December is now upon us, and it can often be difficult to find a special gift for your friends and family at Christmas. Ideally, you want a gift that’s different, and something that they haven’t already got. Personalised gifts are unique items that make people feel special.
Lots to choose from
There are many types of personalised gifts to choose from. You can have personal messages printed on mugs, aprons, cushions, cuff links and much more by online retailers.
The problem with some personalised gifts is that they can be a little tacky. Yes, a personalised mug is useful because you can drink tea or coffee from it, but it is unlikely to be something you want to have out on display. Some personalised gifts are fun, but sometimes you want a more premium product – something that the recipient will be proud to own, and that they will treasure and display in their homes. Engraved glass products are the ideal personalised gifts.
Engraved glasses
Everyone enjoys drinking, and this is not confined to people who drink alcohol. There is an increasing range of low and non-alcohol adult drinks including wine, beer and cider. You can even get non-alcoholic drinks that resemble gin and whiskey. Whatever your choice, drinking is made special with engraved glasses.
Christmas is a time for celebration and gratitude for the support of family and friends. The traditional way to celebrate is with champagne, and, of course, many people like to ring in the new year with a glass of bubbly. A personalised engraved champagne glass is perfect for a celebration. The fluted shape is said to keep the bubbles from escaping too quickly so that you get the maximum fizz. People who do not drink alcohol can celebrate with sparkling apple or grape juice.
Wine lovers know that what they drink out of enhances the experience of tasting fine wine. Quality wine glasses allow the aromas of the wine to freely circulate. Aroma is an essential part of the tasting experience which happens before the liquid reaches the tongue. Engraved wine glasses made from quality glass are ideal personalised gifts for wine lovers.
There is some disagreement among beer drinkers about what is best – the traditional tanker with a handle or the straight glass. Whichever your loved one prefers, give them a personalised beer glass. The standard tankard holds one pint, but you could choose the German inspired one-litre size. Lifting a one litre tankard full of beer could be compared to weight training, but sadly, there is no research to say that it is beneficial!
Christmas is a time for luxuries, and for many, a good brandy is their luxury drink of choice. The hands are wrapped around the bowl of the engraved brandy glass, which keeps the brandy at the right temperature and feels sensuous.
There is a trend, particularly among millennials, to drink small amounts of flavoured spirits out of small glasses, known as shots. If you know someone partial to doing this, buy them a personalised engraved shot glass.
Whiskey is traditionally drunk from crystal glass straight sided tumbler glasses. Personalising these glasses with a message makes them extra special personalised gifts.
Expressing gratitude with engraved trophies
Christmas and New Year is a time to look back on the year and be grateful for all the good things that have happened. Of course, not all years go well, and sometimes there are struggles and tragedies to deal with. At difficult times, friends and family support you. Christmas is a time to say thank you to them. In a year that has gone well, saying thank you is still appropriate, as you can thank them just for being there and sharing the good times with you.
A great way to say thank you is with an engraved trophy or award. People love receiving awards, so why not create a special Christmas award for the world’s best parent or the world’s best friend? The message on the trophy can have the name of the award and something complimentary about the person receiving it, and why they deserve it. The award will probably be displayed in a prominent place in the home so that every day they will be reminded of you.
Vases and bowls
Glass vases and bowls look attractive and are useful, so an engraved glass bowl or vase makes for a great personalised Christmas gift. Present the vase filled with a stunning flower arrangement, or fill an engraved glass bowl with Christmas nuts or fruit.
Engraved glass clocks
Glass blocks with a clock insert is another great gift idea. People get the time from many sources, on their phone, tablet, computer, television, and smartwatch. A traditional Roman numeral clock face reminds people that sometimes there is time to slow down and switch off from the digital world. A clock dial within luxury engraved glass is a reminder to take time out at Christmas to simply relax away from the stress of work and family responsibilities.
Engraved glass paperweights
Paperweights are from an age when people wrote and received lots of letters. In past times, people often lived in drafty houses. Strong winds could blow paper about the room, so a weight made from heavy solid glass was a simple solution to keep papers in place.
Nowadays in our double-glazed draft proof homes, paperweights are still quaint and ornate items, and are considered things of beauty. An engraved glass paperweight makes an unusual but welcome personalised Christmas gift.
Personalising your Christmas gifts
You can choose from plain engraved glass or, for that extra luxury feel, crystal glass.
Any message can be engraved onto the glass to personalise it, as can any images. Your glass engraver will have a range of stock images, or you can have your own image designs etched on the glass.
There are personalised engraved glass Christmas gifts to suit all budgets. Prices start at around £10 including engraving, or you could pay over £100 for a top-quality crystal glass item.
If you are struggling with what to buy people for Christmas, give them personalised engraved glass gifts.
