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Gifting from the Outside In

One of my FAVORITE parts of creating a curated gift is the design of it. If there is a theme, what is it? How many things can I fit into the theme before it is too many? Staying within the budget is its own kind of challenge. How can I get the best product that can still make an impact? But my favorite thing is deciding, once I have the items, what can I put it in that is fun AND functional?

Let’s break this all down.

Themes are so fun to use when putting together a curated gift. Depending on who they are going to, how the gift is getting there, and what they like, theming could get more difficult to do. As an example, I love grilling boxes filled with super interesting grilling goods. Need an extra-wide flipper? What about meat shredders or large skewers? If you are going to have to ship this to someone, that could be tricky so maybe this isn’t the right idea? Or maybe you have the same “sense of humor” as my dad who thinks this type of gifting is silly. Thinking about what your recipient likes and needs trumps what you think would be fun every time.

Now on to products. I have a few stores and websites I go to when I want to make the greatest impact on how something looks, and the impact it will make on the gift. I’ve shared a few of them in the past.

They all have great things that make a lot of impact!

Finally, my favorite part is answering the question, “What can we put it in?” I’m not a person who loves baskets, so I rarely use them as a container for my designs. I prefer “practical,” boxes or containers with multiple uses. As an example of this, I recently created a gift design that had a beach bag as the container. It was a donation for a school fundraiser that included a stay in Florida. So, the beach bag was filled with towels, a floppy hat, and a beach-smelling candle to get in the mood for the stay. They could take the bag with them on the trip and use it to get all the beach-y things they needed with them.

My final advice is to think as innovatively as you can about what might be a great container. Because ultimately, what you want most from any gift is for the recipient to use it and think of you whenever they do.

If you want to see examples of some of the boxes I’ve curated, visit my BRAND NEW Gallery page.

Until we chat again,

SH Signature

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Top Fives

We all love Top 5 Lists, right? Well, this holiday season I shopped at every site, store, and sale you could imagine! I was lucky to locate some great finds for clients, family, and friends. But what were my Top 5’s in different categories? Let’s start with what websites I found the most gifts this year? The Top 5 websites are:

  1. uncommongoods.com
  2. nordstrom.com
  3. etsy.com
  4. amazon.com
  5. littleshopofgeeks.com

Want to know some of my favorite local stores that I found GREAT options for friends and family in the Eastern Iowa area? These are the Top 5 stores I hit this year:

  1. Scout of Marion
  2. NewBo City Market
  3. Almost Famous Popcorn
  4. Next Page Books
  5. Raygun

But what about you? Where can you really go for that certain person in your life? Other than calling me to help, of course, I have some sites I love to use for certain personality types. Here’s the Top 5 list for those certain someones in your life:

  1. For the Early Adopter – thegrommet.com
  2. For the Monogram Maven – markandgraham.com
  3. For the Hard to Buy For – uncommongoods.com
  4. For the Status Conscious – theoutnet.com
  5. For the “I don’t need something else in my house” or the “saving the world” types – charitygiftcards.com
    Truth: I haven’t used this site but have had friends that have. But, if you know where your friends’ passions lie, give to that nonprofit in their name.

But you don’t have to do the shopping yourself. Hire me! I love to do the legwork and the research for you. Just fill out the Contact Us form and I’ll get to work on your next important gift!

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