Share the Love to Friends and Family by Sending Gifts During the Pandemic

Another activity joins the list of things that are difficult to do during the pandemic: gift-giving. Though health and safety issues should remain a priority during this unfortunate season of COVID-19, social distancing’s side-effects can be harsh since you can’t physically visit family, friends, and other loved ones.

Along with schedules filled with FaceTime calls, Zoom conferences, and separate-but-together balcony events, gift-giving can bridge the emotional and physical gap people are experiencing. But with many non-essential stores closed (permanently or temporarily) and celebrations temporarily cancelled, what’s a gift-giver to do?

Fortunately, there are many ways you can still send your love. Consider the following:

Favourite Alcoholic Beverages

Alcohol is one of the best celebratory drinks for a special day or for hanging out with friends. But just because social gatherings are discouraged, it doesn’t mean you can’t send someone their favourite champagne or any other drink they like.

Plan a fancy day for your friends by sending them wine or champagne. Be creative with your gift and throw in milk sea salt chocolate as well. You can also browse online for hamper baskets filled with luxury liquors and their popular food pairings. Or you can go simple and have someone deliver a pack of your friend’s favourite beer brand.

If the person you’re gifting is a beer buddy who is currently far away, you may send them a personalised beer stein so they can pour a glass out for you. Bundle in a photo beer stein with the beer care package you’re sending, and you can both open a cold one at home and toast virtually.

If your friend is a wine enthusiast, personalised monogrammed wine glasses are perfect for their care packages. Personalise their wine glasses with their initials, a favourite quote, or an important date. Apart from using it for wine night, your loved ones can also display these customised works of art.

Personalised Keepsake Plates

Mark a holiday, milestone, or celebration or honour your loved ones with a keepsake plate. You can customise these plates with texts, photos, and more to create an elegant gift for a loved one. They can display these on a shelf or hang them on the wall.

Home Baked Goods

The stay-at-home orders have encouraged everyone to explore new hobbies, and most people find themselves baking the house down. If you’ve learned how to bake and can safely drop a care package off someone’s doorstep, consider baking treats for them.

If you have been busy baking bread, cakes, cookies, and cupcakes, make your family and friends a care package filled with your homemade treats. After all, no one can say no to a box of sweet treats and thoughts.

Gardening Kit

Give your loved one more things to do during quarantine by sending them with a shipment of greenery. The Internet is filled with thoughtfully curated gardening kits that come with seeds, care instructions, glass planters, and more. This gift is ideal for friends with green thumbs who love to design their gardens or are developing an interest in gardening.

Letters and Postcards

While the Internet makes it easier to send messages to friends and family, there’s nothing better than a handwritten letter. Postcards, for example, are the go-to letters for holidays, birthdays, sending support, or a simple “Hi!” You can personalise your postcard with a humorous or witty message or add photos of your favourite moments to send to friends.

With letters, you can shop for stationery online for a more personalised — if not fancier — way to send your thoughts in a handwritten fashion.

Coffee Subscription Box

Since dropping by your favourite corner-coffee shops is not an option as of the moment, a customisable gift subscription of curated coffee beans will delight your coffee lover friends. Coffee subscription boxes are also ideal for loved ones who need an extra boost as they work from home. You can make their mornings more special by adding a personalised coffee mug that pairs well with their favourite coffee beans.

Photo Tiles

Custom photo tiles recreate fond memories of your favourite trips. All you need are a few photographs and some kind words to create the tiles. They can easily attach these photo tiles to any part of the home without hooks or nails. Let your camera roll shine by:

• Using the tiles as a birth announcement
• Creating a photo collage for the pet owner who lost their pet
• Giving grandparents a stylish display of their grandkids
• Designing a tile for newlywed couples to display in their first home.

Digital Gifts

If you want to give loved ones something they can enjoy immediately, gift them with digital subscriptions for e-books, streaming services, online classes, and audiobooks. Stay connected by starting a long-distance book club or watch movies at the same time. The Internet is also rich in remote games you can play for quiz nights!

Special Gifts to Buy for Specific Special Events

Gifts for Mothers’ Day and Birthdays

• Home décor gifts. If your mom loves sprucing up the house (especially now that she has plenty of spare time), she’ll appreciate additions to her home décor collection. Add greenery to her home by purchasing large indoor plants or take her décor to the next level by gifting her with a large canvass print of beautiful vacation sceneries or family photos. Give any room a rustic feel by giving her wooden wall art to create a quote sign she can hang in the kitchen or living room.
• Celebration IOU. Plan for fun experiences with Mom as gifts saved for later. Give her gift cards to her favourite restaurant or wine bar. The benefits of this gift are two-fold: your mom gets a good excuse to go out once it’s safe to do so, and you support small businesses. The same applies to park memberships, museums, and plays. She can’t use them right now, but she has something to look forward to later.

Gifts for Fathers’ Day and Birthdays

• Home office gifts. If your father is working from home, make his remote work more enjoyable by personalising his office accessories. Give him a wooden desk caddy to store his supplies and feature the family photos. You can also get him a custom calendar or a personalised planner to help him keep track of his appointments, meetings, and other important events. If he needs quiet during work hours, gift him with noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones so he can focus on his work.
• Kitchen gadgets. If your dad is an avid foodie who loves to experiment with kitchen tools, fuel his love for food and keep him entertained indoors with personalised kitchen gadgets. Encourage his passion for coffee by gifting him with a pour-over kit or an espresso machine and add a personalised photo latte mug or a coffee mug. Make steak cutting easier for him by replacing his dull knives with new ones and throw in a custom cutting board.
• If your dad is a mixologist, add a cocktail shaker, his favourite liquor, personalised shot glasses, or flavoured syrups to his barware.

Graduation Gifts

Graduation is a huge milestone that many students cannot celebrate physically due to the pandemic. Still, stay-at-home measures should not stop them from celebrating their amazing achievements. Celebrate their graduation by sending over these gifts.

• Motivation Wall. Perfect for the student who feels anxiety for the uncertain future, curate a wall that greets them daily with enthusiasm and motivation. Include small canvass prints of photos and a large canvass printed with an inspirational quote. You can also gift them with a magnetic whiteboard so they can add notes for the day. Include instructions on how they can design their motivation wall.
• Photo Book of Memories. Compile a DIY school yearbook. A customised photo book features all of the graduate’s special photos from the past four years.

Keep Delivery Restrictions and Delays in Mind

Since stay-at-home orders are still in place, sending gifts is better than gathering together to celebrate. While deliveries are convenient, it’s important to do your research on what may or may not arrive on time right now.

Flowers, for example, are staple gifts. Many flower delivery services continue to accept and deliver orders, but most of them warn of possible delivery delays. Also, deliveries can get pricey, especially if you’re planning to send during any special holiday. Shop around to see what discount retailers offer for select item deliveries.

Final Thoughts for Gift Giving During COVID-19

Apart from sympathy messages, gifts can let your loved ones know you’re thinking of them during the quarantine period. Whether to satisfy their cravings, improve their stay-at-home experience, or make wine nights at home fun, stay connected with your family and friends in these small ways because surprises can go a long way.

Gifts International helps you spread joy during these uncertain times. Special deliveries are more special with our champagne hampers, presented in beautiful wooden boxes or luxury cases that also include chocolates, ice buckets, and flutes.

Place your order and send them to your loved ones today!