It’s heading towards Mother’s Day in the UK and the season ahead of Weddings and other gift giving occasions.
My advice would be;
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is the first step for staying more mindful, intentional and focused on what is important. It gives you the time and energy to think of different ways you can make gifting more meaningful and joyful. Think about;
How do you understand and measure the value of a gift?
How can your appreciation and love be transformed into gifts?
If you take time to plan for the people you are buying for then you avoid last minute panic and can really reflect on what you want or need to give. It also helps with budgeting too, if you have a tight budget or a specific budget in mind, then you’ll be more likely to stick to it!
Use one of my notebooks to do your planning! They’re really handy sizes for this very thing.
Be observant
I know that my most thoughtful gift-giving has usually been when I’ve been observant: paying attention to what my friends and loved ones have said they’d like and what their interests are. People do drop hints about what their likes and dislikes are, often when you least expect it! Would they like something useful, or something decorative? Something for the house, or something for themselves?
Thoughtful gift-givers also understand the circumstances of their reciever. People quite often don’t ask for what they want — or even realise that they need it — but by paying attention to what would make their life easier, or more fun or by giving them what they need replacing, you can almost always pick the perfect gift for them.
Try to give creatively
Unique gifts that you take time to source from small businesses can be especially meaningful because they show your loved one that you used your time, energy, and creativity to get them something they’d really like, but isn’t from TKMaxx or Amazon. The possibilities for these type of gifts are endless and you can find the most beautiful items in artisan markets, blogs, instagram and places like Etsy/Folksy/Not on the High Street. You’ll also make the person running the business so happy, honestly, whenever I get an order I genuinely do a happy dance!
You can also choose the loveliest gift wrap to make your gifts even more special.
Be personal
Give someone a personalised gift. There are so many options for this right now- it can be something as simple as their name on a keyring, to a larger scale piece of jewellery that’s been engraved with a special message, there are lots of options. I have lots of gifting options on my website- from personalised gifts to more general ones that are still thoughtful. You are welcome to have a look here.