This post has been along time coming. I want to talk about my favorite gift I’ve ever received & my favorite gift I’ve ever given.
I think this is fun because hopefully it will inspire you to discover new gift ideas. There’s nothing worse than when you want to give someone a special gift & you can’t think of something that’s creative. Keep in mind that I was on such a strict budget when I was a bartender & going to school full time. It was hard to spend money on gifts because I just didn’t have the funds.
So here are 3 gift ideas that won’t break the bank.
The first one was given to me by my friend & TSC team member George. He’s so creative & he helps us with The Skinny Confidential back end. For my birthday he surprised me with handmade paper dolls of me & Michael. Not only did he surprise me with these, he also made sure they had every little detail.
As you can see, he also took the time to make Michael in his leather jacket & in his specific white tennis shoes. He did Pixy & Boone too. Every detail is just so thoughtful & realistic. You could always hire out for this & commission someone from Craigslist or Etsy.
Another cool idea is to design cards for someone. So if your BFF is having a bridal shower or baby shower, you could have some cards handmade with her on them. The details are important here I think. Have her in her favorite dress or outfit, in her favorite nail polish color, perhaps holding her dog.
The dolls are so special to me & it was just one of the most thoughtful, creative gifts ever. It would also be fun to do this for someone who is younger, instead of getting another toy.
Now lets get to my favorite gift I’ve ever given. This was a gift I gave as a broke bartender to Michael. He was living in this beautiful apartment & he’s one of those people who is so hard to buy for. What do you get someone who has everything? I wanted to think of a creative way to give him an experience & I noticed he didn’t have a bar. He just had all his alcohol bottles displayed on the counter.
I decided to go to Target & get a $100 shelving situation, spray painted it black & then I got all different kinds of bar tools. I found a cheap set online with a jigger, strainer, stirrer, shaker… you name it. I set it up with everything a bartender would have – little flamingo stirrers, cute umbrellas, even some blue cheese stuffed olives.
Michael had all these cocktail books & cool glasses collecting cobwebs in his cupboards so I took those & set them all up along with his alcohol bottles- color coordinated of course. For a finishing touch, I bought a print from Etsy for about $30 of a huge martini glass.
So I think the whole experience was about $250. When he came home I had some cool music playing, a drink made, the whole bar set up, & everything organized with the lights dimmed. Candles were lit, oils were diffusing & he was totally FLOORED. It was really special. Not only special, but functional too. It was all just using what he had, but adding some festive features to it. In the kitchen I set up crackers, cheese & grapes & made a whole night of it.
I wish I had a picture of this but I don’t ( so sad ). But this is a really creative gift idea that you can really have fun with. & I’m not talking like I did some home renovation for him. It was a very small area of his house.
Another gift I got Michael recently is personalized Guess Who? When it’s personalized it’s one of the cutest, most intimate games/gifts you can get someone. I had this personalized with our friends & family & Michael loved it so much. Did it appeal to ego? I’ll let you decide.
So I got pics of his family & friends, then got Boardgame Bonnie to put together the game, box & pieces. His smile was bigger than the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. We’ve played this personalized game of Guess Who? quite a few times over beers & laughed our asses off. It’s so fun to describe your family & friends & get super specific.
Anyways, those are 3 very special gift ideas that are fun if you’re looking for something to give the person who has everything.
Would love to know your guys’ gift ideas. Share all the deets.
With that, we’re currently in the South of France. We’re going to be out here working, but also having some fun. Will keep you updated through Instagram Stories. If you have any recommendations for Capri, St. Tropez, Monaco or Positano let me know below.
x, lauryn
+ check out the TSC team’s gift guide here.
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