Gift Guide Tips

Gift guide to choosing and buying appropriate gifts

The following article has been designed to give you some online training tips when the time comes to buying gifts for family, friends, clients or staff.

When choosing the most appropriate gift for someone special, there are many different components to take into consideration. Here are a few :

Gift Ideas
Are you working to a specific theme (e.g. 60’s party, a fairy gathering, a garden party or Christmas) Does the recipient have a passion for collecting certain items; teacups, thimbles or teaspoons? Do they have a particular hobby, interest or sporting activity? All this information helps when thinking of ideas and then choosing an appropriate gift for someone.

Colour
What is their favourite colour? Is the gift going to comprise of several smaller gifts? If so, will you be blending or matching the colours of each gift together? This makes the overall gift look like it has been planned and fits together as a whole (instead of lots of separate gifts that could look like an eclectic mix). The recipient will instantly recognise that the gift has been chosen in their favourite colour.

Fragrance
What is their favourite fragrance? Is the recipient a “flowery” person? (e.g. Rose, Lavender, Frangipani, etc…) Or would they prefer the refreshing citrus smells of mandarin, lime or lemon? Perhaps something neutral like vanilla, milk or do they prefer the musky spice fragrances? Do they have allergies to certain smells or suffer from hay fever (highly floral fragrances would fit into this category).

Sweet or Savoury
Does your special someone have a really sweet tooth or are they watching their weight? Are they gluten free, diabetic or have other food allergies? Perhaps they really enjoy cooking on the barbecue or entertaining friends with fine dining and are adventurous with flavour combinations? Do they appreciate the zing of hot chilli or are they a coffee connoisseur? Decadent desserts or something savoury is the question? If you are unsure an even mix of sweet and savoury is always the safest option, therefore creating a wider scope for having the contents being well received. Remember, to choose items that are not found everywhere. Presenting someone with a gift basket filled with supermarket items isn’t very “special” (after all, they can go and buy those items themselves in with their weekly groceries).

New Baby Gift
There is always a lot to consider when buying the right gift for a newborn baby. Do you want something they can keep as a permanent momento or perhaps something soft and cuddly? Clothing is always popular along with natural baby products (organic soap free wash, barrier balm and baby powder – talc free). Then there is the question of colours. Is the new mum likely to be traditional (pale blue for boys and pale pink for girls) or is she more modern (navy/lime for boys and orange/purple for girls)? Is this the first child, or are there are other siblings? If so, it’s always nice to include something small for the other child or children so they don’t feel left out and all the attention is on the new baby. Always popular are our chocolate beetles, bees or fish and these can be mounted on a card and the child’s name written so they know that it’s especially for them. This is a very cheap but effective way to make them feel special and included in the whole ‘new baby’ experience. And last but certainly not least, the new mum. Something nice and pampering for her – after all, she’s done all the hard work! A good quality hand cream or nourishing body lotion always goes down a treat and again this can be blended in to match the gift (e.g. rose hand cream for a baby girl).

Anniversary Gifts
These are always tricky. Do you go with something traditional or modern from the globally recognised symbol list? Or do you choose something along the guide lines listed above that you know your loved one will appreciate? In most cases this can be carefully combined to both fit in with the traditionally given gifts as well as something that your loved one will use. We have a few gift basket suggestions to get your creative juices flowing. Our speciality is creating gifts that get remembered, so we would prefer to talk to you and create something unique and special to suit your occasion.

Gift Wrapping
Once you have purchased your chosen gift or gifts, then there is the question of gift wrapping. This opens up another whole range of questions to take into consideration if you want your gift to be remembered (long after the wrapping has been carefully recycled). Colours, it makes a far greater impact if the gift wrapping is blended right through from the start to the finish. What does this mean? That the carefully chosen gifts all match and then are wrapped in complimentary wrapping and trimmings.

For example, if you purchased a rose hand cream, soap and a pink rose embroidered hand towel set, you would then wrap these gifts in quality gift paper and use matching pink ribbons and trimmings, finishing off by tying with a rosebud. Alternatively, if you chose a box of handmade chocolate truffles as your gift, this could be wrapped in gold paper with bronze and chocolate brown ribbons and bows. Christmas gifts come with another whole raft of wrapping ideas … red paper with red and white ribbons and bows and tied with a keepsake Christmas decoration, or encased in a tubular shaped container and then wrapped in paper and fastened at each end with sparkly tinsel to create the Christmas bonbon look.

The ideas and combinations are only limited by your imagination. All the above components play a major part in determining the reaction of the recipient and the gift being well received. Therefore the “brownie points” you will get – when you “get it right” are worth taking special care and are their weight in gold.

Does this thought leave you in a cold sweat? Not a problem, imagine this … Have you ever had the pleasure of opening a gift that is beautifully wrapped? Untying the glorious ribbons, breaking the seal of carefully folded paper and the enticing rustle of tissue that encases the final reward brings as much pleasure as the gift itself. Experience our professional gift wrapping service and leave the wow factor to the experts.