I couldn’t hold my excitement as my friend was back from America after five big years. The joy of receiving him at the airport and giving him a big bear hug was incredible that cannot be measured in words. Meeting him after such a long time reminded me how we both were inseparable during our school and college days. We always ate our lunch together, worked on our projects together and were partners-in-crime in all the mischief.
This time, I was looking forward to celebrating his birthday with our entire gang, something we haven’t done in years. Hence began the search for amazing and lavish birthday gift ideas to make the celebrations spectacular. His parents decided to throw him a party on his birthday where all the family members and relatives were invited. I, along with my other friends decided to throw him a birthday party separately, the next day, where we could spend some quality time together and connect over old memories.
On his special day, my friend was quite tired after the extravagant birthday celebrations with his family. So, he made it clear that he didn’t need another lavish party or magnificent birthday gifts and instead just wanted to spend some time with us where we could cherish the good old memories. So, I got the idea of what exactly we needed to do on his birthday to make it extra special for him.
Next day, I invited him to my apartment along with our old gang of friends. We all went to the terrace at night. The hours passed by reminiscing the old joyous moments that made us smile ear to ear. In the middle of it, I went downstairs to the kitchen, took four slices of bread, applied jam on them and stuck a candle in the middle of it. Once I reached the stairs with my 2-minute bread-jam cake, everyone started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ song and the look on my friend’s face was absolutely priceless. We kept celebrating all night long and enjoyed each other’s company a lot something that we hadn’t done in years.
The very next day, my friend shared a post on his Instagram where he thanked each one of us for making his birthday celebrations extremely special. He mentioned how an inexpensive gift idea gave him the best memories of his life, something that he will cherish forever. My friend’s heartwarming words made me realize that it is not the lavish gifts that bring joy to people. What matters is the thought behind the gifts you choose and the way you make your dear ones feel on their special occasions.
Another similar incident happened while I was looking for a splendid gift for my cousin’s wedding. God knows I browsed every possible gift shop online and offline but couldn’t find anything that matches her style and preference. At that moment, it occurred to me how much my cousin loves cooking and trying new recipes. I decided to gift her my grand mom’s secret old recipe book. The book was a bit tattered, so I repaired and designed it beautifully with the help of a DIY video. The restoration gave the book a new classic look, that I gifted my cousin on her wedding along with loads of love and warm wishes.
After a few days of the wedding, I received a thank you note from my cousin saying that she absolutely loved her precious wedding gift. I was overjoyed to know that she had even tried a few recipes from the book and everyone in her new family loved them. To be honest, I was on cloud nine after receiving the personalized note and it helped me realize how sentiments prevail over budgets when it comes to gifting and making your loved ones feel special and cherished.