In our family we have a small gaggle of teens dispursed throughout the country.  Two of the cousins have reached 18 this year and my goodness, how hard they’re taking the virus related curbs to their partying fun and frolics!   No reminders of their incredible gift buying choices for person or home has salved their annoyance!  As usual I sent money, but a one off higher donation to their lifestyle funds.  When I reached 18,  no-one in my social sphere ever held mad parties or balls.  True, family gifts were more exciting than the average birthday – I received a signet ring from my parents – we’d been out some weeks before to choose it.  I startled them by not selecting one of the dainty but frankly cheap looking ladies’ rings, and not thinking of prices, I plumped for a plain but more substantial gent’s style. Being very tall for a female, it felt ‘right’ and I’ve loved that ring so much that no present has ever eclipsed it!  Surely the mark of a truly special 18th birthday present that could suit today’s teens!

Whilst restrictions were in force, hardly any shops were open for several weeks – just essential suppliers like supermarkets and pharmacies.  Now though the world of commerce is embracing post lock down operation and many little gift and homeware shops that did manage to survive are begging for customers to flock in, down the high street.  Unfortunately many customers have got used to the ease and convenience of shopping online for everything.  Tis is something that has made many people swap to online for everything.  Small shops may have an uphill battle to win back the footfall – the business of only having one or two folk in a store at once and each in a mask has caused many impulse shoppers to put off their meanderings.  It’s such a shame because after being denied this little pleasure, there is nothing nicer than being able to pop down to a favourite little store for a good old mooch about for the perfect gift and gossip with the storekeeper!

Thinking of buying a teenager or  young adult a present, it’s easy to simply get them a voucher and more or less tell them to get on with it.   These days though there are several alternatives.  Depending on the budget of course, one way of helping a y ounger person to get about easily without public transport and without the expense of owning a car is to invest in an e-scooter.   No driving test is needed but if you get a road worthy one, a very thorough knowledge of the highway code will be a lifesaver.  Knowing who has right on the road is essential.   Once the scooter packaging has been removed, reading the supplier instruction is critical too.  Ensuring the first battery charge is for at least 8 hours is always recommended to ensure it starts at its peak.  Then even if the scooter has been used only a little, putting it on charge at the end of the day will maintain it and may prevent it needing changing in the future.

Well spring has almost sprung – not quite a case of ‘spring has sprung, the grass is rizzed . . .’   We have the usual intermittent freezing morning followed by bright sunlight, followed by rain showers.  Usually in the same day . . .  but on the whole the winter has mostly departed and we look forward to warmer days ahead.  Usually at this time of  year we have Easter and other celbratory festivals to look forward to.  With the confusion and worry that the viral pandemic has created, it’s not easy to plan ahead for any family gatherings so the easter festivals will have to wait.  However there are lots of companies still willing and able to supply gifts,   These dedicated souls are happily gathering their stocks of home gifts, personal and romantic to make gift buying simpler.  In a time of national uncertainty and worry, knowing we have good options for gift choices really does help lift the spirit and bring some cheer!

Ahh the month of February and all that entails from a romance and gift buying and gift choices point of view…..   I may be an old cynic but the rise in spending around this time of the year does beggar belief.  I only  hope I don’t have any more aged relatives who pop off this mortal coil any time soon –  at least it’s less likely that florists will get their funeral flower orders mixed up with the dozens of red roses going out to demanding girlfriends.  I feel sorry for chaps in fact – they daren’t do anything that suggests they’re only looking out for a bit of saucy fun, but if they don’t buy endless reminders of it being valentine’s day, they’re going to be in deep water.  Gift buying a any time of year can be a bit of a minefield for he haples boyfriend.  He really has to note throughout the previous weeks of ‘courtship’ what his lady friend definitely shows a liking for and what she doesn’t – in terms of normal every day clothes, food, films, tv, concerts etc.  It shouldn’t be too difficult to register whether she’s a fussy eater or doesn’t eat chocolates . . . .  so that limits the possibility for making bad gift choices!  Some lasses really love the idea of being home makers but for valentines, a really nice piece of kitchen equipment may not ring her bell.  Yet how does a poor bloke know the boundaries when it comes to those ghastly tacky lingerie ads.  They fall for them every time!

The many and varied means of gift buying these days does mean that we don’t always have to troup down our local high street for that essenial home gift buying or outfit for the firm’s Christmas dinner and dance.  At one time this was a truly pleasurable occupation for me.  I live in a town that used to have a fantastic little independent retail store.  Definitely very much admired and entrenched in locals’ minds as the essential outpost for quality, style, excellence of service and just the right place to go for anything you needed that was not food or medical stuff.  The store was excellent for any gift choice from glassware to kitchenware – particularly for those upmarket and unusal cookware items.  Now that the tv world has gone beserk over professional chef competitions, home gift items are even more in demand.  It also had an art department where you could hire pictures for a few months for a very modest outlay.  All the goods are available online of course, but the joy of visiting this shop is impossible to describe.

I have just returned from a short short over to a town in northern Germany.    Very good fun it was too – for the most part.  My companion and I planned to visit the very famous Christmas markets.  It was great fun looking at the city itself.  The problem came at the Markets – my word they were heaving with people – every nationality, size and make.  We were literally shoulder to shoulder and it was terrifyingly grim – made even worse by stupid mothers with pushchairs!     I had thoughts towards a small hand carved clock and other charming home ware gifts.  Unfortunately this became mission impossible so we came back with one item only to show for it.  We cut our losses and toured the best giftware site on line and found exactly the same products – I was able to buy several examples of those lovely hand crafted wooden toys and nativity sets that are so appealing. I also found some very pretty tree decorations and small crafted items for the mantle piece.   My gifting is now complete and I feel splendidly relaxed, if still a little bruised round the edges!

I’ve been away on my travels again and found many things that have caused concern and annoyance . . .  Firstly,  I do like to buy folk back home the odd little gift or token of affection from the places I’ve been to.  This gift buying is reall a carry over from the Victorian and Edwardian days – when little momentos were in the form of bone china miniatures with engravings of the location – Blackpool tower as an example.  These giftware trinkets and novelties then expanded to include pretty lace handkerchiefs and head scarves.   I have been bought quite a selection over theyears and have returned the favour whenever opportunity has presented itself.  I look for items specifically made in the country or area I’m visiting.   It was seriously disappointing to discover that out of all thegift choices in one particular market hall, only one style of winter hat was actually made in the country we were visiting.  Almost everything was made in the far east and Turkey.

There is always an element of risk when you order goods online.  Unless you’re very familiar with the store you’re ordering from, there is sometimes the feeling that perhaps you should be able to check their authenticity.  I’ve had exactly this problem.  A problem arose with the USB charger cable for my mobile phone.  I’ve got two of the fantastic fast chargers – brilliant, but the cables themselves have flimsy connection and of course, after many pluggings in and yanking outs, over time, the plastic protective coating wears out and I note a few bare wires visible.    I ordered what was described as genuine maker, C type cable – listed my phone exactly.  Great, it came next day – but it was obvious from the first use this was not a genuinely compatible item – the connection into the phone does not engage satisfactorily and keeps slipping out so the phone then alerts me to it’s failure to fast charge, or charge at all.  This has happened three times from 3 different suppliers, so I’ve now had to buy a complete charger and cable at ten times the price, just to get a reliably genuine cable.  A tad disappointing but at least the online business allowed me to find what I needed!