All people used to want for Christmas was their two front teeth. But times have changed. As technology increases and the usual “go-to” gifts have been way overdone, the pressure is on to come up with bigger, better and more unique gift ideas for family and friends.
People usually want to give something that perfectly fits the interests, personality or characteristics of the recipient. Making your gift unique on top of all of these things may feel impossible sometimes.
Anything and everything you need to know about finding the perfect unique gift can be found using a little device called Google on the slightly larger device we like to call the Internet. Typing “unique gift ideas” into this search engine can result in a plethora of helpful sites that can actually sort your results into gender, age, relationship (mother, brother, boyfriend, etc.), interests and location. Thus, a perfect gift is created.
Below are some of the unique of the unique, the gifts that you’ve been searching for, and the gifts you never knew you could live without.
On a site called www.clubsgalore.com, you can purchase an “of the month” gift specifically pertaining to the interests of your gift receiver. Through this company, you can buy a monthly supply of just about anything for one month, two months, or even every month for an entire year. “Of the month” gifts include chocolate, wine, cake, tea, garden, coffee and candle of the month.
Senior Niko Turko is one of many people to enroll for the “wine of the month” gift.
“I’ve given the “wine of the month” gift to a few people I know, and I even bought it for myself,” he said. “It’s exciting to be able to get something you love every single month … especially when that something is delicious wine”.
At www.designamosaic.com, you can create a complete large eight inches by 10 inches custom photo out of a mosaic of hundreds of smaller pictures that you submit to the website. The company allows you to create your photo mosaic online so that you can completely oversee the customizing and personalization of this gift. This present will be cheap and easy to make, but is definitely a unique and meaningful gift for anyone to reflect upon memories and good times shared together.
Chapman senior Daniel Barber loves it.
“I’ve made photo collages for a few family and friends now throughout the years, and I’m always told that it’s the most thoughtful gift that they receive,” he said. “People love pictures and memories, and it’s a unique way to present all of your favorite pictures together.”
Barber also recommended another website, www.lastlaugh.com, for a funny way to say “I care.”
“I used this site to make a personalized gift that was really unexpected and funny. I bought a six-pack of beer for someone that had our faces on the label and personalized ingredients with our names,” said Barber.
This website allows you to order personalized wine, beer, whiskey, rum, and even a six-pack label of your choosing. You can also personalize magazine covers to include a photo of the person of your choosing from this company.
Senior UC San Diego student Katie Heineman recommended www.yourmemorylane.com for getting something that is more on the “artsy” side.
“Yourmemorylane.com is such an awesome site because you can literally include anything into the artwork so it’s really personalized for whoever you’re giving it to,” she said.
If you visit the site, you can purchase personalized art prints that can include any names, people, locations, images, or stories that you choose. There, you can customize every detail about this framed piece of artwork to comply with every interest, hobby, job, or family member. The gift receiver has to make each piece completely unique and meaningful to her life story.
Chapman senior Katie Takeshita was quick to urge others to visit the site www.zerotoys.com, where she had just purchased presents for her nephew’s birthday.
“I love this site because it’s not just selling regular toys, it’s selling toys that would make anyone at any age want to play with because they’re so unique and strange” Takeshita said.
The site can be used for a child, a child at heart or someone who just likes out-of-the-ordinary toys. This site has everything from illuminating and glowing objects to science experiments to flying toys that will entertain and impress almost anyone. Categorized by price, these gifts are extremely cost-effective and fun for anyone.
A place that is sure to have something for absolutely anyone is the Convenient Gadgets & Gifts Company. If you go to www.cgets.com, you will find hundreds of strange and wacky inventions that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. There’s a special area just for kids, and the adult section includes such items as the “Smart Finder 4-in-1” that locates lost keys, phones, wallets, etc. with the push of a button.
Mother of one and Pasadena-resident Brooke Moore remembered her favorite gift being from this particular site.
“My daughter gave me the Smart Finder because I always lose my keys or my phone and it was making me late to everything! I thought it was very thoughtful of her to find something that was so specific to my needs,” she said.
University of Southern California sophomore Rebecca Springer recommended www.personalcreations.com for finding gifts for older female family members.
“Moms and Grandmothers love decorating with weird things like plates, so I got my mom a personalized plate with the names of our entire family … and our cats!” Springer said.
On this site, you can add photos, text and characters to just about anything, whether it be a tie with your face printed on it or a welcome mat with your family’s last name. If you’re wondering where to find bumper stickers and magnets with characters of each member of your family (including your dog), you need look no further. This site has everything to fit your cheesy personalization needs such as personalized mailing labels and stationary with your family’s last name, engraved jewelry and charm bracelets, monogrammed bathroom hand towels, “Grandma’s Little Angel’s” sweatshirts with personalized characters to look like you and your siblings and the list goes on.
For anyone who’s completely out of ideas, Chapman graduate Doug Riggs recommended www.uncommongoods.com as the perfect last resort.
“Uncommongoods.com is always my go-to place for the person who has everything. I doubt even someone who has everything would have anything from this site yet … so I always surprise them with these unique gifts,” said Riggs.
Uncommongoods.com has weirder things than you can even imagine. Everything on this website is too random to not be able to find something that would fit perfectly with the personality of someone you know. Let your curiosity get the best of you and at least take a look at all the things that exist that you may never have seen before.
The magic of the Internet provides countless gift opportunities. Never underestimate the power of a good keyword search when finding a gift this holiday season. And remember that if you can dream it, it probably exists out there somewhere.
