There is a perfectly good reason for delaying this blog post by 2 days. In reality, there are 30 reasons!
Yesterday was my husband/best friend/partner in crime’s birthday – the big 3 – 0 and I wanted to do something he wouldn’t easily forget. When it comes to gifting, I tend to take it super seriously. And I always want to make it personal rather than just buying something off the shelf. For me, purchasing one gift is a safe bet but rather ordinary. Coming up with 30 gifts is crazy. So I decided to roll with the latter.
My organised self couldn’t resist not creating a list. So, I started jotting down his favourite things, foods, places, personas, films, books and even things I heard him yammering about needing for weeks on end. Once I had that covered, it was all about putting the plan into action. Design, print, purchase, wrap and HIDE! That’s the most difficult part, I guess, when you live together with your partner. And hiding 30 gifts is no joke. I had to mark one of the rooms off-limits for a couple of weeks!
Once the plot was revealed, I posted the image below and a lot of people were curious as to what I got him – 30 gifts, after all, is kind of a lot. To be honest, it was never about the actual amount! You have to understand that purchasing 30 gifts was a little well over my budget.
I asked myself, how can I be more creative? For instance, at the time, I did not afford to buy a ticket for a football match abroad. So, I took a step back and thought about it. Football was never my thing and I’m a real pain whenever there’s a match on; I’m fully aware of that. So, I tried looking at the football-related gift from another perspective. I can’t buy him a ticket but I can not complain during a match, right? It may sound silly and it did actually make him laugh! So I got to creating funny and cheesy “gift vouchers”. I also found our very first photo together taken in 2007 and had it printed and even spent hours logging 10 years of footage to create a 1 minute short trailer commemorating our years together!
So, it’s not about the amount of gifts but the fact that you cared enough for that significant someone to create something fun, memorable, personalised and meaningful.
The final gift; gift number 30, was a surprise party. I knew that he never had one thrown and that he secretly craved it (no one is old enough to want a surprise party it seems). And so I invited close family and friends for a personal get together. Given that I love baking (runs in the family), my lovely mum and I, spent the whole afternoon preparing finger food and mini desserts. This was yesterday and I’m happy to say that it turned out pretty great!
My point in sharing this with you: do not think that you are not creative. You are when putting your mind to it. And if you need a little nudge, just google your initial idea or go on Pinterest for help and you will be blown away with tried and tested ideas! S/he will definitely love every one of your gifts because ultimately, you put your heart in creating something memorable!
I’m sharing one of the coupons I designed with you. You can download and print for yourselves if you wish! Now get your creative juices going and enjoy every second of it!
Amanda x
Amanda Lia 