Don’t settle for the same old gift this year! Instead, show that you care with one of these awesome options from our list of the best customized gifts.
Imagine this scenario: It’s your significant other’s birthday or maybe Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
You hand your loved one over an envelope. They smile graciously, peel open the seal, and take out a generic, store-bought greeting card.
A gift card for a coffee chain falls in their lap.
It’s $20. Who knows, maybe you splurged for $30 or $50.
They look at you, smile, and say, “Thank you,” but it’s that strained kind of smile. The kind of smile that secretly says, “Well . . . I guess this was a nice gesture.”
Come on! You can do better than that!
Personalized gifts mean a lot more than gift cards and store-bought items. They’re the best way to show you care and avoid that begrudging smile.
Let’s take a look at some of the best customized gifts and how they can wow your loved ones.
How the Best Personalized Gifts Show You Care
Studies show that (at least in the United States) many people love to give gifts. Personalized gifts are just the next step up.
So why would you consider a personalized gift in the first place?
I mean, you work hard for your money. Even if you just give them a gift card or anything bought in a mall, isn’t it the thought that counts?
Sure, but gift giving shouldn’t be a chore. It shouldn’t be one more checkmark on a to-do list. Simple, non-personalized gifts give off that vibe.
Things like customized birthday gifts may take a little more time and thought, but they definitely show that you care.
We’ll look a little closer at some more reasons how they show you care.
They’re Universally Appreciated
Something like a gift card or a store-bought item can be hit-or-miss with your loved ones.
Maybe they don’t like the coffee chain you bought that gift card from. Maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t need that new knife block or won’t watch that new movie you bought them.
No matter what, though, if you get them a personalized gift, it will almost always be appreciated. Even if it’s still something they don’t need or necessarily want, the thought and care that went into choosing and personalizing that gift or coming up with that idea is worth the appreciation alone.
It’s not to say that even the best customized gifts will not be a “miss” sometimes, but at the very least the thought really does count.
They’re Perfect For Any Event
Personalized gifts can suit any occasion or event.
These days, there’s a perfectly customizable gift lying in wait for whatever you can think of.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding, a baby shower, or a birthday, someone out there is providing customization for any event.
They Build Stronger Relationships
Whether you’re buying a gift for your spouse of 20 years, a family member, or someone who’s a relatively new friend, the best personalized gifts can only strengthen that relationship.
No matter where your relationship is at, a personalized gift really shows that you care and have put thought and time into who that loved one is to you.
Those are the key questions: who is this person? What do they mean to you? What do they like and dislike? Can you guess what might pique their interest in the future?
The best customized gifts will show that special person that you’re not giving them a gift out of obligation. You’re taking the time to understand them and find out more about what they like and who they are.
In some cases, you’re making a statement that maybe you know them even better than they know themselves.
You’re making an effort to build your relationship up rather than making a lateral move.
Ideas For the Best Customized Gifts
Now that we’ve established how special a customized or personalized gift can be, we want to talk about specific ideas.
There are a lot of companies and individuals out there who make a some of the best personalized gifts. Websites, such as Etsy, are your friend.
In some cases, though, you may want to take matters into your own hands with a little DIY magic.
Here are a few useful tips about personalized gifts from DIY to unique companies:
1. Print and Frame a Photo
In this day and age, it’s a little more uncommon to have a physical printed photo.
Most people’s photos are locked away in the cloud on social media like Facebook or devices like digital cameras and smartphones.
So consider taking a photo that you know is very precious to your loved one from the digital stratosphere, and then have it printed and frame it yourself. It may be a photo they already have, but that physical version of it adds an extra personal touch.
You can get even more DIY with the frame by adding a personal touch with arts and crafts as well.
2. Create a Personalized Gift With Photo
So you can print and frame a photo yourself, or you could take a photo you own and have someone make it into a pop art centerpiece.
This website makes it simple with only a few steps. You provide the photo with any comments or suggestions, they morph it into a pop art-styled version, you approve, and they affix it to whatever you want.
You could have a pop art-style shower curtain of you and your family at Disney World, or you could get a tote bag of your loved one’s precious chihuahua in all of its Andy Warhol-like glory.
3. Custom Children’s Books
Some companies create children’s books that are customized to the child themselves. Reading books is scientifically proven to help a child’s development and growth, and what child wouldn’t want to see himself or herself in the story they’re reading?
Certain companies, such as Wonderbly, do just that. Their flagship book The Little Boy Who Lost His Name or The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name takes the name of the child it’s meant for and uses each letter of their name to tell a personalized story.
This idea may not exactly have been written and illustrated by yourself, but if you’re looking for a personalized gift for your own child or your niece or nephew, it’s a really caring gesture for the child and parent.
4. Homemade Massage Coupons
Here’s another DIY option.
Especially if you’re talking about a significant other, why not give them coupons for a full-body massage?
Whether you were willing to give them a massage or not, make it more fun by creating your own coupons with your own specific design.
Turn down the lights, break out the lavender candles, crank your favorite Enya tunes, and show your loved one you care.
5. Fancy Homemade Dinner
We’re on a roll with the DIY, so let’s just keep it going.
This is going to be especially impressive if you’re not much of a cook.
Consider making a homemade dinner for your loved one.
If you’re going to go this route, though, you need to go all out. Think Lumiere’s “Be Our Guest.” Tall candles, your best bone china dinnerware, and a gourmet recipe that you follow to an absolute perfect ten.
6. Personalized Engraved Gifts
Engraving is a good way to show you’re going the extra mile.
There are plenty of people and companies out there who offer engraving services. Some allow you to send in your own item for engraving, others sell items that you can buy and have engraved, and some offer both.
You’d have to be stealthy if you want to have an item that your loved one already owns engraved, but that stealthiness can go a long way.
7. Plan a Vacation
Pretty much everyone in the world needs a vacation at one point or another.
Rather than buying a simple store-bought gift for your loved one, you could plan a vacation for them.
Again, though, you need to go as far with this idea as you can.
This gift needs to be more than just, “Hey, babe, maybe we should go on a vacation later this year.”
Sure, the suggestion sounds nice, but what are you really giving them?
Take time to figure out where your loved one would like to vacation. Plan ahead by asking them where some of their favorite places in the world are.
If you can afford it, go all out and buy the tickets yourself. Make the itinerary, plan it from start to finish, and go! Unless, of course, your loved one is the planning sort who actually enjoys that aspect of a vacation.
If you can’t afford the tickets, consider other aspects of a vacation. A travel journal is a nice idea, and if the destination is international, consider getting your loved one started on acquiring their passport if they don’t already have it.
Even just the idea of getting a vacation started can be so thoughtful as a personalized gift.
More Tips on Improving Your Life
Finding the best customized gifts is not only a good way to improve your loved one’s life but even your own. Hopefully, this guide gave you some good ideas.
If you want to see more of what we’re about at NonSociety and to see what other tips we can offer about helping to make you the best version of you, check us out and feel free to chat!