When we are looking for a gift for a special person in our life, we always want to find the best gift ever. Although it is difficult to generally say what the best gift is, one of the best answers might sound as:
The best gift for a loved one is a personalized gift.
If this relates, keep on reading.
This article gives you some tips on how to choose a personalized gift and stay WITHIN BUDGET and offers 41 personalized gift ideas that you can buy in Canada for different types of people. They really are PERSONALIZED!
CONTENTS
- What is a Personalized Gift
- How to Choose a Personalized Gift?
- Planning Your Budget
- Personalized Gifts Ideas in Canada
WHAT IS A PERSONALIZED GIFT
A personalized gift is not necessarily a cup or a T-shirt with their name on it, personalized rather means choosing a gift taking into account the personality and the wishes of a recipient. A cup with the name of your loved one might be personalized to some extent, however, if they do not need it at all, it will become another dust magnet rather than a great gift.
HOW TO CHOOSE A PERSONALIZED GIFT?
Pay attention to these points in order to choose a personalized gift:
- Material gifts or Experiential gifts
- Wishes of the Recipient
- Their Wishlist
Material Gifts VS. Experiential Gifts
Studies show that people prefer experience gifts to material gifts since experiences lead to longer-lasting emotions than material stuff. Thus, do not give things, give emotions! A Billie Eilish fan who received a concert ticket from you will not only think of you at the concert and thank you afterward once again but also associate the great emotions with you whenever they reminisce about the concert or tell about their experience to their family and friends.
Typical experience gifts are aerial flights, art workshops, concert tickets and so on. However, you can turn tangible things like a noodle machine or a microscope into real experience gifts. Say, a friend of yours loves cooking and has always dreamt of making homemade pasta but cannot afford the machine. I bet they will be on cloud nine and genuinely appreciate the present. Similarly, if your son or daughter dreams of conducting experiments where a microscope is needed, then this particular thing will always be connected to the memory that you gave it to them. The great thing is that these examples of experience gifts are also examples of personalized gifts.
Don’t Forget about Their Wishlist
Some people make wishlists and tell you directly what they would love to have. Do not ignore the message even if you have already planned to give them something else. The simple logic here is that they just expect you to give them something specific. Just make a note on your phone to save the idea you’ve had for the next occasion.
While some people are open to saying their wishes directly, some might be too shy and will try to imply or hint at something. Say, if a person forwards you stories or posts on Instagram saying “these shoes look great. I wish I had them”, the odds are they would love to have them.
One more suggestion would be to make notes (on your phone) whenever a close person of yours mentions something they would love to have or try. If you are attentive you will have several items to choose from on your list before any special occasion. Taking notes guarantees choosing a personalized gift without wracking your brain.
Think who They Are and What They Need
Many people who want to keep a work-life balance devote some of their time to hobbies. Think of the hobbies your friend or relative has. Are they a sports buff, a bookworm, a language nerd, a tech guy, or a movie lover? As we’ve already said either give an experience or turn a tangible gift into an experiential gift. A sports buff might love some training equipment, a ticket to the museum of sport, or a gift certificate for an adventurous activity that is somehow related to the kind of sport they do. A bookworm will surely appreciate a new book from his favorite author, an electronic book (unless they accept nothing except for paper books), or a monthly subscription to some digital library. On the other hand, you might give a ticket to the city where their favorite author was born.
Maybe your loved one has no time for hobbies because of a baby or too many things at work. Think of time-saving gifts like a nanny, food delivery, or maybe a babysitter and a dining experience for two. The latter works especially well for couples.
So, thinking of who they are and what they need while choosing a gift is what helps you find a personalized gift for them.
Tip 1: Check the Price in Advance
If you’ve already decided on the gift, check the price in advance so that you know what you can expect and plan what to do in case the price goes beyond your budget.
Tip 2: Split a Gift Price
When you want to give your loved one a particular gift that goes beyond your budget, think of splitting the money with someone else. I doubt your loved one will be disappointed that they received one gift less. It is about quality rather than quantity!
Tip 3: Wait for a Discount
If want to give them this particular gift and are ready to lay out a bit more, keeping an eye on discounts might help you save some money. If you decide which gift to give in advance, you can compare the prices in different shops and check for discounts every now and again. Although this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to stick to your budget, you can save some money.
PERSONALIZED GIFT IDEAS IN CANADA
If you neither found any notes on your phone nor received direct instructions from your loved ones on which gift to give them, here are some ideas that might positively impress them.
Time-Saving Gift Ideas in Canada
Cleaning Service: a person who hates cleaning or is super busy with other chores will truly appreciate such a gift but probably wouldn’t spend money on something like this on their own. Gift your loved ones some time for themselves and let a professional do the work.
Food boxes: A food box is a great gift idea for those who enjoy cooking dishes from different cuisines and need local ingredients or for those who just want to get to know a country through food.
Meal and Grocery Delivery: your significant one doesn’t like spending time shopping for food or prefers food delivery to cooking themselves on workdays? Then this might be the best personalized gift for them.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE LEARNING NEW THINGS
Subscription to a Learning Platform: Have a friend or a relative who thinks ahead of time and wants to know all the latest trends in their professional field? Give them a gift voucher for a course which might interest them or let them choose a course on their own. Udacity, Coursera, Udemy and Future Learn are just some companies where those who love learning new things will find everything they need.
Workshop: If a friend of yours loves trying new things or is looking for a hobby, workshops are a great gift idea! There are tons of activities you can turn into unique activity gifts for your loved one: a pottery class or a 90-minute piano workshop, a cooking class, a craft class, an ice-skating class, a hockey class, martial art class and many more. If you have a hobby you love, introduce it to them, and give a gift certificate for this activity.
Pottery
Regardless of whether your friend already has some skills in this art or not, The Pottery offers something for everyone. From 2-hour workshops for beginners to 10-week lessons for those who already expressed interest in this activity. Participants will be able to pick up a gift shortly after the workshop. Guess what? You’re right, their own pot!
PERSONALIZED GIFT IDEAS FOR TRAVEL LOVERS IN CANADA
Travel Gift Certificate: If your friend loves exploring new places or enjoys natural surroundings, a travel gift certificate can be another personalized gift idea for your family member or a friend. There is certainly at least one place your loved one hasn’t been to yet. To make a personalized gift, just make sure you choose the place they haven’t been to and might be interested in.
Hiking tour: want to observe the natural life, gaze at animals, insects and flowers? Hiking is the best way to travel, exercise and come closer to nature. Hiking tours are great gift ideas for true nature lovers.
Rail tour: has your loved one ever done a rail tour in Canada or any other country? If yes, they will certainly say “I’d love to go on one more.” If they haven’t yet, they will certainly love this kind of trip. Just one recommendation: book a tour for spring or autumn since the flora and fauna amaze the eye in these seasons.
Personalized Gifts for Sports Lovers in Canada
Related Sports Activities: If your friend or family member enjoys a specific kind of sport, think of the related activities they might like. For example, if a swimming pool and water are their cup of tea, a gift card for some water activity might be a great idea for a personalized gift. Consider something like kayak tours, jet ski adventure tours or a snorkeling cruise. A kayak tour is probably a good gift idea for someone who needs to take a break from busy daily life and enjoy the serenity of mother nature. Jet skis will perfectly suit an energetic person. By the way, while booking a jet ski tour for them, don’t forget to make sure your loved one has a boating license to drive or a tour company either provides training or offers guided tours. Some other water activities to give as a personalized gift in Canada are water rafting, surfing, canoeing, sailing, boat tours.
Professional Lessons: your child enjoys a certain kind of sport at school? Let it try this kind of sport in a local sports club to develop more skills, meet new people and find a hobby.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR SPORTS FANS
Sporting Event Tickets: While some people do sports themselves, others also enjoy the atmosphere of cheering for their favorite team. Sports fans will surely appreciate a ticket for a big game. Just decide whether you’re giving a digital ticket in a surprise email or a physical one. If you opt for the second idea, think of some creative ways how to wrap them and present them.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR ADVENTURE SPORTS LOVERS IN CANADA
If your significant other loves extreme sports and activities, take a look at the following personalized gift ideas.
Bridge-Climbing: it is a perfect gift for those audacious ones who want to enjoy the view of the surrounding. Choose the best spot: whether it is something in Canada or abroad. Make the gift personalized and choose the time when the recipient will enjoy the vistas; Maybe at sunrise when the city wakes up, at twilight overlooking the sunset, or when the starry night sky blazes above you?
Caving: your loved one is into sports and adores exploring new things? Caving is a unique gift that will give a sense of satisfaction to such people. Let them discover the history while accomplishing the “squeezing challenges” in one of the most magnificent caves in Canada.
Mountain-biking: make sure your loved one is in a good shape before buying this unique gift. Mountain biking is about a wild atmosphere, riding fast and adrenaline flow.
Canyoning: canyoning is a perfect adventurous activity gift not only for sports lovers but for nature lovers as well. Although canyoneering combines several activities like hiking, sliding down natural features and sometimes even swimming, a gift recipient doesn’t need to be a super fit person.
Skiing and snowboarding: enjoy the feeling of speedy gliding down the mountains at freezing cold temperatures. Breathe in the fresh mountain air, fall down, stand up and keep on going on one of the best Canadian ski or snowboarding resorts. These two activities are some of the best personalized gifts for the lovers of cold seasons and adventurous sports.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR ART LOVERS AKA ESTHETES IN CANADA
A friend or a family member of yours always sees beauty in small things, adores discussing artworks, or even collects some at home? Consider these experiences as gift ideas
Art Workshop: taking part in an art workshop is the chance to reveal your creativity, relax, learn new things and much more. This is a great gift idea not only for an art lover but for many of us. Creating art exercises our brain, relieves stress and helps meet like-minded people. Check for art classes and workshops in your city and gift them an admission ticket.
Museum or Gallery Admission: any art lover will be happy to visit a new exhibition in the city or go to some museum they have never been to yet. Check the top 10 art galleries in Canada and top 10 museums in Canada to find a personalized gift for your art lover.
Museum Membership: someone who loves a certain museum in your city will be glad to go there from time to time since normally you don’t want to spend there the whole day and leave the place dead-beat. Moreover, museums usually organize temporary exhibitions occasionally, so there will be what to see for sure!
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR MOVIE LOVERS IN CANADA
Cinema Gift Card: Give them a Gift Card to their favorite movie theatre or one of the most recommended ones in Canada. Some might say that gift cards are impersonal and boring, however, if you know what their favorite cinema is, it is already personalized! In addition to a cinema gift card, you could give a dining gift card to have some food after the movie.
Car Cinema Gift Card: This personalized gift card is a good idea both for those who have already been in a car cinema as well as for fans of a traditional cinema theatre. Check the best drive-in theatres across Canada and choose one near you. If you know your loved one enjoys traveling, a gift card for a drive-in theater in another city might be a great gift that combines their passion for cinemas and traveling.
Streaming Service Gift Card: Do they love movies so much but normally watch them on the websites with many ads because they cannot afford a subscription to a streaming service? A subscription gift card will be a great idea then. Just decide which streaming service to choose: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and Apple TV are some of the most popular ones. Think carefully, maybe your loved one once said which one they would prefer. This gift is surely a paradise for cinephiles.
SUBSCRIPTION GIFTS as Personalized GIFTS
Password manager: This tool will not only protect you from data breaches but also relieve you from creating a new password every time you register somewhere. While tech people will surely appreciate such a gift, don’t forget to explain the importance of it to your loved ones if they are not familiar with password managers. Gift a password manager of your choice and protect them from hackers.
Sleep and Meditation App: a great subscription gift idea for those who go through a lot of stress at work, have sleeping disorders and just want to find some peace in this crazy world. Calm is one of the most beloved and highly-rated sleep and meditation apps you could give your significant one.
Book of the Month Subscription: this is a great personalized gift idea for a bookworm. Give your loved one some books to read every month without the necessity to choose any books. The Book of the Month subscription gift makes sure they always have something new. Besides, there is always a possibility to skip a month if they wanna take a break in reading.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR MUSIC LOVERS
Concert Ticket: search for the concert calendar of their beloved singer or a band and gift them the emotions of live music performance. If the gift recipient loves a particular kind of music, you can take risks and gift them a concert ticket for a performance of the group that is new to them but plays the music genre they love.
Music Festival Ticket: Maybe your loved one is mad for music festivals in Canada or international ones like Tomorrowland or Sziget. A music festival ticket is not just a piece of paper or a QR code. It is dancing, singing along, meeting new people and escaping from the reality altogether.
Music App Gift Card: do they already have a subscription to Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer? Give them a gift card to one of these services to pay which can be used for their subscription services.
Instrument Lesson: this is a great gift idea for anyone who has always wanted to play a new instrument. Personalize your gift by carefully asking about their preferences as to instruments. Your gift lesson may also result in a new hobby.
A PERSONALIZED GIFT FOR A WORKAHOLIC
Massage: a relaxing massage is one of the best gifts you could think of for a person who goes through a lot of stress at work. Massage not only helps you physically relax but also positively influences one’s emotional well-being.
Health Gift Card: physical activity is important for everyone and especially for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle and spend a lot of time at their computers. Fitness and Pilates are one of the best activities, to begin with. Show your loved ones that you care about their health and encourage them to change their lifestyle.
Spa Treatments: Give your loved one a relaxing and refreshing Spa Day. With all the hustle and bustle in our lives, we barely can find time for ourselves. The spa will not only help your loved one relax, but they will also be able to try some beauty services such as facial treatment, nail treatment, hair removal and many others.
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR A PARENT IN CANADA
Similar to a workaholic, an exhausted parent needs something to relax, refresh their energy level and just have some time for themselves. Massage, a health care gift card and spa treatments will perfectly work for them. There is more below.
Yoga subscription: yoga is a great way to invigorate yourself. One will strengthen their body, improve flexibility and generally boost the state of mind. While a gym membership might be too much sport, yoga is just a perfect solution for a parent. Besides, there are many great options where to buy this personalized gift in Canada.
Dining Experience: many parents of small kids are usually stuck at home because of their little cuties, so dinner in a good restaurant is more than just tasty food (make sure to choose a decent restaurant, preferably the one which serves their favorite cuisine). It’s about some space and time for yourself, about charming ambiance and unwinding.
Trip and a Babysitter: think of their favorite place or a place they’ve dreamt of visiting. A one-day trip (maybe with a friend or partner) to escape the tiring routine and ignite passion is something people need when they are on the edge of parental burnout. Don’t forget about a babysitter so that the parent doesn’t have to think of it. Otherwise, If you’re ready, you could become a babysitter yourself for a couple of days.
Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy is one of the most pleasant treatments with a healing effect. Natural scents are known for their ability to influence the emotional center of the brain, which, as a result, helps to relax, in some cases even relieve headaches and sleeping disorders. Massage with essential oils helps relieve muscle tension.
Water Park Pass: wanna give a gift that allows spending more time with kids and having fun? Going to a water park on a hot summer day, falling back into childhood, swimming, bathing, sliding and simply enjoying your day is a great gift idea in this case. If you wanna gift a waterpark pass for someone with kids, have a look at these recommendations and share them with the recipient (unless you go with them and plan everything together).
PERSONALIZED GIFTS FOR THRILL SEEKERS AND ADRENALINE JUNKIES IN CANADA
Bungee-jumping: Although it is not a typical Canadian activity, there are several scenic places in Canada where one can bungee-jump. A bungee jump is a great gift for adrenaline junkies: standing on the edge of some high point, feeling the wind while heading towards the earth and finally slowly calming down while bouncing back. Bungee-jumping is an ideal gift that will get the adrenaline flowing.
Skydiving: just imagine as you plunge out of an airplane and rush at incredible speed feeling the wind and adrenaline rush in your body and then suddenly a slowdown and you peacefully float toward the ground passing the clouds. A great personalized gift idea for your brave loved one. Gift them a skydiving experience and give them one of the most thrilling adventures in their life!
Paragliding: Paragliding is a unique experience that adds some serenity to an adrenaline junkie experience during a soothing glide in the air. If your loved one has already tried paragliding, think of giving them acro-paragliding (absolutely new emotions guaranteed!) You’ll find enough spots for paragliding in Canada.
Rafting: someone once put it that rafting is like life “full of bumps, i.e. highs and lows”. It is an adventure sport that really gives you some important lessons like teamwork, never giving up in spite of facing your fears and having fun at the same time. There are at least 5 reasons why you should go rafting, so do not hesitate, this experience will make a memorable personalized gift.
