diy birthday gifts

Apart from the presence of loved ones, gifts are what make birthdays so special. Jump in and continue to read to find the perfect and unique gift for your loved one’s birthdays!

Technically speaking a birthday is just the anniversary of the earth completing one more revolution around the sun but what makes it so special to you is the gifts you receive. I always count my birthdays in gifts and not years. Although, that doesn’t mean that the more gifts you get, the happier you should be. Gifts are a token of love and they are very specifically bought/made by the giver by keeping you in their mind, and this thought itself makes them special. It’s pretty cool to receive a very thoughtful or an elaborate or comprehensive birthday gift right? Well if it is, why not pass on the joy?

The first thing you need to recognise for this is that no matter how expensive or not the gift is, it is the thought and the effort that matters more. Obviously, this also depends on the receiver as much as it does on the giver, but I have never come across someone who doesn't like the effort in a handmade photo collage or a painting for a gift. Here’s a 5 step gifting guide for you to master the technique of gifting or impress people with your effort and choice on their birthdays.

1.Know what they want

I am assuming that you have been close to the receiver enough to know about their basic likes and dislikes like a particular color, brand, musicians, artists and authors. What I generally do is digitally design a mood board as a pre birthday gift of all the things they like- their favorite pictures of themself, lyrics, quotes, milestone moments and obviously some photos with me. This is not only a long walk down the memory lane but a great way to summarize friendships through the years and since it is digital, you can print it out as a frame for their room, make that your lock screen, or even post that on your social media to make them feel special. I would only do the former and maybe the latter, but by seeking proper permission.

2. Make it unique

A gift is very personalized, and unique to the receiver and the giver. This is exactly why I refuse to comply with the concept of gifting store bought greeting cards and something perishable like flowers or edibles. I am not saying no to gifting any chocolates or flowers, because you should, by all means if the receiver likes them, but a gift should be more than that. It should be something that lasts them forever and something that they can remember you by!

You can refer to my IGTV video to find some DIY gift options, but here’s a few: Give them a jar full of tiny notes, they might also be colour coded of the things that are special to the both of you. It could be first impressions, memories, things to remember, quotes, mutual favorite lyrics and so on. To make it a bit more interactive, maybe you could give them just half of the notes that you made and each of you open one everyday and send a picture to each other? This is just one idea to start off with, now with the virtual scenario, you can also surprise them with hourly appreciation posts on social media, or letters in the form of emails, or even have a virtual painting session together! Time spent with loved ones is the best gift ever and if you can, then you definitely should organize a long one on one catch up session, or a movie night or attend a session together, or a workshop together!

3. Decide on a budget

Well, nothing comes for free and although you want their day to be special, be mindful of the fact that you do not want to go overboard. No matter what your budget is, you definitely should decide on and have one so that you avoid overspending on things and you get an overall estimate of how you want to plan the gifts out.

For eg: If you want to gift some store bought products, then maybe ordering them in advance, or during the sale season or at discounted prices will help you save up on some cash there that you could instead use on decor. Keep an eye on their favourite websites, track the sales, estimate the shipping, and don’t make it very obvious that you will be sending them a gift. Make a note of their postal address whenever you visit, so that you do not have to ask them again when you plan to ship the gift. Websites do allow you to leave a note along with the package, so do that. Ask the courier company to notify you once the package has been delivered and not them so that you can catch their first reaction on a video call. These are all small things that often go unnoticed on the givers side, but nothing beats seeing a happy face on receiving something that you sent out of so much love and enthusiasm. You don’t want to miss it!

4. Little things matter the most

Pay attention to detail. Look at the kind of food they order when they go out on lunch with you. Make a note of the things they shortlist at a store but don’t buy at that particular moment so you can buy those for them later. It will be a cool surprise. Casually ask them what books they plan to buy, or is there any particular perfume that they want to buy next. Phone covers also usually make good gifts. Note the model number of their phone and keep checking stores and websites and make a note of what they would like. Is there a particular thing that you make that they like a lot? Did you observe them eat all your pasta from lunch that day? Cook them a meal! Better still, send them your recipe for a dish they really like so that they can cherish it forever. Is there a place both of you really want to visit? Surprise them by making reservations in advance!

5.Pay attention to the timing

A birthday gift is merely a gift if it does not reach the person on the birthday. If it is not possible for you to physically be there for their birthday, make sure you send your gift package right in time for the birthday. If due to any unprecedented reason does it get delayed, then inform them and if possible, click pictures of the items before sending them off so you have at least photos to send as the gift in case it gets lost or misplaced. Do some research on the best courier and shipping services in your locality and always seek reviews and opinions before using a service. That’s pretty much what I think of, while preparing for someone’s birthday.

Specific to this year, since it is impossible to have lavish birthday celebrations, the video trend has been all over the internet. To make your video stand out, sing a song that you wrote for them (it could be just a few lines) or take a video of you making a painting for them, or write down whatever you want to say on a piece of paper and record a time lapse of writing. You can also put together a collage of photos and videos with basic and free photo and video editing applications. Do let me know in the comments section below if you found this article helpful and if you have any other tips for DIY birthday gifts! Thank you for reading, and I will be back with a new article next week.