You are currently browsing the Gift Ideas - Wedding, Birthday, Holiday, Anniversary weblog archives for November, 2006.

16 November 2006

Vintage Jewelry- Absolutely Divine!

Fond of vintage items! You don’t have to depend entirely on your ancestors to acquire a few of these heirlooms. Heirloom quality jewelry from the Victorian, Edwardian, art deco and other periods is now readily available. When you wish to gift a rare piece of jewelry to your beloved, choose a unique vintage item that she will preserve for the rest of her life. Antique jewelry, a term applied to jewelry over a hundred years old, is now a favorite with the prospective brides, too. With everything that is old now coming back into fashion, most brides walking down the aisle are adorning vintage jewelry with pride.

Among the jewelry pieces that you can pick up are antique engagement rings, studded necklaces, bracelets, brooches, crosses, pendants, lockets and other extraordinary pieces of timeless art and beauty.

 

These antique jewelry pieces come to you through antique jewelry auctions, fairs and sales which are frequented by the jewelers to bring you pieces of extraordinary charm and elegance. Some of the jewelers also specify the age of the antique jewelry on display. For instance, some may claim to keep pieces from 1900 to 1950’s (Edwardian, Art Deco and Retro jewelry) and some may have heirloom pieces that are at least two centuries old! (Late Georgian or Victorian jewelry) Shopping for antique jewelry has an added advantage, it acquaints you to the history and culture of the era to which it belongs. You would be interested to know how the fashion of wearing delicate dresses in the Georgian era favored the use of small, light jewelry. Pendants with miniature paintings of loved ones in delicate pendants were also prevalent in the late Georgian era. In a similar way, jewelry belonging to each era is a reflection of the changing fashions. So, with every piece of antique jewelry, you also buy memories of a long lost era.

 

8 November 2006

Floral Gifts-the “gladdest things under the Sun”

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Perhaps the only gift item in the world that is apt for every occasion, flowers have lost neither their fragrance nor their charm over the centuries. Considered to be the ‘dumb mouths’ that speaker louder than words, flowers still retain their status as the most popular gift item, even though the markets are flooded with innumerable gift items that are both alluring and enticing. Every festival season, flower sellers report a record sale that almost inevitably, crosses their previous years’ sales. It is indeed amazing that despite mankind’s success in creating the most wonderful objects, it is still this nature’s bounty that most people rely on when they wish to convey their feelings to each other.
 
Flowers enjoy an enviable position as a perfect gift item for many reasons. Their soothing and pleasant aesthetic appeal is, of course, the primary reason. The sight of lovely fresh flowers is bound to rejuvenate even the most tired-out spirits that have been sapped of energy. In my opinion, what makes flowers an extra special gift item is the symbolic significance attached to almost each flower and flower color. Can you think of any other gift item that conveys the feelings of love, compassion, sympathy flowers and desire to utmost perfection, just the way different flowers do? When you wish to convey your undying passion or love to someone, all that you have to do is to clutch a bouquet of red roses from the nearest florist and send it across to that person. I agree whole-heartedly with following remark by Henry Ward Beecher,
 
“Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals.  Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock”. 

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 Be innovative when it comes to choosing a floral gift for a friend or family member. A little research will give you an idea of the beautiful floral arrangements that you can easily procure from a well-known florist. For a festive occasion, a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine will make an ideal combination with the flowers. Also, flowers are ideal when you wish to convey your sympathy or condolences to someone. An elegant bouquet of flowers conveys your warmth and love to your near and dear ones at a time when they need it the most. As John Ruskin rightly said,
 
“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity”.