A Guide to Unique and Special Gift Ideas for Loved Ones

Whether it is a Valentine’s surprise for a lover, a Mother’s gift for your mom, a birthday present for a special friend, or a Christmas gift for your son, you want it special and something the intended recipient doesn’t have yet or did not expect at all.  This helps ensure that your gift will be something the other person will cherish and remember through time –instead of something he or she will set aside to gather dust in a corner. There’s nothing like giving presents that family and friends will love, and perhaps gush about.

Getting that perfect and unique gift for a loved one is a tough challenge.  In fact, we often find ourselves spending days and nights looking for something special to give, only to settle on the most common of gifts because we simply ran out of time and ideas.  We think about giving our husbands a birthday present that will rock his world, and which he’d surely brag about to his buddies, but we end up buying him another tie, another one of those baseball caps, or another shirt of his favourite colour.  The more that special occasion nears, the more our creative juices escape us.

The question remains: How do we find the best and the most out-of-the-usual presents for the special people in our lives?

We have here a few guidelines or tips that will help you come up with unique and special gift ideas for loved ones.

1. Make a list of favourites. It is very important that you know that special person’s favourite colour, favourite TV show or movie, favourite book, favourite character, favourite food, favourite song, etc.  This should give you an idea of that person’s taste and personal preferences.  And should you need to decide on something that involves one of these favourite things, you will have a ready answer.

For instance, you decide to surprise your mom and dad with a romantic dinner by the porch for their wedding anniversary.  You can make the occasion more special by serving them their favourite dish and their favourite wine, or the food they had on their very first date.  You can also get your mom’s favourite flowers as the centrepiece.  And, if you have the budget for it, you can hire a violinist to play their favourite songs.

2. Nothing beats something handmade. Nothing makes a present more special than creating it with your own hands and with so much love.  You don’t have to be crafty to be able to create something beautiful.  Just make sure you have an idea of what the final product would be and do it with a lot of care.  Don’t be in a hurry to finish something.  In fact, the longer the time you spend on creating that gift, the more precious it becomes.  And there’s no rule that you can’t ask for others’ help.  You can also do research and consult the more experienced people so you would come up with a nice and exquisite handmade gift.  Handmade gifts will surely be greatly appreciated.

One example is deciding that the best birthday gift for your husband is to learn how to bake.  Start taking secret lessons – whether by yourself or with a baking expert –several months away from the big day.  Do not cram.  Allot enough time for you to perfect your recipe.  And when his birthday comes, surprise your husband with that big chocolate cake that tastes better than the one from his favourite cake shop.

3. it’s not about the money. A lot of people think that the more expensive a gift, the more special it is and the more the recipient treasures it. That is a wrong mindset, and it would do you good if you don’t set a precedent of giving pricey presents.  People might always expect pricey gifts from you.  Always remember that a great gift is not measured by how much it costs.  Rather, a gift is measured by how it reflects the depth of your relationship with that person and how well you know him or her.

In fact, a gift need not be something material all the time.  You can serve your wife a special breakfast in bed for her birthday, or play her favourite tune on the piano.

4. Think about utility. Most often, the most special gifts are those that your recipient gets to use frequently until it gets too worn out.  Just like that a leather belt your grandma gave your grandpa, and which he has been using for the last 20 years, refusing to replace with a new one.  Giving something that a loved one gets to use on a very regular basis makes him or her remember you at all times.