Well, my birthday has just been and gone and guess what? Yup, I got the same stuff I get every year. And even worse, I knew I was going to get the same things because, unfortunately, my friends and family are an unimaginative lot.

The thing is, though: so am I. I have friends who are Manchester United supporters (I know, but what can you do?) so every year I get them something Manchester United related. And you know what, I bet they are as sick of that as I am of constantly receiving things to do with jazz and drumming, which are my main hobbies.

So I’ve vowed that - this year - I’m going to be a little more thoughtful in my gift giving, in the hope that my friends and my family will reciprocate. And the way I’m going to do this is by finding gifts that really suit the personality of my loved ones rather than just their interests. And, if at all possible, I’m going to go for personalised gifts so that they know I’ve thought about them.

What I’ve found is that, because of the internet, there are loads of places you can go to get more personal gifts.

For example, you can take photographs of you friends, upload them and have them turned into things like mouse mats, mugs, even personalised aprons - although I’m not sure what that says about the person you are buying the gift for.

If your budget is big, you could go for something like a personalised number plate. I found several sites that allow you to search for the combinations of words and letters you want. Once you found something you could order these online straightaway. They’re not cheap - thousands, in fact - but as a statement, it’s kind of hard to beat. Out of my price range, however.

What wasn’t out of my price range were the sort of gifts - like crystal vases and birthday newspapers - that you can have customised with the name of the recipient. You can even add an engraved message. This is far more the type of thing I shall be going for this year. Whether it’s Christmas, a Birthday or even Valentine’s Day, I will be looking hard at the range of personalised gifts and choosing something just a little more imaginative this year.

You never know - someone may do the same for me next year.

–
Gina enjoys shopping, occasionally for personalised gift ideas, but mainly for shoes and clothes in order to be the best dressed homeworker in the UK.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

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