It’s no fun to watch your friends and family members opening yet another sweater, book, DVD or cooking utensil on their birthday. It’s not that these aren’t good gifts; they’re just not all that exciting. They don’t stand out the way other gifts do. Here are some ideas for unique and memorable birthday gifts that you can get for the special person in your life:
1. Custom Birthday Cards
Birthday cards are more like a door prize than a real gift, but a personalized birthday card, with a caricature of the recipient or an inside joke printed on it, can be a nice surprise. There’s a lot of websites available for you to make your own custom card and print it out on cardstock, such as Card Store, American Greetings, and Tiny Prints. People love receiving and reading personal cards so take the time to find something that really suits the recipient.
2. Specialty Baked Goods
Whether you’re talking about a unique birthday cake from a mail order bakery or a bouquet of cookies in fun shapes, baked goods are a popular birthday gift for many people. The baked goods you pick out can be delivered right to the person whose birthday it is with a personalized message. You can choose the person’s favorite flavor, color, or design and get the treats made to these specifications. Everybody loves cookies and cake and croissants, so why not get a hold of some custom baked goods?
3. Experience Gifts
Experience gifts are becoming more and more popular as people look for unique gifts for their loved ones. These are not a physical gift, but are an actual experience. Plane flying lessons, river rafting trips and skydiving are great options for experience gifts. For someone less adventurous, tickets to a festival or a cooking class are also great ideas. Studies show that people tend to prize their memories more than their possessions, so a trip to the Grand Canyon or a race around the track in an F1 can be just the thing to make a birthday truly memorable.
Whatever the interests of your friends and family, something on this list should strike their fancy. From a unique cake from a mail order bakery to a great life experience, it’s all about finding something that fits your loved one’s personality. The next time someone in your life has a birthday coming up, take the time to really think about what kind of gift would best suit that person.
Randy Winters is an experienced party planner who specializes in putting on unique and out of the box events.