Personalize Your Holidays
For many years, I lived in a different part of the country than the rest of my family. I was two time zones away, to be exact. I’ve come to know many families who have kids spread out across the country as they pursue colleges and careers that aren’t located in their back yards.
Kudos to those who are able to spread their wings. Being far away did wonders for me, my self-esteem and my immediate family. Although, when it came to holidays, the distance was difficult. I’m certain I’m not the only one who found this to be a challenge. My mom had trouble with it, too.
So when I was sent a link to Personal Creations, a site dedicated to personalized items of all types, I spotted this super cute photo frame clock. Having flashbacks to my earlier days, I thought to myself “This would have been an awesome gift while I was living in Los Angeles.” I was picturing the clock, set to the pacific time zone, surrounded by my photo from each grade of school or a variety of pictures from my life, my husband and kids. Alongside it, my mom could hang similar collages of my brothers and their time zones.
A beautiful and functional piece of artwork for my parents’ wall.
(Un)fortunately, I’m currently in the same time zone with them so it doesn’t make much sense to give that as a gift now. I set the daydreaming aside and moved along to see what else the site offered that might make an awesome Christmas gift idea.
I found a LOT of really cool products. Things like personalized popcorn buckets, coasters, cosmetic bags, and golf stuff. Surfing all these ideas made time just fly by… you know, like when you’re surfing Pinterest or Facebook…
THEN I found the perfect gift for hubby: A cool sign for his garage. Personalized, of course, since that’s what the site is all about. He recently made-over his garage in a red, white and chrome/stainless steel theme with new paint, stainless flashing with rivets, matching workbench and cabinets and all. Except wall hangings. The walls could certainly use some love.
I figured out what I wanted it to say but had to change plans because the name was too long. Since DH is such a Dodge Viper fan, “Dodge Viper” along with “EST. 1992” the date of the first Viper, seemed an ideal decoration for his garage. (Anyone know if they called decorations when they’re in a man’s garage or if there is a more proper term for it?) Anyway… I entered the information and despite the post-Christmas day delivery, I placed the order. After all, it was perfect and he would love it.
Lo and behold, look what showed up at my house. A few WEEKS earlier than I had anticipated. I opened the package and was happy with what I saw. A shrink-wrapped sign, personalized as I had requested. Once I pulled back the shrink-wrap, I was amazed at how beautiful the sign had turned out. As a bonus, there were even two screws under the shrink-wrap so we wouldn’t have to hunt for any.
It looked fabulous and I was even more amazed that it showed up so much before the scheduled delivery date. The only thing that surprised me was that there weren’t wall anchors included. Considering the weight, this either needs to be screwed into studs or it needs wall anchors. No matter, I was going to make DH hang it up so he could dig through his stash of nuts, bolts and hodge podge and probably find anchors.
When DH saw it, he was excited. At the first opportunity, we headed to the garage to figure out the best place for it. Since we don’t have anything else hanging on the walls yet, we had lots of choices! Ultimately, we decided that it looked best centered above the door from the garage to the house. It’s in a destinguished location and we’ll see it every time we pull into the garage.
What I love is that it’s a great gift that I wouldn’t have found at a local store. It’s something unique and shows thought. And the quality is heavy-duty and not a thin, cheap material!
Do you have shopping dilemmas like I do? Never sure what exactly to get and not a fan of gifts that just end up getting returned or regifted? If you’re looking for a personalized gift for someone in your life, check out Personal Creations. With a wide variety of categories to choose from Christmas Gifts for him to Christmas Gifts for her, Christmas ornaments, Grandparent Gifts and more, you’re likely to find SOMETHING. If you do decide to order something, be sure to use the code BLOGGER25 for 25% off your entire order! You may end up with the perfect gift for someone – like I did!
Don’t need a personalized gift but still looking for ideas? Visit one of Personal Creation’s sister sites: ProFlowers, Red Envelope, Cherry Moon Farms, ProPlants, Shari’s Berries or ProFlowers International. Be sure to revisit my ProFlowers and Shari’s Berries posts if you need information on what they have to offer and what I thought of the service!
