The Gift Ideas Blog

Mother’s Day bouquet of flowers, credit

Mother’s Day is in less than a week, but you still have time to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

You could go the traditional route of a big bouquet of flowers. Most flower shops and supermarkets have delightful arrangements of blooms that tell Mom that you love her. Pick big bright springtime colors. Red, whites, and pinks are very symbolic of love. Perhaps consider a dozen roses, or even better, a potted plant in a cute, decorative container that will continue to grow for years to come.

Also, consider delectable comestibles. Treat your mother out to a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Take her to her favorite restaurant, or, because restaurants are usually very busy and loud during the big holiday, give her a gift certificate for a dinner on another day that might be more convenient. Many popular restaurants offer gift certificates for their dining rooms.

Perhaps you could give your mother a nice box of chocolates or candies. Many chocolatiers and confectioners are offering special Mother’s Day-themed gift sets filled with deliciously sweet collections of their products. Great chocolatiers include Vosges Chocolates, Burdick’s chocolates, and Recchiutti Confections.

If it comes down to the wire and you still don’t have something, perhaps consider a gift card to your mother’s favorite retailer. Although slightly less personal, at least your mother can choose her favorite item, so you know you can’t go wrong.

Sometimes, the best gifts are free. The best gift could be spending time with your mother. Or, create a heartfelt homemade card that shows how much you love her and recounting your favorite moments with her. Perhaps write a poem or story about your mother and frame it. Poets.org has a database of poems, and you can find an already-written poem that fits perfectly as a tribute to your mother. Print it out on nice paper and a unique font, or use your arts and crafts and calligraphy skills for a unique gift that Mom’s sure to put on your wall.

Flowers, chocolates, poetry, time spent with Mom… no matter what you select for your Mother’s Day gift, she’s bound to love you and your present. Don’t forget Mother’s Day this Sunday, and help make it a special day for that special woman in your life.

What are you giving for Mother’s Day?

Alphabet Photography by Jennifer Blakeley

Here’s a unique gift idea for a member in your household or a friend to help them decorate their bedroom or living room. Alphabet Photography allows you to select various photos of everyday objects that look like a letter in the alphabet. The letters are placed together to spell out a word or name!

For example, in the above image, a photo of a part of a ladder suggests the letter “H,” while in the following photograph the wheel suggests the letter “O.” So while each individual photograph is a close-up of an outdoor element, the aggregate effect suggests the word “HOPE.” Alphabet Photography sells these individual photographs that can later be displayed in a scrapbook or framed for display.

Photographer Jennifer Blakeley has expertly photographed and captured on film dozens of these naturally-occurring letters, and using the convenient online ordering form, you can select the letters and word to spell out for your Alphabet Photography gift. If you don’t like a particular version of a certain letter, you can actually select another depiction of the same letter. This helps make each Alphabet Photography order unique. (View the alphabet letters here.) The 4x6 sepia-toned photographs sell for
for $4.00 each, framing not included. Custom frames and the associated shipping can be expensive, so Alphabet Photography leaves the display options up to you so you’re not forced to buy a frame or even display the photographs in a frame. This method allows people of all budgets and incomes to enjoy a timeless piece of art they can truly call their own without breaking the bank. You can also combine the alphabet letters with other personal photographs, perfect for a scrapbook project!

A nice Alphabet Photography word or name makes a perfect decoration in a home, bedroom, or office. With an inspirational word such as “hope,” “joy,” “love,” or “dream,” it makes a wonderful reminder in our daily lives to do great things and to feel happy and well. You can also pick a name (first name or a family’s last name) to display in the format… a great tribute to the individual, family, or organization that receives the gift. It would also make a perfect Mother’s Day gift, as you could create the word “Mom,” or use your mother’s name, in the artistry. Your mother will be proud to display this beautiful and symbolic work of art.

Visit Alphabet Photography today to make your own artistic display that is certain to visually impress anyone who sees this magnificent, custom-made gift.

Here’s a great personalized card or stationery idea to go with your gifts: PosePrints!

PosePrints invites you to design your own personalized stationery. You can pick from a variety of designs, and best of all, you can create your own fun caricature.

After you pick your favorite background, you design your image! Pick from the templates your hairstyle, eye color, mouth, and other features such as facial hair, glasses, or even a baby bump! There are options for men and women. Then, add personal details and messages, and you’re all set to check out!

PosePrints is a great alternative to generic, run-of-the-mill greeting cards. Say hi or I Love You with these fun and unique cards that have been personalized and can only be from you! If you’re looking for unique stationery to pair with your gifts, try out PosePrints.

And, Gift Ideas Blog visitors can get a special discount: Enter the code “GIFT20″ in the checkout area of the PosePrints site and receive 5 free cards for every order of 25 cards — a $10 value! Check out this great stationery idea at PosePrints!

CreativeThoughts has a great personalized birthday gift idea: The Birthday Chronicle!

Simply provide the gift recipient’s birthday, and the company will send you a completed sheet that you can frame (or you can purchase it already framed).

Printed on parchment-style paper, the 8.5″ by 11″ sheet tells all the world events that occurred on your gift recipient’s birthday! For example, was the birthday the same as the day JFK was shot? The day Elizabeth Taylor made her screen debut? The day Paris Hilton was born? The Birthday Chronicle will feature celebrity birthdays, as well as financial news, world events, and the weather on the day you were born!

And, for those needing a quick gift, there’s even the option of downloading an electronic file of the personalized Birthday Chronicle, so you can print it out yourself if you’re in a hurry.

Check out the Birthday Chronicle for a unique and personalized gift fit for individuals of all ages.

Digital photo frame

A charming, technology-friendly gift idea is to give a digital photo frame. This is a great way to show off those amazing photos you’ve taken with your digital camera. The digital photo frame will constantly display one image, or rotate through a series of digital photos.

It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift idea because Mom will love seeing pictures of good times you’ve shared with her on this frame. It will bring back memories that will bring her great joy. Give a digital photo frame pre-loaded with your digital pictures, and it will be that much more meaningful.

Find a digital photo frame via Froogle.

A cute candy gift idea. This item from Personalization Mall allows you to put your own message on a candy jar.

Put something like, “I love you, [name of recipient]” or “I love you, Mom; from [name of giver]” on the jar, and the gift will be specific and always associated with you.

This would make a good Valentine’s Day gift, as well as a Mother’s Day gift.

Fill the jar with your gift recipient’s favorite candies, and you’re on your way for a sweet gift. Your sweetheart, who might place this personalized candy jar on his or her desk at work, will think of you every time he or she reaches for a piece of candy.

Now what would make a better gift idea?

How to make your own Easter gift basket

Gift baskets are oh-so popular during the Easter season, but many of the ones sold at convenience or drug stores look plastic and tacky. And it’s expensive to buy a gourmet gift basket, which can cost up to hundreds of dollars. Well, an excellent idea is to make your very own gift basket!

Here’s how:

Get a basket. Do you have any nice baskets lying around the house? Perhaps one left over from a previous season’s gift baskets, or one that was used to pick fruit or carry things. If not, go to your local craft store and get a nice basket. Ones made with a darker straw material can lend themselves to classier-looking gift baskets.

Get filling: Perhaps some nice straw to create a nice base or padding for the gifts to go in the basket. Or, get creative and fold up a nice blanket to put at the bottom of the basket. Or, if you’re so inclined, most stores with Easter merchandise sell bunched-up strips of plastic, like fake grass.

Get gifts: Then, buy gifts to put in the baskets! Needless to say, the gifts should be small enough to fit inside the basket. Popular gifts inside gift baskets include candy, toys, eggs, and other little trinkets and goods. If the gift basket is for children, a stuffed animal is especially endearing. Candy is also frequently put into gift baskets. From sweet Cadbury Creme Eggs and Peeps to special Easter edition M&Ms or Hershey’s Kisses, you can’t go wrong with sweets galore in your basket.

Get a theme: Good gift baskets will have a nice theme that unifies all the contents. For example, the gift basket could have all spring colors. Or, it could all be chocolate-related food. Or it could have all things that are enjoyed by the intended recipient. If your gift recipient likes a particular sport, the gift basket could have things themed to that sport. Personalizing your gift basket will make it that much more meaningful to the gift recipient!

Making your own gift basket can be a fun and rewarding activity for a lazy afternoon. And it doesn’t have to be just for Easter! They are a good project and present for any gift-giving season.

Easter is coming up, and now’s a great time to start thinking about what kinds of gifts you might be getting for your favorite people for the holiday.

Speaking Roses offers a great Easter gift.

What are Speaking Roses? They’re an image or message printed on actual roses. They’re perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, and any other gift-giving holiday. For Easter, they’ve designed an adorable bunny to go on these roses. Check out the Easter Speaking Roses!