With Christmas sneaking up just around the corner, the biggest struggles I hear is "I don't know what to get them", "They already have everything", "What should I spend?" and the biggest one is "They are difficult to buy for"... Sound familiar? Do you find Christmas shopping stressful or do you enjoy it? hopefully by the end of this blog you will be one of us that enjoy it, so here goes....
EVERYONE loves something personalised and sentimental, you simply cant go wrong. The saying "keep it simple" is definitely where you need to start. be it adding their name or a photo to something I can assure you it will be treasured forever. It doesn't matter if they have everything, if you have a photo of a memorable event on a coaster/ stubby cooler/ clock ect it will mean the world to them even if they have A LOT of coasters or stubby coolers.. yours may end up the new favourite. If they are a co-worker or someone your not overly close with add their name to a wine glass, beer mug or coffee cup and they will love it.
Now lets talk money... everyone's least favourite topic on the present front and in general. For co-workers the general rule of thumb is $15-$30 most workplaces will have a spending limit so go via that.
For acquaintances'/ neighbours you don't know well, distant family and all those that are apart of your kids/families lives (not ones you are close with) i.e. teachers/instructors etc the general rule is $10-$25 or wherever you feel comfortable.
Close friends and family I find are best based off previous years, think back to gifts you have received from them over the past 3 years and generalise the value and spend the same. this way one doesn't feel like they have been out gifted or over spending.
For your children and partner, this is where you will spend the most and that will be determined by your budget. Spend as much as you want but know that expensive gifts aren't everything. I love gifts more than most people (I built a whole company based on them haha) but for me its all about the item over the money spent, I would rather something personalised or sentimental over expensive jewellery or something that would blow out the budget.
To create the perfect gift with us all we need to know is 1-3 things about the person and we can turn that into literally ANYTHING .. For example one Clients daughter loved purple and dolphins so out of resin I created a purple dolphin pyramid, purple dolphin coasters and a cheese platter with purple dolphins. Another loves tortoises so we made a funny tortoise stubby cooler. it can be that simple when you take out all the complex thoughts and emotions that come with Christmas shopping. My next tip and one of the biggest is GET IT DONE EARLY!!! Firstly it will be cheaper and secondly there's nothing worse than last minute stress and sold out shopping centres so I advise to have all your Christmas shopping done in October/November to score good prices/deals and have plenty more options to choose from. I am closing my Christmas order book mid November as I know how busy I will be and many companies have early cut offs too for personalised gifts so make sure you think ahead and get prepared early.
I hope this has helped answer some questions. Feel free to message or call me anytime to discuss custom orders and any questions about gifts. I am always happy to help!
Enjoy your Christmas shopping!!!!