What birthday gifts do you remember from childhood? Is there one thing that still stands out all these years later? Something that perhaps you still own and that has accompanied you on the journey into adulthood, through various house moves and more?
I may not have her any more, but one gift I do remember so fondly is the Jemima doll that I was given by my mum when I was little. Years later I bought the kit again, to make Little Miss C a version of Jemima, and she still has this in one of her bedrooms and for ages slept with it in her bed every night.
My mum must have spent hours making Jemima and, although I didn’t realise it all those years ago, the fact that she spent so much time making it, putting thought, care and love into the gift, means it meant even more to me than something she could have just bought in a shop. That’s the thing with gifts. It’s not the cost of the gift you give that shows how much someone means to you, but instead the thought that went into the gift.
Taking your time to find something that is particular appropriate can be a real sign of how much you care for the recipient. It demonstrates how well you know them and know what they like. I’ve had some lovely gifts over the years. Handmade hampers put together by people who know me inside out, and so contain things that I absolutely love and that are totally “me”.
Gifts don’t have to be things that physically last though. A thoughtful gift could be a voucher for an experience, a food that has particular meaning to someone, or flowers that have a special significance, possibly because the same ones were used at a special occasion like a wedding.
When someone is celebrating a big birthday I also think it really nice to pull together a gift that marks their age. It could be that you look to find gifts from their childhood, or possibly a bouquet of flowers that were popular when they were born. Those people at Flying Flowers have pulled together this lovely infographic showing what flowers were popular in decades gone by and the must-have birthday gifts for children of those decades. Why not use it as the basis for the next gift you buy to mark a significant birthday?
Although, be warned… If anyone tries to mark my next significant birthday with a garden gnome I may have to reconsider my friendship with them!
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