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Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

by | Dec 5, 2017 | Decorating Inspiration

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Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

This post is in partnership with Fred Meyer/Kroger

Tis’ the holiday season! Suddenly it feels like all of the ideas on our to do lists have to be squeezed into the next couple of weeks! Ha, oh boy. Where did the weeks go?

I think gifts should be thoughtful, even if you are in a hurry to find them. To gather the gifts and supplies I need for the holidays, I like to go into a store where I can see the options, touch items, carry them around while I’m thinking and get inspired for creative combinations.

Picking out gifts you actually got to see, touch and wrap with your own hands makes the whole gift-giving experience so much more personal. But when time is short you don’t necessarily have time to drive all over town trying to find the perfect gifts and finish up those last minute errands.

In our neighborhood here in the NW, we always run into our local Fred Meyer when we need to pick up items for the holidays. With one stop, I can easily pick up tasty food, grab any last minute decor items and find a great gift for everyone on our list. I’m all about the one stop shopping!

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

Even though I may be that lady who is running through the store on the way to a holiday party, at least I can make it on time with gifts in hand. No one needs to know I wrapped everything in the car or that I even put store bought pasta salad into a pretty bowl and tried to pass it off as my own family recipe. Whoops! Just pretend you don’t know. 

If you need a little inspiration or confirmation that you can indeed give thoughtful gifts, complete your to-do list and pull a festive Christmas together like a boss with one-stop shopping (even if you didn’t even start shopping until Santa was practically on your roof), I’ve got you covered.

I always love leaving the store with gifts that feel special. So often all it takes to find just the right gift is to stroll the aisles for what sparks joy or brings unexpected inspiration.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

With one stop shopping, it’s easy to make up your own unique and personalized gift combinations. What could you pair together to make a personal gift set that might reflect the recipient’s interests or hobbies?

Gift a tea drinker a new electric teakettle, tea bags and teacup, or a coffee drinker may love a new coffee grinder with some fresh beans to grind. Give a gourmet popcorn popper and a cozy blanket for winter movie nights. Road trippers might appreciate a roadside safety kit with ice scrapers, flairs and a first aid kit.

Ask yourself a few questions about the person you are buying for, such as do they have a favorite color?

You can gift a friend or family member a practical gift like new kitchen tools, baking pans, oven mitts, towels or even a new set of office supplies. But instead of choosing a style that feels safe or generic, I love to look for a unique design or a fresh color so it will be a more personal and memorable gift.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

Giving a gift in your recipients favorite color will for sure bring a smile because you considered a small detail about their preferences. A striking blue baking dish will feel more special to receive than an ordinary clear class one (if blue is your favorite color.) That’s how I feel about it, anyway!

Gift giving is about the people, so the more you do to show you thought about them and their likes, the better!

Are they in a new season of life that might inspire an appropriate and thoughtful gift?

Show them you remember with a gift for their new home or the dorm or something special for a new mama.

Considering life and personal preference details about people can help you to spot the right gift more quickly.

I like to keep notes on my phone whenever I learn something new about someone in my friend circle or family. That way I can remember small details like favorite brands or collections, their pets, the types of foods they like (or don’t like), their hobbies or other random little facts that can help me when I go shopping for them.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

What little friend wouldn’t want to open up a box of all the supplies to have a fun cupcake party with their friends or grandma or mom?

Think outside the expected items to give a gift of a wonderful memory. When you are shopping, think in terms of special experiences that people would enjoy. Just about anything that catches your eye could be turned into a gift.

In the example above, we came up with a Cupcake Party Gift Set!

As Courtney and I were on the hunt through Fred Meyer for gifts this week, we stopped to admire this adorable set of party supplies. We were obsessed, so we decided that if it stopped us in our tracks, it’s probably a great gift idea, too.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving
Since we knew she would have LOVED opening a gift box with these CUTE cupcake decorating and party supplies when she was growing up (let’s be real, she wanted to have a cupcake party IMMEDIATELY when we saw them!), we got inspired.

To complete the gift, we buzzed over to the Fred Meyer bakery and found the most delicious cupcakes. Easy peasy! You could add a baking mix, or even give your own dry baking ingredients in a cute jar, too, if you have time to pull that together.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

We tested out the cupcake gift idea and we are happy to report it was so fun to decorate our cupcakes (and quite delicious to eat them, we might add). Feel free to give a cupcake gift set to either of us this year. ;)

What experience could you put together as a gift to inspire a memory for someone special? It’s often as easy as strolling the aisles to see what you can find.

A cupcake party, a tea party, a super hero party, a girls’ night, a guys’ night, a pedicure party, a cooking party … the opportunities for a creative gift are endless!

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

To save even more time when I’m one-stop shopping this time of year, I always run down the Christmas decor aisle at our Fred Meyer, too.

I’ll grab holiday basics like new sets of holiday lights (so glad I did, I realized after I got home that ours from last year were burned out!). I also try to stock up on important supplies like rolls of gift wrap, tape, ribbon, tissue, or anything else I might need once I get home.

Tips for Quick & Thoughtful Gift Giving

I found some adorable stockings on sale while I was at Fred Meyer this week, too. You can even use a Christmas stocking to jazz up the presentation of small gifts. Instead of a box or wrapping paper, just tuck the gifts inside the stocking and it’s ready to give.

That’s the beauty of one stop shopping, you really can find everything you need.

What are some of your favorite last-minute gift ideas?

7 Comments

  1. Deanna Rabe

    This is exactly how I shop for Christmas gifts. I want them to be thoughtful for the person and not generic, but I don’t want to spend a fortune or have it take tons of time!

    Great gift ideas!

  2. Christie

    Love Fred Meyer!

  3. Lindsay

    Where is your container in the first photo from? Fred Meyer?

  4. Stephanie

    Love this, I’m all about one stop shopping. Did you find that wrapping paper there? It’s so cute! We have Kroger Marketplace here…which I’m guessing is similar, I’ll have to check out their Christmas aisle!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      We did find that cute paper there! Definitely worth a look in the Christmas aisle.

 

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