I’ve put together some Valentine’s Day gift ideas to make the 14th February extra special, because right now we all really need something to look forward to! Whether you’re looking for something fun to do with your bae, something to spice things up a bit, something sweet and romantic or even something for your gal pals, read on…
Valentine’s Day gifts ideas for couples
It seems unlikely we’ll be getting out on Valentine’s Day, so this Date Night in a Box is the perfect alternative. And much nicer than eating from an overpriced set menu anyway…
If they’re into baking or cooking then this personalised metal spatula is both practical and romantic 😍 You can find lots of personalised gift ideas for other interests too.
Of course buddies are just as important as baes, and these days February celebrations aren’t just for couples anymore. Etsy has a great range of cute ideas to let your bestie know how special she is this Galentine’s Day (usually celebrated on 13th February).
How about a Galentine’s wish bracelet? You can even customise the colour 😃
Got quite a few Galentine’s gifts to send out? You can customise mini bottles of Prosecco or Champagne for your gal pals with these ‘Bubbles for my Babes’ labels. Too cute!
I also create custom cartoon portraits which work equally well for best friends or couples – but get your order in quickly as I can only create a finite number of these in time for Valentine’s Day!
I hope these Valentine’s Day gift ideas help make your February as special as possible. Love will keep us going through all the crap that life has to offer, so it’s worth celebrating!
Although we’re in lockdown during prime holiday shopping time this year, online marketplaces like Etsy make shopping for thoughtful personalised gifts easy. And 2020 is a year that we really do want to show our favourite people how terrific we think they are, so ordinary gifts are not going to cut it!
While there are plenty of options for shopping online, I love Etsy because you can always find something that’s a bit different from the usual. There are so many opportunities for personalising or customising gifts so that they’re perfectly suited to that particular person you’re buying for. There’s nothing better than seeing someone’s face when you’ve surprised them with the most thoughtful gift ever!
I’ve chosen some Etsy items that I think would make perfect personalised gifts to inspire you with your Christmas shopping. If you’d like more ideas you can take a look at Etsy’s own Personalised Gifts Guide too. And just so you know, I’ve used affiliate links throughout this post. This means that if you click on one of the links and buy I may get a little commission for sending you there. It won’t cost you anything extra though, and I’ve only chosen gifts that I’d be happy to give myself.
Personalised gifts
One of the easiest ways to make a gift more thoughtful is to personalise it. Whether it’s adding the recipient’s name or customising the present to reflect their likes (or dislikes 😝), it means you have to put a little thought into it and that’s what makes it so special. Here are some suggestions…
This personalised oak photo frame is a perfect present for parents, grandparents, your other half or your bestie.
Particularly if you’re not able to see much of each other right now (thanks coronavirus! 😠) having a photo framed with a message that says exactly what you feel is a great way to remind your favourite people that you’re still thinking of them. I love how elegant and simple this frame is and if you’re not the soppy type you can always add a funny message to make them chuckle whenever they read it!
This personalised barbecue tool set is another thoughtful gift I reckon could go down very well with a few members of my ‘braai’ obsessed family. I just need to decide who to give it to!
The personalised bag to keep the tools in is a great addition to make it that much more special.
Another gift that I think would be particularly thoughtful one of these personalised stationery sets. Perfect for stationery addicts! Staying in touch has become so much more important during 2020. And having gorgeous notepapers like the ones below will inspire them to keep it up during 2021!
How gorgeous are these sets from MadebyEllis on Etsy?!
I can’t decide whether I’d be more excited to give these sets or received them! 😍
Here’s another idea that would make a very thoughtful gift for a teenager who loves their music.
Love a gift that’s both pretty and practical!
This next one’s great for one of those people who have found themselves doing a lot of baking during lockdown. Whether you’ve done Zoom bake-offs together or just seen their yummy creations on social media, this personalised baking set would make a fabulous gift.
This kid’s version is also great for those who’ve been helping their parents in the kitchen…
I know I’d love to get this stunning personalised oak bookend with the pretty vase insert – it would make a great gift for any book lover. Another present that is both useful and gorgeous looking 😍. It’s so lovely I couldn’t decide which photo to use, so you’re getting both…
And finally, for the ultimate personalised gift you could order one of my custom cartoon family portraits – you can’t get much more unique than that and grandparents in particular will love it. You could even add a frame yourself (if you’re sure you know their taste) to make it even more special.
(I also do custom illustrations if you would like something especially bespoke.)
I hope this has given you some useful ideas. Finding perfect personalised gifts, even during lockdown, is a breeze on Etsy. Happy shopping!
As well as selling greeting cards and doing custom cartoon portrait cards, did you know I also do custom illustration prints that make great personalised gifts? You may already have seen some of the cartoon portrait prints I do, but enjoy doing other custom illustration too.
I was approached recently by someone who had seen this drawing of Tower Bridge that I did a while ago. She want a collection of specific landmarks and places in the same style to put in some new frames she and her husband had bought, including the Tower Bridge illustration.
Here’s what I came up with. She chose the subject of each custom illustration print and let me know what size they each needed to be to fit her frames.
Lions at Trafalgar SquareLittle Mermaid CopenhagenLyme ParkStippy Stappy St AgnesThe RitzThe Eiffel TowerTower Bridge
Each of those places was special to her and her husband in one way or another so now every time they look at their prints they’re reminded of the memories associated with each illustration.
I loved doing completely different illustrations to my usual for this order – I do enjoy doing the cartoon portraits, but it’s nice to have a change as well 🙂
A custom illustration of a place or topic that is special to the person you’re giving it to would make a really great personalised gift that you know they’ll love. And I’m happy to adapt to a variety of different styles to suit your tastes, from the detailed monochrome drawings above to my usual cartoonish style, or perhaps something in-between.
Here’s an example of a custom cartoon family portrait I did earlier this year for a wonderfully loyal customer – this would be ideal as a Christmas or birthday gift for parents or grandparents. If you’re interested in the process behind this particular portrait then I wrote about it here: My custom cartoon portrait process.
So if there’s anything particular you have in mind then please feel free to get in touch. My cartoon portraits are all available to order in my shop, but if you’d like something more customised or even completely different, like the landmark illustrations, then I’m always happy to quote based on the time it will take to complete.
I’m very excited to let you know that my new Christmas card and seasonal greeting card collection for the holidays is now available in my shop. This collection is for those people who you want to give an extra special card to this Christmas or holiday. People like significant others, parents, best friends. The ones you love the most!
If you buy a lot of cards for a lot of people then I hope you’ll support a charity by buying your cards from one of their shops. My cards are for when you need something a bit different for your very favourite humans! They’re all A5 sized, which is quite a bit bigger than a standard card but can still be posted with an ordinary letter stamp.
You can see the full collection in my greeting card shop, or take a look at a selection below.
Cards for your significant other
For your other half you can choose from a selection of romantic, cheeky or cute cards…
Of course if you have a small business, your top clients are also very special, so why not send a holiday card that stands out from the usual corporate seasonal greetings? They’re A5 size so there’s plenty of space for everyone to sign.
You can also order these in a smaller size in bulk, or have an inside message printed – get in touch with me for a quote.
Unique to 2020
And finally, we’re all going to remember the 2020 holiday season as the year of the pandemic. That’s no reason not to make this Christmas as special as possible anyway though!
I hope you like the new Christmas card and seasonal collection. I’m always happy to quote for completely custom cards too if you have something very specific in mind.
I also offer bundle deals to buy 3 or 5 ready to ship cards at a time, which give you a bit of a discount, as most of us have more than one special person in our lives 🥰
I’ve not posted for a while as I’ve been working on a new project – a greeting card shop to sell my designs from! I really enjoy selling on Etsy but have decided it’s time to build my own shop too.
I’ll still be selling on Etsy (and on Folksy as well) but also want to have a space that I have more control over in terms of how my greeting cards are presented and how I interact with my lovely customers. I’ll let you know when it will be launched soon, but here are some things you might like to know about it in the meantime…
Collections in my greeting card shop
The site will launch with my music themed greeting cards (which are not available anywhere else) as well as the custom cartoon portraits that I’m best known for.
After the site is launched I’ll be releasing new collections every few months. These will be totally new designs, some of which will be seasonal and some of which will be available all year round, but will revolve around a specific theme.
VIP Subscribers get great discounts
My VIP subscribers will be the first to hear when a new collection is launching and will also get BIG discounts when a collection is first released. If you’re not already a subscriber, then now is the time to sign up! It’s completely free, you’ll get a free cocktails printable when you join and of course you’ll get those terrific discounts each time a collection is released. And of course you’ll be the first to get all my news too 🙂
The shop will be on loulongworth.co.uk but it will be easy to browse back and forth between here and there, so you can still find it via loulongworth.com (I’ll still be posting blog posts here – hopefully more regularly once the shop is up and running!)
Shopping made easy
You’ll be able to pay securely with the usual cards and with Paypal. Of course if you’d still rather shop in my Etsy or Folksy shop you still can, but you’ll always get the best deals and latest designs first in my shop.
I’ll keep you posted but meantime remember to sign up as a VIP here to take advantage of my subscriber discounts when the shop launches!
