You know those people in your life that when their birthday looms on the horizon, you feel you definitely need to buy them a birthday card, and actually you feel like there an Almost Birthday Gift level of friend, but not QUITE. Like being stuck in between shoe sizes.
You know that person - you would send them a birthday card only but that seems wrong given the level of your friendship, but when you shop for a gift and it starts to creep over £10 for the card and the gift combined together you begin to mither "Hmmm .... well we aren't really quite this close."
You're stuck in a condundrum at this point; getting any sort of half decent (not a pile of shite) gift and card for under £10. Good luck with that.
It's like that friend you gave the baubles Christmas card to at school because you were saving the prettiest cards for you best friends. You know when you got the baubles or indeed the bells that you were a lower level friend. Isn't life brutal.
I've come up with quite the solution to this, it's a matter of turning the birthday card into the gift, by beefing it up with things that will fit into the card. This way it's more than just a card, it's kind of a gift really. Sort of.
This is also a good solution to that horrible situation where you acquire a boyfriend JUST before Valentines Day and you know you need to get him a Valentines card but you can't possibly give out the wrong message by giving a gift at the same time, and yet a card feels limp because you're like TOTES IN LOVE with him.
The early boyfriend Valentines card conundrum is probably one of the worst situations you face in your life, only slightly behind realising you've put the duvet on inside out.
Behold my list of ideas to turn birthday cards into mini gifts.
1. Sparklers. Teeny little items that fit just perfectly into a card and give the recipient that special feeling when they light them on their birthday. I normally grab mine from Paperchase, and even if you get a pack of 5 say, you only need to pop in a couple to boost that card into a thoughtful mini-gift.
2. Lottery Card. Careful, this one could lead to bitter regret. Pop a lottery card or some scratch cards in. It's a fun mini gift and there is nothing more impressive than a few million pounds tucked into a birthday card.
3. Seeds. The perfect gift for an outdoorsy friend, an extra bonus if their birthday is in Spring, they can can plant them straight away. I think the key here is to find a cute looking seed packet and appropriate plant ... not sure a packet of courgettes has quite the same charm as a packet of sunflowers for instance.
4. Bookmarks. Some book marks are just adorable and yet low cost (could also be a badge instead). If your recipient is a book lover they'll know they were thinking carefully about what they might like, and if you team it with our Book Lovers birthday card they'll think you're the bomb.
5. Paper Dolls. Oozing with vintage charm (albiet you're going to need to put some work into this one), pop a paper doll into your card to impress adults and children alike. If you can find one that looks like the recipient, you get bonus points. Simply print and cut after finding your perfect doll set online printable.
In closing
And if you can think up a pleasing sentence or poem inside that ties together your mini gift with your birthday wishes you've slam dunked it in my opinion. Puns are your friend.
