Gifts that tell a story: Unveiling the magic of gift giving

When Christmasses, birthdays, and anniversaries roll round – indeed, any occasion that might merit the giving of a gift – it can be easily to become cynical about the process. Sure, you don’t want to get that special person “just” socks or body wash… but also, how many novelty branded mugs is one person ever likely to need? As the special occasions stack up, it can be so easy to be left jaded by it all.

So, here’s a tip that will help restore some of that old-school “magic” to gift-giving, the kind of enchantment you often felt when giving or receiving presents as a child: look for a gift that tells a story.

That advice could be interpreted in quite a few different ways. But what we mean is, there are ways of purchasing gifts for our loved ones, friends, and colleagues that will have them truly captivated and thankful, rather than cringing. We’re talking about the sorts of gifts that will have them saying, “it would have never crossed my mind to get that for myself… but it’s just so me! Thank you.”

Here are some of the strategies that can enable you to do exactly this, each and every time.

Have the gift personalised in some way

It isn’t, of course, overly difficult to find personalised gifts – you only need to Google something like “personalised birthday gifts” to be presented with an assortment of gift options from various online stores. Think customised teddy bears, trinket boxes, cushions, mugs, and even pint glasses, to name just a few of the possibilities.

But it is also worth reminding ourselves why we bother with personalised gifts. Such personalisation can be a great way of alluding to a particular hobby or interest that the recipient has, or perhaps something about the connection you have with the recipient, such as a shared experience.

And of course, the custom message that can often be engraved, embedded, or otherwise incorporated into a personalised gift, presents an excellent opportunity to communicate how thankful you are for the special contribution the recipient makes to your life.

Naturally, personalised gifts can take many different forms, and they don’t necessarily have to be something “store-bought”. You might use your own arts and crafts skills, for example, to produce a gorgeous painting or print for the recipient, or you could have a framed photograph prepared of a location that has sentimental importance for the two of you, such as where you first met.

Get them an experience day package

It’s one thing to buy someone a gift that tells a story, but what about a gift that allows for the creation of entirely new ones? Yes, we’re referring to experience days, which appeal to many people’s tendency to place a greater emphasis on experiences over physical items in recent times.

Indeed, recent data from the Gift Card Voucher Association (GCVA) have shown steady growth in experience gift vouchers, alongside a contraction in growth for retail gift vouchers.

So, it should be no great surprise that there is such an abundance of options for experience day gifts these days. The one you get for that special person in your life could be something like a pampering spa day, entry tickets for a heritage or cultural attraction, a helicopter or hot-air balloon ride, a break in an idyllic seaside or rural location, or a few laps around a race circuit in a Ferrari or Lamborghini.

Experiences like the above tend to be remembered fondly, and for a long time, compared to even some of the most opulent and expensive physical gifts. So, when it comes to gifts that tell a story about the recipient’s passions and interests, while also offering serious “punch for one’s pound”, you really would struggle to do better than a well-chosen experience gift.

Buy them a relatively conventional or practical gift that nonetheless has something a little… different about it

What do we mean when we say this? What we’re really referring to here, is taking that tendency we probably all have to just go with whatever kind of item the recipient will probably use (think something like a mug, or socks, or cutlery), and adding a tasteful twist to it, to help make the resultant gift distinctive.

If, for instance, you know the recipient would almost certainly get good use out of a well-made hoody, a little something from the range of embroidered graphic hoodies from Existential Thread could be just the thing. These well-made, nicely fitting, and ethically manufactured hoodies come with a choice of intricate embroidered motifs such as a balloon dog, a bicycle with flowers, or a goldfish in a bag, to help create a gift that definitely won’t be “just another hoody”.

There you have it! Hopefully, we have given you some inspiration that will help you feel slightly less downbeat or exhausted about the task of buying a gift for someone’s Christmas, birthday, or another special occasion. Gifts can absolutely tell magical stories – you simply need to know where to look, and how to prioritise and search for the gifts that are worthy of your attention.

The editorial unit