I’ve received some questions about gift giving, keeping gift items on hand and any secrets or tips I might have to share. No rocket science here, friends, but I will share what I know from my life. If any of it resonates with you, hooray! Grab it, twist it, change it up to make it fit your rhythm and style of life.

{affiliate links included}
No. 1. ~ NOTICE…
If I see something that reminds me of a friend, I grab it for whenever an occasion arises.
Example: A friend of mine loves chai tea, enjoys burning candles and is a minimalist. When I noticed a chai tea flavored candle that smelled lovely, I snagged it for the next time I wanted to give her a thinking-of-you gift or to celebrate an occasion.
Bonus!!! My niece was selling the candle line, so I was able to shop small and local, and boost her business, while also scoring a fun gift I was pretty confident my friend would love.
By learning our friends hobbies and interests {and tastebuds} it directs us toward items that shout their name.
Example: Scrapbooking and cardmaking is one of my friend’s many talents. Stamps, stickers, cardstock etc are always something I can put in a gift for her.
My grandmother loved birds. Her house was located in a woods and her backyard sported bird feeders, birdhouses, and a birdbath. We would gift birdseed for the feeders. We would find mugs with birds, figurines of birds and notepads with birds. My grandmother went home to Jesus a few years ago. While my Mother doesn’t have the love for birds as deeply as her mother did, now that my grandmother is gone, birds hold a special reminder and remembrance of my grandmother to my mother. Occasionally, I now spy a unique bird item and I gift it to my Mother because I know she will enjoy the reminder of her own mother.
Another part of this NOTICE category would be paying attention to gifts I’ve received and been thrilled with. They can spark ideas for giving the same or similar items as gifts to others. I am aware that while I love something, it doesn’t mean my friends will. But when we know our friends and have some common interests, we begin to learn to “feel” what they may or may not enjoy.
And even when we receive gifts that aren’t exactly our style, the intent and heart behind the gift mean the world anyway. 🙂
No. 2 ~ GIFT FAVORITES…
I gift favorite items and products I use or have enjoyed trying. Even if the receiver doesn’t fall for the product, they receive the fun of trying it without expense or time on their part.
I always love it myself when a friend shares a favorite of theirs with me.
Example: I love Mrs. Meyers dish soap. Almost all households need dish soap and Mrs. Meyers is a fun one to give. The bottles are pretty and the fragrances are delicious! I’ll keep a few bottles around for hostess gifts or last-minute gifts. One plus to keeping favorites on hand for gifting is found in if I haven’t used it as a gift, I can always use it in my own home.
{I have a page of favorite items of mine over here on Amazon.}
No. 3 ~ THINK EXPENDABLE
Gifts you use up. Dish soap {like above}, candles, lotion, EOS lipbalm, essential oils, cool pens, favorite markers, Gelly Roll pens, adult coloring book, washi tape, casserole, pizza, snack crackers, kitchen utensils, kitchen towels………
My kitchen accessories and towels are used pretty heavily and it’s always fun to get a refresh or update.
No. 4 ~ FOOD
We all have to eat. It just works that way! 😉 Food is in the expendable category, but it also deserves its own category. Anyone, male or female, mama or papa, married or single, who happens to be the chief cook and bottle washer will appreciate the gift of food now and then. A meal I don’t have to think about?! Bring it.

I’ve done breakfast-in-a-box gifts and cheese and fruit trays. A fun twist on easy and cute Valentine gifts are these apple-of-my-eye. I’ve purchased frozen lasagna or cookies from our local Dillons. I love homemade, but it doesn’t have to be homemade. Eliminating the steps of shopping for ingredients, prep and cleanup, sometimes aids my ability to bless someone with a food gift.

I keep these plastic treat bags around and they are perfect for stacking 6-8 cookies or a couple of muffins in them. Tie it up with a pretty ribbon and you have a pretty and tasty gift!
No. 5 ~ GIFT CARDS
Ok, I know. They can seem a bit impersonal or I-couldn’t-think-of-anything-else, but here’s two reasons I love them.#1 ~ I’m never mad to receive a gift card. NEVER. Well, if you gave me one to a boxing/fighting/wrestling store I might not be overjoyed as I have zero interest in boxing and hold the opinion that it is a silly sport.
HOWEVER. There still easily could be a product I would like. I’ve been known to admire the galvanized feed scoops in a Co-op store and find fun wooden toy food in a farm store. And while I don’t run marathons or 10K or even half of a K, I am drawn to running gear and the sporty looking jackets and running pants. On second thought, it may be safe to say, I could always find something to purchase with a gift card. Anyhow, a gift card is like a free pass around Go! Collect your $200! {Or whatever amount the gift card is for 😉 }A free pass titled SHOP.
#2 IF I don’t have any fantastic ideas, I would much rather give a gift card for a favorite store to the giftee, and let them have the fun of finding something they really, really love.
Awareness of friend favorites also points us in the direction of giftcard selection! My sister will always love a giftcard to Rifle Paper Co. or Farmhouse Frocks. Another friend’s happy go-to place is Hobby Lobby!
Restaurant gift cards are three-fold fun too! An evening out + a yummy meal + no prep or cleanup! Win-win-win.
Cash: We’ll put this in as a sub-category of giftcards. I have gifted friends with cold, hard cash before, along with a handwritten note to go buy something they’ve been especially wanting or needing! Gift cards are awesome fun, but cash is good anywhere they want to shop!
No. 6 ~ UNIQUE…..
I love cute Etsy shops and handmade things with a unique flair. I like to stock up on cute cards and stickers from Raising Up Rubies to tuck into happy mail or add to a gift. These cards are also a fun actual gift item to include as the gift itself.

Sew a Fine Seam is my sister’s shop, specializing in handmade pillows to bring Handmade Happiness to YOUR home! I like to gift them.

My niece has fun artwork and sells prints and stickers in her Etsy shop, the MeadowLarke. I love her stickers and they’re fun to use on cards or add to a gift.
Creative Carmella makes unique and meaningful jewelry and I love her pieces. They’re lovely gifts!
Livvie + Hazel is my friend, Pam’s, jewelery shop. Her creations are gorgeous!

Find Wondrous Things is another shop with lovely handcrafted items. You’ll find Bible tabs, Bible journals and other pretty Bible study tools. Perfect gifting items!
No. 7 ~ THINK AHEAD
This could play off or dovetail with point #1 of NOTICE.
Example: In February I go over the birthdays for March and start thinking about a noticing items when I’m out and about that I could purchase for those people. Now understand me here. I don’t want you to gain the wrong impression. Thinking ahead and planning is my ideal. And while I do manage it at times, I don’t always do this. I would LOVE to and would love to be that organized. But I’m not. I come and go and I absolutely embrace it and am very happy when I am able to shop ahead in this way.
No. 8 ~ CHOCOLATE…
Yeah. It deserves a stand-alone mention. Most, most, most of us love our chocolate! If I know a personal candy favorite, I will include that in a gift. If I don’t, I like to choose a favorite of mine or go for a higher end chocolate bar with cool wrapping. Yes, sometimes I am totally about presentation. Toblerone bars are delicious and they’re also a fun shaped package of chocolate to tuck in a gift.

No. 9 ~ NATURE
Fresh bouquets of flowers, {love me some fresh flowers!!!} flat tan or blue pumpkins for autumn, an aromatic boxwood wreath…………. all of these are super fun gift items. They could fit in the expendable section, but it feels right to give them their own section, just as I did with chocolate.
Purchase flowers at your local grocer’s or florists. Clip a bouquet from your backyard. Tuck a few rosebuds on top of a book. It’s all lovely!
We had a landlady years ago, who would send us a fresh bay leaf wreath at Christmastime and I absolutely adored its arrival on my doorstep.

No. 10 ~ BOOKS….
Did you think you escaped this suggestion? 😉 You would know, on my blog, there definitely must be a book category! Books are super fun for any age! Of course I think this, because I love books. I know a few people who aren’t going to be overly excited about a book, but most of my friends and nieces and nephews love books.
I’ll gift titles that have been especially meaningful to me or that I think my friend will especially resonate with.
There are two really lovely gift books about friendship in this post right here.
I choose children’s books with fun stories, bright pictures, and meaningful messages!
I do try to avoid the negative type of book giving. You know, when someone gives you a book they “think” you need to read. 😉 I want to give in a spirit of blessing, not in a spirit of “preaching at”. Just sayin’!
A Few Thoughts On Bargains and Such
A Tip: I love to check bargain bins. Most of us don’t have endless budgets at our beck-and-call. 🙂 Clearance sales, Christmas markdowns, after-any-holiday markdowns, closeouts…………they’re all great ways to stock up on a few items in a For-Gifting-Box or drawer.
When I find a great deal on something I myself would love or I know a few friends would like it, I grab it to go in the gift box. Especially items in the expendable category.
It’s great to have a small stash for when your next-door neighbor invites you over for the morning or offers you extra tomatoes and you’d like to bring a small hostess gift or give her a little thank-you item.
I’ve had coupons before when paired with a sale proffered free candy bars. {Chocolate category}
I’m a solid 20 minute drive one way to our small hometown, so I’ve learned it’s great to keep a few things around, as I can’t run into a giftshop only a few minutes from home.
Snag neat, old teacups at a garage sale and tuck succulents or a plant in them to brighten someone’s day.
Keep an eye out at estate sales for neat pitchers or inexpensive vases for gifting flower bouquets in. Mason jars are super cute for this too!

The Daily Grace Co. is a fun place to stock up on neat pens and inspirational notepads and journals when they have a sale. {And they throw sales pretty often.}
Dayspring is another place I love to shop sales. They have lovely Bible journaling sets, neat notecards, and pretty decor items.
Online shopping has been a terrific benefit to me in the gifting category.
Another Tip: For books ~ often in the fall/Christmas shopping months, Amazon runs a $5 credit off of a $25 book purchase.
CBD offers great book deals.
Many authors share great bonuses for pre-orders of their coming-soon books.
Keep an eye out for BOGO {Buy One Get One} book deals. Matthew Paul Turner gave copies of his children’s book When God Made Light to anyone pre-ordering his very newest book, When I Pray For You. {I love, love, love this book by the way.}
One more thought……….I DO like to give gifts and I also know the gifts I choose may not always be a favorite or something my friend, daughter or sister wants to keep forever. I’m good with that. Part of gift giving is the joy of giving and the blessing of receiving. I know my friends and family feel the love behind the gift and if they want to use the item up or pass it on or put it in a Goodwill box, that’s ok. I prefer to give gifts, no strings attached! The aim of gift giving is to bless, not boss, stream joy, not stress!
Share YOUR gift giving ideas, tips and tricks with me! I’d love to hear!
{Want more ideas? I have a post with Ten Stocking Stuffer Ideas over here and Ten Gifts You Can Grab at the Grocery Store here. This post has Ten Bookpairs for Gifting!}
