Milestone gifting: Frustrating or fantastic?

There are so many things to celebrate in a lifetime. The birth of a child; religious milestones like christenings and confirmations; significant birthdays and weddings; school or work achievements… every life is punctuated by these highlights that encourage us to commemorate an occasion.

Many of these occasions suggest that some kind of gift should be given to mark the event but this can be a search fraught with questions –what the value of the gift should be, or whether a gift should fill a short term need or become a long-term keepsake.

A christening is the first event in a child’s life where a gift of significance is given. Traditionally, guests often give the child a keepsake that commemorates this special occasion. These might include engraved baby jewellery, birth certificate holders or a personalised rattle. For something different but relevant, try Noah’s Great Ark from ‘A Whole Lot of Love’ or perhaps choose a favourite childhood book of your own that you can then inscribe for the child to treasure forever. There are a huge range of options available here.

Graduating high school or university is quite the achievement! Studious gifts such as personal organisers, briefcases or personalised stationery are in keeping with the ‘education to real life’ part of their life, and will give the graduate a sense of self and confidence when heading out into the workforce.
Two great places to go for these kinds of personalised gifts are Toffee for ipad cases or PrintVenue for something a little more corporate.

Coming of age birthdays –whether 18 or 21 –are perhaps the most important (and fun!) birthdays in a young life. As the young person is finally recognised as an adult and is allowed to legally drink, drive and vote, gifts that will help propel them into a life of independence are welcomed and most valued. Keepsake gifts are also good, such as jewellery, or an active experience that they might not get the opportunity to participate in otherwise.

A wedding is a happy occasion to celebrate and brings families and friends together to honour the couple to be married. Gifts that get the newlyweds off to a good start in their marriage traditionally include household items, however another option is the ‘wishing well’ idea where the guests contribute money. A modern solution to suggest absolutely any gift at all is to use The Gift Register, which allows the list to be shared via email and/or Facebook. This gives huge variety to the choices your guests can make! Both options tend to be the topic of many wedding debates, as detailed in this article, however there are many more pros than cons when it comes to having a registry.

Conventionally, wedding anniversaries followed a list of suggested gifts, starting with paper for one year and progressing to gold for 50 years. The modern equivalent suggests a clock for year one and gold jewellery gets a gig at year 14, but these are just ideas and your intimate knowledge of your partner should help guide your choice. You could always mark the occasion with ‘memory making experience’ that has always been desired by one or both partners.

In an era where staying in a job for any length of time is considered an achievement, gifts from a boss or a company are often carefully considered but rarely enjoyed. Logo emblazoned watches and kitchen items are cast aside as token gestures, while what an employee really wants is recognition for a job well done.

Experiences away from the office, such as gold class movie tickets or a restaurant voucher, lets the employee have some well deserved time off, while jewellery or high end pens can be something they will treasure as a reminder of their long service. This billionaire boss really raised the bar by taking 6,400 staff to Europe on a holiday. Ahh, we can all dream! 😉

Which life milestone do you think is the hardest to buy for? Or perhaps you have a gifting story you’d like to share with us? Don’t forget, if you are ever stuck for ideas, check out the ‘gift buttons’ on our home page for lots of quick solutions 😉

Related Posts