with your candle delivery to make the event a bit more special.
If you can time it right so that you get the flowers and the candles at the same time, it would make for an awesome surprise for those little celebrations throughout the year. This is a handy little gift idea that you can use just to do something out of the ordinary and make even a regular working day a bit more special.
Birthstone Necklaces
If you or your loved one is big on astrology and star signs, then you already know the significance of birthstones. Some birthstones can be extremely difficult to find so just getting the right kind of stone can be an amazing gift. However, rather than just gifting the stone, have it placed in a nice necklace.
Depending on your budget, you can use any kind of metal for the necklace itself but the main highlight is the birthstone. To make it that much more special, get it packaged in a nice box just like how you would find jewelry at the jewelers’ store and give it to your friend with a flower bouquet that matches the colors of the birthstone. This is a gift that will last years if not decades.
Personalized Cookbook
We all love a good meal but anyone will agree that there is nothing quite as good as homemade food. You can’t get good homemade food recipes from a commercial recipe book or through an online video, but you can make one on your own. This is one of those gifts that will require a lot of time and effort but the results will be out of this world.
The idea is to create a recipe book filled with all your recipes talking about how you personally make them. You can modify this to include pictures or any bits and pieces that you think will fit well with the book. You might throw in some personal notes about how this recipe was made in your home when you were a child on certain occasions or how it reminds you of certain things. This would be an amazing gift for anyone and would be something that they would cherish for the rest of their lives. Think of it as writing a food journal. If you want to speed up the process, you could outsource the writing to a professional but it would take away from the essence and that feeling of having something that is personally written by someone you love.
Star Maps
Another interesting thing you can have made is a start map. This is basically an image of a part of the sky at a particular date. This could be the image of the main constellation on the birthday of the person you are gifting it to, it could be on the day you first met, or any other day that is special to you both.
You can easily find these images online and can get them printed on a ceramic tile or a mug or a piece of paper or anything else that you like. This will serve as an excellent reminder of a certain date from a very different perspective. A star map together with a beautiful flower bouquet would make a great gift set.
Clothing
Clothing is another popular choice to give someone as a gift. There are so many options to choose from in this category. For instance, if the recipient has a favorite designer or there is an article of clothing they have been talking about recently, you can get that as a gift. You could get some kind of clothing that is themed around something that is special to them.
You could even get some clothing that is made from a certain material that they really like. Clothing is a popular choice because you can easily buy it online and it’s very easy to find something that the recipient will enjoy. It is also a very functional gift so it will be a useful addition to their closet.
Touch Bracelet
If you are looking for something a little different, consider a touch bracelet. These are pairs of bracelets that look like fitness watches but they are connected through the internet. Every time one user touches their bracelet, the other bracelet vibrates gently to let the other person know that they are being missed. This can easily connect to your smartphone as well but the main concept is to be able to send a message that the other person can feel.
While the gift itself is important, how you present it can make all the difference. If you are far away from the recipient, it can be hard to do but if you happen to be together then take some time to decorate the space and make the event a bit more memorable. You can get flower delivery to decorate the table with, have some nice music on, and also get the gift professionally packed. That hour or two that you spend with your friend or loved one will be something you will both remember.