birthday Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Lou Longworth Greeting Cards

Posted on 10 August 202013 March 2021 by Lou Longworth

Gifts for Music Lovers

It’s no secret that I’m a huge music fan – I’m really missing being able to go to gigs during this pandemic (thought I do realise this is such a small thing compared to what a lot of people are going through). I also have quite a few friends who are just as music obsessed as I am, so this week I thought I’d write a blog post with ideas for gifts for music lovers.

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and buy I may get a small commission, but it won’t cost you anything.

Gifts for drummers

This wooden clock can be personalised if you fancy

Or how about one of these water bottles?

Gifts for guitarists

This pick wallet would make a great gift for a guitarist.
Or for something a bit more substantial, how about this personalised wooden guitar holder?

Romantic music gifts

Of course if this is an anniversary gift or something for your other half, you might need a gift that is a little more romantic. Here are some ideas for turning ‘your song’ into a personalised gift.

Or create a modern version of the old school mix tape… it doesn’t get much more romantic than that – you can even include photos or scans of other special memories.

Other gifts for music lovers

And for gifts that are less specific, here’s a selection of all sorts of great gifts for music lovers.
Here’s another mix tape idea. This one comes with a personalised message and a code for a Spotify playlist featuring songs from their birth year – such an original idea!

Or how about this for that person who ‘knows’ their taste in music is better than anyone else’s 😆

My neighbours listen to good music whether they like it or not print — Good music print

This game could be a real hit (sorry 😁) too!

I hope you found some inspiration in these ideas. In the end I found more ideas than I could reasonably fit into one blog post as there’s so much out there for music lovers! 😃

You can also follow my Gifts for Music Lovers Pinterest board for more ideas.

And if you’re looking for a card to accompany your gift, then why not take a look at my music themed greeting card collection. They’re perfect for music fans. See some examples below…

Engagement card

Get well soon card

I love you card

Posted on 13 July 202013 March 2021 by Lou Longworth

Where to find great gifts

We all want to find great gifts to show our friends and family that we really do know and love them! But with birthdays and Christmas coming around every year it’s easy to run out of inspiration… And of course if you’re anything like me you need ideas NOW because you’ve not planned very far ahead! Here are some of my favourite websites to find gifts that are a little bit different and show that you’ve really put some thought into it, even if you have left it a bit late.

Just so you know, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I might get a few pennies if you click on them and then buy something from that website. It doesn’t cost you anything though and I’d never recommend a website I don’t think is fantastic.

Great handmade gifts

You won’t be surprised to know that Etsy is one of my favourite places to shop for original gifts. They’re the best for finding handmade and personalised presents for anyone and everyone. You can find products sold from around the world, but if you prefer to shop locally (and avoid international postage costs) you can narrow your search to your own country.

This Live the Little Things gift box on the right is one of the many presents I’ve bought off Etsy for friends and family.

Not on the High Street is another favourite of mine for handcrafted gifts. You’ll find great gifts on there that you wouldn’t find anywhere else (hence the name I guess!) A lot of their items are personalisable too.

Great gifts for kids

When I need to find presents online for my niece or other children, Prezzybox and Wicked Uncle are two of my favourites. Prezzybox has a great section specifically for Kid’s Gifts and the whole Wicked Uncle specialises entirely in children’s gifts. Another thing I really like about Wicked Uncle is that you can shop gifts within specific age ranges, which is very helpful. They also have categories which include Creativity, Adventurer, Educational and lots more. The only objection I have is their name… I’m an Aunt after all!

Other places to find great gifts

Pinterest is another place I often go to in order to get inspiration for interesting and original gifts. I have a number of different boards with ideas for gifts for different people – you can see my Pinterest boards here and follow them too if you’d like to use some of my ideas for your own gift giving 🎁

Yes I Want It is another favourite to find gifts that are a bit out of the ordinary and that you won’t see everywhere. I mean, how cute are these mixtape USBs on the left?!

There are loads of other great websites that sell all sorts of lovely, and not boring, gifts too. I regularly publish blog posts on here, and these quite often feature original gift ideas and tips. Subscribe to my newsletter and you’ll soon have the reputation of being that lovely person who gives the most terrific cards and gifts 😃 (and you’ll also get 15% off when buying cards from my online shop!)

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Posted on 29 June 202013 March 2021 by Lou Longworth

All sorts of birthday celebrations

Most of us love birthday celebrations, whether they’re our own or for others. It’s fun to make someone feel special for a day (or more). And it’s just as fun to have others do the same for you! After all, the world wouldn’t be as great if YOU weren’t in it…

Birthday celebrations around the world

Birthday cards and presents, cakes with candles and singing 🎶Happy Birthday🎶 are all customs we’re familiar with in the UK (and most other English speaking countries). And of course, some other cultures and countries have their own unique ways of celebrating.

I love the Chinese tradition of eating a longevity noodle. This is an egg noodle that is so long it can fill entire bowl, and the idea is to slurp it up without breaking it apart, so that you don’t cut your lift short.

India also has its own unique take on birthday celebrations. In addition to wearing new brightly coloured clothes on your birthday, you also get to eat your dessert before your dinner. Once the birthday song has been sung the birthday kid slices the cake and then feeds a small slice to the guests, who then return the favour. Seems sensible to me – you don’t want to be too full of food to enjoy the cake to the max!

Of course the world has grown metaphorically smaller and people from different cultures have started hanging out together more. As a result, there is a lot of mix and matching going on, which I think is fab. Because we can never have too many different ideas for interesting ways to celebrate, right?!

For instance in Japan, prior to the 1950s, everyone’s birthday was celebrated on the same day – New Year’s Day. It was traditionally believed that this was the day that everyone got a year older. Times have changed though and nowadays birthdays are celebrated individually with parties and cake, influenced by western culture.

Similarly, the Mexican custom of celebrating birthdays with a piñata has now been widely adopted in the UK and around the USA. And kids are loving it! What could be better than bashing something with a stick until sweets pour out? Though there is the danger that this could happen…

via GIPHY

There are a couple of traditions I’d probably prefer not to adopt… In Ireland ‘bumping’ is a common birthday custom. The birthday boy or girl is held upside down and their head (gently) bumped on the floor once for each year of age. And in Argentina kids get their ears pulled… Again the number of times equals the number of years they’ve been alive.

Different cultures also celebrate different ages as more ‘important’. In the UK 18 is considered the age you become an adult (and can buy your own pint at the pub), whereas in the US and South Africa it tends to be 21. Sweet sixteen is also celebrated in the US and Canada. In Mexican culture the Quinceanera is an important tradition – celebrated on a girl’s fifteenth birthday.

Birthday songs

With all the different languages in the world it’s not surprising that there are squillions of different birthday songs too. I love the sound of the Norwegian birthday song – “Hurra for deg”! Here it is on Youtube if you fancy a listen 😃

Your birthday, your way

Birthday traditions are fun, but I also think you can choose to celebrate your birthday your way. If you don’t like big parties, it’s perfectly fine to have a few one-on-one celebrations with your close friends instead. If jumping out of a plane on your birthday works for you, then go for it (please use a parachute). Or if you prefer to just stuff your face with cake on your own, that’s fine too. There’s a lot of stuff we have to do in life that we don’t have much say over, so I reckon we should take a stand on our own birthdays and make sure that at least one day a year is spent the way we want it to be!

via GIPHY

And while you’re here, check out my range of birthday cards for your favourite people with birthdays coming up soon!

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Posted on 19 May 202013 March 2021 by Lou Longworth

Choosing a 60th birthday wishes card

How do you choose a card to send 60th birthday wishes? 60 years old is an appreciable milestone, so you don’t want to give just any old card. I always think that if you’re going to go to the trouble of giving a card then it might as well be a great one!
Of course this applies to any milestone birthday, but I’ll use a 60th as an example. You have a few options if you don’t want to go the generic card route (and why would you?)

Choose a card that emphasises the 60
Choose a card that is tailored to them personally
Choose a card that does both!

If it’s someone you actually give a crap about then why not do both? (And if they’re not, then WHY are you sending them a card?!)

Make it personal

By choosing a card that shows that you remember that it’s their 60th birthday and that you know them well enough to know what they like, you’re also showing that you’ve given this card some thought and not just bought the first thing you saw.

For instance if you know they love their wine, then you could send a card like this one…

Buy this wine 60th birthday card

But if they’re more of a whiskey drinker, you could choose this one…

Buy this whiskey 60th birthday card

You could also give a card that reflected their favourite hobby, TV show or anything else you know they like. If they’re known for being a chocaholic, or pizza guzzler, or coffee fanatic… well, you get the idea!

Custom 60th birthday wishes

For extra brownie points, you could customise the card with their name. This way they’ll know you put some extra effort in, in advance, and didn’t just pick a card off a rack at the last minute.

You could also make a card yourself if you’re that way inclined, or if you have kids you could get them to do it, with a little bit of overseeing.

And if you really want to go all out then you could go for a professionally printed but completely custom card like the one below. These are all completely one of a kind, as I draw the cartoon portrait from photos that are sent to me. You can’t get much more personal than that 🙂

Order a custom cartoon portrait card to send 60th birthday wishes

There are so many great cards out there to choose from, so there’s really no excuse for sending a crappy one… And obviously these tips apply to choosing any milestone birthday card, not just choosing 60th birthday wishes.
Do you have any other tips for choosing birthday cards that are extra special? If so let me know on social media or by dropping me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Posted on 15 July 20193 February 2022 by Lou Longworth

Custom name children's birthday cards

Children love to see their own name in print and custom name children’s birthday cards are much more likely to be treasured by both kids and parents alike for a long time after they’re received.

This post has been updated to reflect the changes in my shop, as I’ve recently added a new range of children’s birthday cards.

I have personalised name cards for different ages as well as ones that are for any age. Here are a few examples…

Custom name children’s birthday cards with ages

These cards not only allow you to add a custom name but you can choose from a variety of children’s ages too. The rabbit and tractor designs are especially suited to younger children.

Personalised Rabbit Birthday Card (Ages)

Tractor Personalised Birthday Card (Ages)

Dinosaur custom name birthday cards

Two different dinosaur designs (complete with dino pun!) that can be personalised with the child’s name. So many young children are obsessed with dinosaurs, and would be thrilled to received one of these cards with their name on it. But will you choose the Triceratops or the Stegosaurus?

Dinosaur Birthday Card (Personalisable) – Triceratops

Personalised Dinosaur Birthday Card – Stegosaurus

Personalised unicorn card

This magical unicorn card is made even more special with the addition of the child’s name. The design is also available separately with different ages instead of personalisation.

I hope the variety of different designs makes it easy to choose an extra special personalised card for the child you have in mind. Which one is your favourite? Come find me on Instagram and let me know!

Tag: birthday