So as I mentioned in my 'Money Does Bring me Happiness' post, this month has been crazy in terms of birthdays. Four of my best friends have turned 18 this month including my boyfriend and I have found it really different to find them all presents particularly as they are my closest friends and I am not the richest person.
I am definitely one of those people who loves buying people gifts and if I was a millionaire, I am pretty sure most of my money would go on buying other people things rather then myself. But when I have a budget I find it really difficult because I always see something they would like, but I can't afford it. I also try and get gifts that are meaningful. That link to a certain memory or suit that persons personality. Therefore it means I can be quite picky when buying gifts, the opposite to my mum who buys generic gifts in bulk, like a set of lip glosses and then just wraps it up for that person, whether they like lip glosses or not.
The first birthday this month was my friend Simone who I met in my drama A-level course at sixth form last year. Because we were in the same devising group, I found a lovely cream butterfly picture frame and put in a photo of our drama group in costume after our performance. The gift it's self only cost me £11 (£10 for the frame and a pound to print the pictures) and I was really happy with this gift because it was personal and not too expensive.
The next birthday was Alice's 18th, although I haven't given her gift yet as her party is not until this Friday. I found buying her presents to be really difficult because most of the things I wanted to get her, my friends had said they were getting her that. I think her present is the one I am most disappointed in. Over the weekend I went to Christ Church in Dorset for the All-England Theatre Finals which I mention in my post, 'My Shot at Fame'. I got her this black elastic ring as she likes to wear a lot of rings and also this jewellery holder that looks like a fairy's dress. The presents came up to £6 which is brilliant because I am running out of money, but I am worried she wont like it that much. Therefore I am thinking of making her some cakes to go with it which would be a nice homemade touch.
My boyfriend's birthday was yesterday and I don't know about you, but I find it really really difficult to shop for boys, particularly of the boyfriend variety. I think this is because I am an only child and most of my friends are girls. I think with boyfriends, you want to get them something that's meaningful but also useful. For presents in the past, I have made him a collage of pictures of his friends and us together, bracelets, chocolate and other cutesy mushy things. But now I have run out of ideas. I ended up getting him 'Freebird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd on vinyl with 'Sweet home Alabama' and 'Double Trouble' on the reverse side. This was a risky present because I know absolutely nothing about vinyl's and because I ordered it off the wonderful world wide web, I wasn't able to check it out and ask questions. However this gift turned out to be really successful! (*phew*) It turned out he was looking for this vinyl for ages :) (earned a few girlfriend points too!)
My next present was for my best friend Emily. Her present took some thinking over as she brought me such an amazing gift for my own 18th that I wanted to get her something equally as special for hers (she brought me a present for every year we had known each other). So I decided to make her a scrapbook filled with photos of us together and the different memories we have shard but also the ones yet to come, like going to university. I am really excited about this gift as I think it will mean a lot however it is a lot of work to make!!
So all in all, the presents this month have come up to around £50 which feels like a lot, but in terms of what I have brought, it seems understandable! I feel like homemade gifts are definitely the way forward for upcoming birthdays, particularly as it will be more personal and more suited to the giftee!
So if you are reading this and have any birthday gifts you have given or received that have been homemade or just really suited to you, I would love to hear about it :) And also if this post has given you any ideas on what to buy for people I would love to hear about that too!
I hope you are having a great day!
Love Just Al xxx
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