Christmas and New Year is a busy time for all of us, and there’s a lot that simply needs doing. It’s not just about making or organising the festive food and planning your social diary, it’s also the time when we have to sort out our gifts for family and friends.
In the past, especially during the Great Depression, festive gifting included items like candies, nuts, and dry fruits. Fresh oranges were also a great draw, and eagerly looked forward to.
While our gifts have now become more elaborate and perhaps expensive, there are still some really special gifts that we can create and give. If you love travel, these gifts can come from your past travels and are easy on your budget.
Curious? Here are some inventive ways to make personalised gifts for everyone in your circle. What’s more, these ideas are evergreen. You could put them to use this year or the next – they would never go out of fashion!
A photobook bursting with oodles of creativity
As ardent travellers, we all have hundreds of photographs in our mobile devices, laptops and desktops. It’s time to put them to good use.
Our travels equip us with pictures of landscapes, monuments, architecture and more. How about creating a theme and gifting a theme-based photobook to your loved one? Say for example, ‘Around the world in different dishes’. Collect photographs of the various kinds of cuisines that you have had on your holidays, put up some interesting captions and it makes for a really nice present for Christmas or New Year. You could even include recipes if you want!
Coasters and personalised magnets
Go back to your photographs and pick a place, city or country. You can then create a coaster or magnet set from Malta, Greece or any city or town that is high on your favourite list. There are many online services and businesses which let you convert your photographs into magnets or other personalised gifts for a reasonable fee. Give one friend a set of coasters that showcases pics from your trip to Africa, give another a set that reflects the many colours of Morocco.
Make use of your ticket stubs
How about creating artwork from ticket stubs, stamps, museum passes and souvenirs? You can use collage techniques and colours to make interesting artwork that can be framed. It would make a dull wall look so great, plus it would be unlike anything found in a retail shop!
Here’s an idea – use the stubs to make the trunk of a tree, and the different coins from your travels can be the fruits or blossoms of that tree. Use watercolours, stencils, stamps, newspaper cuttings, holiday brochures and you will create something is so unique and so you!
A set of colourful bookmarks
You can create some tailor-made bookmarks for your colleagues and friends. Pick out your favourite travel quotes and also some photographs that are pleasing to the eye. Say for example, a photograph from a lavender field and a quote to go with it. You can have these printed out and they make for great stocking fillers. Again, you are simply using what you already have – those great repertoire of photographs from your many travels, and your abundant creativity!
Do these ideas tick your fancy? Let us know.