When buying a gift for someone you really love, you want it to feel memorable and meaningful, not like a gift that anyone could have given them. Few things say ‘I care’ more than a present embellished with a personal touch. Whether it’s a birthstone bracelet, a wallet monogrammed with their initials or a custom map of a special address, a heartfelt gift custom created just for them will make your recipient feel truly honored.
To help you find the best personalized gifts for your loved one, we’ve rounded up 23 unique picks based on our past coverage, along with some Select reader-favorite brands and some highly rated gifts we think you’ll love.
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Eve’s Addiction Birthstone Bracelet
Birthstone jewelry can be a meaningful keepsake with a personal connection to its wearer. With this gold plated bracelet, you can select up to six different bezel-set stones to represent family members or other loved ones. The 44mm colored stones of your selection sit together in a centered row on the gold-plated silver bracelet.
DivvyUp Custom Face Socks
There’s just nothing cuter than a pair of socks with an adorable baby’s grin or a happy dog’s face, and you can put either — or both — on a pair of Divvy Up’s custom socks. Upload one, two, or three photos of your beloved one’s faces, and then opt for one of 14 colors for the socks. There are also additional design options like including “Dog Dad” or “Fav Kid” text alongside your chosen photo.
Birth Flower Personalized Candle
The handmade Birth Flower candle is a unique gift that is both personal and usable. Every month has its own special birth flower — rose for June, chrysanthemum for November and so on — and you can choose from 12 scents, including pink jasmine and spiced orchard. Provide the brand with your recipient’s name, birth month and a personal note up to 85 characters long, and they will inscribe it on the candle’s label.
Personalized Art Deco Matchbox
If the candle lover in your life already has enough to burn, this is another custom gift that would be just as appreciated. The wooden match box has a sliding lid and attached strike paper. You can personalize this accessory with the recipient’s name and fill it with matches for all their candle-lighting needs. It’s far more elevated than the typical free pack of matches from your local bar.
Swanky Badger Personalized Wallet
A wallet is always a good fallback gift, but you can add meaning by engraving initials on it, adding a special note inside or both. Swanky Badger offers all kinds of wallets in both black and brown vegan leather, including bifold, trifold, money clip, front-pocket and more, and you can choose from four different monogram styles.
Away The Carry-On
Recommended by experts in our guide to top-rated carry-ons, this hardshell carry-on suitcase can be monogrammed with up to three letters. Away offers two fonts and 14 colors to choose from, and you also have the option to personalize a matching luggage tag. This suitcase is made to fit in most overhead bins of airplanes, and its smooth-gliding wheels, easy grip top handle and interior compression system make travel easier, according to the brand.
Custom Return Address Stamp
This customizable return address stamp is an especially thoughtful gift for a housewarming or newlyweds — or anyone who just loves sending good old-fashioned mail. There are six different design styles, and you can choose from between a self-inking stamp or a wooden stamp with an ink pad. They’ll think of you every time they send a card!
L.L. Bean Boat and Tote
L.L. Bean’s classic totes have been around since 1944, but they’re just as popular and coveted today as ever. The bag can be personalized with one initial, a monogram or a name up to ten characters long — although recently, it’s been popular to choose a short, funny phrase to be embroidered on the bag to reflect the carrier’s quirky personality. Customize your gift with an inside joke they can carry around with them.
Night Sky Map
Commemorate a special memory in your loved one’s life — a birthday, anniversary or the birth of a child, for example — by having a custom map of how the night sky looked on that day. You can select from four background colors, four print types (including glow in the dark) and then you enter the date of the special occasion as well as the location in order to customize a beautiful piece of sentimental art to hang in their home.
Uncommon Goods Personalized Family Mugs
This sweet custom family gift could end bickering over morning coffee — there’s no disputing whose mug is whose anymore. Design a set of up to eight mugs, each depicting a different family member. You can add their name and choose some parameters, like hair color, skin tone, and clothing colors, for their illustration.
Handwriting Bracelet
Send the exact message you want — literally — by customizing this bracelet with a personal note in your own handwriting. Choose the size of the bracelet and the type of metal (silver, gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil), then upload a photo of your handwritten message of up to 6 words. The personalized bracelet will be created in an exact replica of the handwriting as pictured. You can also choose from six preset fonts if your own handwriting isn’t as legible as you’d like.
Prose Monogrammed Hair Brush
This artisan crafted, beechwood hairbrush will be a hit with anyone who really values hair care. You can opt for one of three types of bristles (boar, boar & nylon, and tipped metal) depending on the recipient’s hair type, then add a monogram of their initials to make it just for them.
Personalized Squishmallows
Take cute to a whole other level with these squishable, cuddly friends. Perfect for all ages, these huggable characters can be personalized with your giftee’s initials or name (you can add up to nine letters). There are 24 characters to choose from, including an octopus, bunny, pig and unicorn.
Deia Pebble Locket
A locket can be such a beloved keepsake because of the many ways to personalize it for its wearer. This elegant, asymmetrical version from Deia comes in 18k gold vermeil or sterling silver and has 10 different chain designs. But the true personalization comes with the complimentary engraving, which can be done in up to four different spots on the inside or outside of the locket. Choose from text, a cute drawing like an emoji or a zodiac sign — or even upload a personally drawn doodle.
Personalized Ring Dish
Give your loved one a place to store their jewelry at night with a custom-made ring dish. You can choose either a circle or square dish in either blush, white or gray. Then add the recipient’s monogram details to create a distinctive holder to store their most treasured items.
Minted Custom Foil Map
Give the gift of a favorite location, like a childhood home or a noteworthy neighborhood, by having a map of the area printed in gold, silver or rose gold foil. Simply enter the address of the location on Minted website, and a preview of the map will be generated before printing the final, custom art. You can also add a handcrafted frame in one of eleven finishes.
Uncommon Goods Cutting Board
Memorialize grandma’s chicken noodle soup — or any beloved family recipe — on a handy cutting board. Select either a maple or cherry board, then add the recipe — you can choose from either typed script , or upload a scanned image of an actual recipe card so it’s reproduced exactly as written in the family cookbook.
Lime and Lou Hand-Drawn Portrait
A custom portrait is such a special way to commemorate a favorite memory. Upload your chosen photo, and artists will turn it into a personalized portrait printed on canvas, premium acrylic or metal. Lime and Lou will send a preview and you can request revisions as needed. Your final approved portrait can be printed with a title, names or a date, on one of five background colors.
Mark and Graham Embroidered Canvas Cosmetics Pouch
This cute little canvas pouch is great for travel or bathroom organization. With a free multi-colored embroidered monogram, it’s a perfect personalized gift for anyone with cosmetic storage needs. You can choose from green, navy, pink or red for your custom pouch.
Scallop Trim Note Cards
There’s nothing like a handwritten note, and it adds a personal touch to have cards with your name printed on them. This simple, scalloped design on thick, textured paper can be printed with your name or initials in a variety of fonts and colors. The customized stationery come with white envelopes, although you can upgrade to a more colorful selection and add a return address. .
Monogrammed Leather Coasters
For anyone who appreciates a good beverage — but wants to protect their furniture from rings — a luxe set of coasters will up their at-home bar game. These simple, unadorned coasters are made of leather that’s made to look better as it ages, and you can add two initials for a custom monogram.
Casetify Phone Case
Most of us carry our phones everywhere, so having a personalized case can add a special flair to an everyday object. These phone cases can fit a selection of Apple, Google and Samsung phones, and they come in a wide range of materials from clear plastic to pebbled leather, in assorted colors and patterns, so you can find a combination that really suits your loved one’s style. Then, customize further by adding their name (up to 8 characters) — you can choose from a variety of fonts and colors.
Baublebar All Smiles Blanket
They will stay warm and cozy when they snuggle up under a blanket made just for them. This customizable blanket is decorated in smiley faces and your chosen initials in one of seven colors.
Why trust Select?
Gena Kaufman is a recovering lawyer turned writer, editor and social media strategist living in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has appeared in publications including Vogue, Elle, Glamour, InStyle and more. She tried many of the products featured above and also compiled picks from other NBC Select staffers.
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