In our family we have a lot of birthday’s sometimes 3-4 in a month so it does mean getting organised. Today I am sharing my tips on how to find the perfect gift and not waste your time and money. My best advice is plan ahead, I print out a calendar displaying all 12 months and in each month I pop in who’s birthday and how old. Then I know the month before I need to start thinking about it and what to look for. See this post for tips how not to get caught out for that last minute birthday invite.
I love getting stuff I find on the net, you can find all sorts of things just by searching ebay, you can even find personalised gifts with the birthday person’s name on it. Have a look at identitydirect.com.au an Australian company. Order a month before as you never really know how long it will take to arrive. I never give money as a gift, one I am not and ATM and to me it means I have put zero thought in to what to get.
Gifts For A New Arrival: Nothing, you probably gave them something cute and tiny at the baby shower. When a new baby arrives I like to get something for the poor mumma who just pushed that little nugget out. Make up a gift bag of chocolate, magazines, lip balm, a snack for 2am, some body wash for hospital. Forget the baby, but don’t forget the mum.
Gifts For One – Three Year Olds. Don’t waste money on stuffed animals, they take up space and end up in a pile with all the others. They are so young they will only want the paper anyway, but the parents will appreciate clothing and it will get more use. Always buy the next size up of the child’s age, so if your niece is turning one, buy a size two it will fit for longer. I love these cute custom cushion’s from crimsongifts.com.au I have one for all my kids that I ordered off the net as they have names that don’t always appear in the shops.
Gifts For Four – Eight Year Olds. Now they are old enough to be disappointed by clothes! Look on ebay for something with their name on it, it makes it a treasured personal gift. If it seems tricky try to see the little person a few weeks before their birthday and ask some questions of what they are in to. Or even better if you are visiting have a sneaky peek in their room to see what they like. Lego is all the go at the moment, they even have brought girl lego out now!
Gifts For Nine-Tween Years. Try and think outside the box, don’t buy from a mainstream shop ie Target, as chances are someone else will get them the same gift. Use the net again it’s amazing, or National Geographic shop, just to find something different. Boys, anything electrical, remote controlled car, an experiment, something they have to build. Girls, they think they are 18 so anything that they will consider a bit grown up will be a bit special to them. A cute little hand bag of lip gloss, sunnies, nail polish, or a beach bag with thongs and a beach towel. Anything Glee or Twilight will probably cut it too!
Gifts For Tweens – Teens. Boys get hard, this is a good age for a gift card, have a look in Coles they now have a huge range of gift cards from all different shops, ITunes is probably the best. Girls, make them something special, I like to find a cute frame and mount it with an inspirational message. I find a card or a print with a message like, ‘Do what you love and love what you do’, write a msg in the card that they wont know is there until years later when they take it out of the frame. Usually anything pink works too.
Gifts For Grandparents. You can’t go wrong with photos of the grandkids. Print them out at home on paper in black and white and pop them in a nice frame, job done.
I love giving gifts to my family, put a bit of thought in to it and make it a bit special the look on their little faces when they open it will make your efforts worth while.
Renee
If you have just found my blog be sure to ‘Like’ my blogs Facebook page so you get all my tips on organising, DIY, parenting, meals, gardening, party planning, just anything to do with channelling your inner Supermum! Feel free to share any links with your other yummy mummy friends to help them too!
Leave a Reply