With the holidays approaching and birthdays pending, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed when shopping for gifts. It’s hard to figure out that oh, so perfect gift. In fact, it’s close to impossible sometimes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve headed out of my house with the intent of purchasing the perfect gift for my family and friends; only to return empty-handed. I don’t like to consider myself picky, but sometimes, I just can’t justify buying a gift for the sake of buying a gift. I want my gift to make an impression that shows that I care, and I know I’m not alone in this desire.
Thankfully, there is a simple solution to this dilemma - the homemade gift.
Obviously, this is not the route that you would take with people you don’t have a connection with, but that’s just as well. Those are the people that you buy the generic gift, straight from the department store, for.
Now, choosing what to make for the homemade gift is where people start to run into problems.
Figure out what makes your relationship/bond special
The only way you will ever be able to create a truly memorable gift is to know what makes you and that other person special. Obviously, you became close with that person for some reason. Even if it’s family that you’re close with - nobody is forcing you to like that family member and have a bond, so figure out exactly what you do like about them. What is that reason? Do you share the same passions or hobbies? What are some of the things you’ve done with this other person? What special occasions can you think of that would relate to this person?
Those are all questions that need to be answered when creating the perfect gift.
Find an object that symbolizes the relationship/bond
Now that you’ve found that common bond, you have to come up with an object that symbolizes it. Maybe it’s a symbol of a hobby. Maybe it’s a picture. Maybe it’s a song. Whatever the symbol is, it needs to be an object that you can reasonably make or use.
Use the object to create the gift
Once you have the object, you’re ready to brainstorm about using the gift. What would be something that is unique to your bond? It could be something they can use or something they can simply have as a memory. Memories are generally the best because every time they see your gift they think of you and the experience that you’ve shared.
- If you have a picture, place it in a homemade collage or put it in a homemade frame - design it with memorabilia so the only pictures in the frame are ones that are related to the frame
- If you have a hobby you share, take the symbol of the hobby and put pictures on it or create your own letter to your friend/family
- If you both enjoy hanging out together and listening to music, create a special playlist of songs that remind you of them - design a CD cover and/or a CD case insert
- If that person is someone who writes and you enjoy reading their work, visit sites for self-publishing and create a book of their greatest pieces
The key is to find what you like to do together and create something that reminds them of you or you of them - it makes it more meaningful because it’s from your heart and something you put work into for them.
