The Gift Detective » Magazine Subscriptions

Last Minute Gifting

The Gift Detective — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:45:42 +0000

If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you still have time to get some presents! There are two sections to this post – the first section will focus on helping you buy different personal gifts for the people remaining on your list, the second section will help you if you need to give the same gift to many, with lots of ideas on how to still make them personal and really fit the recipient.

Tips for Last Minute Shopping for Getting Different Presents for Each Recipient

In order to minimize stress, I suggest making a list of the people that you still would like to get presents for, then look at each recipient and write down a few things about them that come to mind.

For instance:

Lauren – Loves hats, skinny scarves and strong coffee; has new job and new home; enjoys knitting.
Tim – Loves sports and the Patriots and Celtics in particular; enjoys Calvin and Hobbs (though has probably read them all), loves humor, beer and Titos salsa.

By generating some broad ideas in this way you are brainstorming not just about what they may want but about things they enjoy. Now you can scrutinize each list a bit more and jot down a few specific gift ideas for each person. Taking this approach will allow actually give you ideas for now and in the future. And, if you keep this list on your computer, you can add to it so that you will always have a gift idea. Now, that you have your list and have checked it twice, get to the store and buy those presents so that you can get home to wrap them!

Tips for One Size Fits Most Gifts that You Can Add Personal Touches To

What if you just don’t the time or the money to buy each person a gift at this stage in the game? There are a few one size fits most gift ideas to fall back on (and none of them are impersonal gift cards!):

Baked goods could be generic, but you can personalize this gift by making a signature treat and adding special wrapping or including a treat like a special decorated sugar cookie, maybe one that looks like an ornament with the recipient’s name or with a symbol that is meaningful to them.
Magazine or newspaper subscriptions can be a good last minute gift since there are topics for a wide variety of tastes. Make sure that you get this for someone who enjoys magazines or reading the paper and take the time to buy a current copy of the subscription you are giving them and wrap it up!
Music is beloved to many. It isn’t too hard to stop by the store and grab a few cds in the style or artist that your recipient loves. Because this is such an obvious gift, get creative with wrapping. Buy a few really inexpensive stockings and add your recipients name in glitter then, put the wrapped cd into the stocking with an assortment of inexpensive, fun items like mini-bubbles, bouncy balls, playing cards, etc.
Give something you are good at. Are you artistic? Crafty? Can you make music? If you are an artist, you could consider making mini works of art for people (a 3×5 or 4×6 canvas for instance); if you’re crafty make up some pretty but easy ornaments; if you are a musician consider recording a Christmas carol that you love and burning it onto a cd or even e-mail an mp3 version of it to those of your loved ones who are far way (since mailing them won’t get it there by Christmas).
A bottle of wine is a frequent gift and if you go this route make it more special and personalized by bot only making sure to get the type of wine your recipient loves but by also adding some special accoutrements. Add a special label to the wine, give it with wine glasses, wine charms, a bottle stopper, cheese and crackers, fine chocolate, etc. Be creative! The point is, a bottle of wine is just a bottle of wine but if you can make a bottle of wine into a personalized gift.
Give a donation to a charity that your recipient would likely support. For the eco-conscious person a donation to an organization that protects the environment, the pet lover a donation to an animal shelter, etc. This makes the gift far more personal than if you donated to a charity that you would normally support – make it about your recipients likes, not your own.

Try to steer clear of things like cheap bath sets, gift cards, lottery tickets and the like. These “gifts” scream “I waited until the last minute and had no idea what to get you.” It is honestly better to give no gift at all than to give a meaningless gift. Spend the time you would have spent getting the last minute gift writing a warm greeting card to give them instead.

Remember, you don’t have to give a gift! Giving is not a social obligation, it should come from the heart. You don’t have to give a gift to every person you know, you can give only to those close to you or just give cards and simply share the joy and spirit of the holiday season with those you love. A gift can be a telephone call to wish them a Merry Christmas, singing Christmas carols together or playing reindeer games with joy and good humor.

Whether you get a gift at all or even if you get the “wrong gift” your intentions, your love and your care are more important than what is actually wrapped under the tree. If you give with love then, regardless of what you give, it is already the perfect present.

Happy gifting!

Mother’s Day: PART II of Making a Book an Extraordinary Gift on Any Budget

The Gift Detective — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:47:39 +0000

***This is the 100th Post!!!***
In yesterday’s post I suggested some specific books (or for the mom who really loves reading – a Kindle would be another fantastic gift) that would make nice Mother’s Day gifts. For the second part of this series I am going to embellish on the idea and show you different ways to make any book or publication into a really thoughtful and personalized present.

By M. Gauvin - www.matthewgauvin.com

Part II
Ideas for Making Any Book or Publication Into a Really Thoughtful and Personalized Present
Books are great presents for a variety of reasons, including, you don’t have to worry about getting the wrong size or color, they ship well, wrap easily, and there is such a wide variety to choose from that, as long as your recipient likes to read, you can find something that really suits them and their personality.

The first and most important thing is to start with a great foundation. If none of the book suggestions I made in Part I seem interesting, do a search for an author or genre that you know your mom or spouse likes and get that instead. It doesn’t have to be a book about Mother’s Day in order to make a great Mother’s Day gift!

Hint: Don’t know what type of book she likes? No problem! Take a peek at her bookshelves, coffee table, nightstand…even the bathroom. Maybe you’ll notice she reads more magazines, newspapers, or enjoys other publications like puzzle or game books (i.e. sudoku or crosswords). Whatever it is that she likes, that is what you should get, whether it is a book, a magazine subscription or a weekend delivery of the Times, go with what she loves.

Here are some additional ways to personalize this for every budget – feel free to be creative and mix and match any of these ideas…

Inscribe the book in a thoughtful way. You just have to be sincere and tell her what a great mom you think she is and why you got her this present. Ex: It could be as simple as “I love you mom/dear and I know this is one of your favorite authors. I wanted to be sure that I got you something that you could enjoy that is just for you – after all your hard work you deserve it and I want you to have a very Happy Mother’s Day!!!” Simple, sweet and to the point. Obviously I’m being very generic and you should personalize it more but my point is, you don’t have to write poetry, you just have to let her know that you gave this gift some thought and chose this particular gift because you want to please her.
Wrap it in a unique way – like wrapping it in nice paper and putting a few real flowers, wrapped in tissue paper, under a big, bow with made with wide ribbon that is tied around the book and the flowers. This is a great way to incorporate the traditional idea of giving your mother flowers in a more innovative way.
Wrap it nicely and attach something special, like a beautiful broach that she would like wear, to the center of the ribbon. Then it becomes two gifts in one!
You might also consider giving her a very nice bookmark to go with it or a nice book cover if she likes to travel frequently with her books.
Incorporate the book into a gift pack that is anything but generic!
Is your mom of the age where she needs her reading glasses but always seems to lose them? Get her a nice pair of glasses and a beaded chain or pendant that helps her keep them close at hand and wrap the items separately in coordinating paper.

Fitness Gifts Series: Part 1

The Gift Detective — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:06:42 +0000

Spring has sprung, Summer will soon be arriving (yeah!) and I’ve eaten one too many donut holes, cookies and bites of ice cream. Combine this with reading in a magazine (a fitness mag, of course) that they polled women and 90% of them said they wouldn’t be offended if they received a fitness related gift – I was impressed that such a large majority of women would like and enjoy a fitness related gift (Way to go, women!) – and all of this got me to thinking of fitness related gifts in general…

So, this week’s gifts will all be geared toward fitness. Perhaps the inspiration from writing about fitness related gifts will get my own butt in gear!

Fitness related gifts do not have to carry a negative stigma if you are giving it to the right person (someone who is interested in fitness, exercise or sports) and you give it in the right way. Don’t give a gift to get someone interested in exercise – you have to remember to tailor the gift to fit the person.

One gift I think is great to give someone who is interested in exercise and sports is a magazine subscription. It is a gift that they can be excited to receive every month and many subscriptions run in the $12-$20 range, so this is an affordable gift too. There are so many varieties for every level of fitness enthusiast, for health of mind and body, general and specific, for men and women, younger or older. Shape, Natural Health, Fit Pregnancy, Men’s Health, Weight Watchers, Iron Man, Fit Yoga, Diabetic Living, Pilates Style and so many more. You can easily check out these magazine’s at most drugstores to see if it is something that your recipient will be interested in. Or, do a web search for a specific magazine – you can sign up for many subscriptions right online so it makes it really easy to give. (Great last minute gift, anyone?)

This is a wonderful surprise or “just because” gift. If you plan to give this gift in person, roll the magazine tightly and wrap it up with a big bow around the middle, diploma style. This gift will remind your recipient of how much you care all year long!

Happy Gifting!
~ Alyna