The Great Gift Idea Marathon

Tiffany box
Tiffany charm’s are pretty much universally beloved, but I am here to search out for you something special this holiday season. Think of me as your personal shopper. Welcome to 16 days of jewelry gift ideas for the special lady (mom, grandma, lover, daughter, sister, saint) or kind sir (father, brother, boyfriend etc.) in your life. It’s the time of the year where Very Bangled —-> Very Gifted.

Now, as you all know, I own a shop. I trudge thru the front lines of the gift giving mania each year. With my many years of battle scars I have several tried and true gift giving theories. Listen up, because I aim to hit these targets on your behalf for 16 days leading up to the holidays.

1. Most women love a gift tradition. I don’t know what came first, my love of bracelets or my dad giving me bracelets. But now almost my entire collection is thanks to my dad, and I love it. Best part of the gift tradition? Once you’ve set yours, you are golden for gift ideas on every occasion. Just continue the tradition! It’s a promise of the future of your relationship, and a special reminder of the specialness of that relationship.

2. The gift is about you, the giver, more than it is about the receiver. That moment where you’ve scored that something special for your loved ones? And their eyes gleam bright because you hit the nail on the head? That is the BEST feeling ever. But sometimes you will miss the target, and that’s okay. That’s why there are gift receipts. It’s better to shoot and fail then to tie yourself in knots and give nothing. It REALLY is the thought that counts.

3. Always go with your impulse. There is no nicer saying than “I saw this and I thought of you.” It’s heart warming. But that being said… don’t always impulse PURCHASE the item. Write it down for later. You might find something even better, but do NOT wait until the week of Christmas to complete your purchase. We, the retailers are picked clean by that point and that impulse item will be long gone.

4. Give something you love. This ties back into the gift is about the giver. You reveal a special part of yourself when you give a gift. Share that with your loved ones, they love you and giving something YOU love is sharing that love. I’ve found that my most cherished gifts are those that I would never have picked for myself, but once it’s mine, it’s so much more special because of that relationship that I have with the gift giver.

5. Stay within budget! This one is kind of derr but you can always find something special within budget. That’s the entire point of vintage. Don’t blow your money on the name. Tiffany’s costs more because it’s Tiffany’s, but is it worth more? No. Let me put it this way, do you want to give earrings and matching necklace for the same cost of one dinky little charm? YES. The answer is yes.

6. Customize! Always customize. If there’s ever an engraving or monogram or add her name option? Do it. It makes the item extra special. Years later she can look back and say “Oh yeah, that’s from Christmas 1994”.

7. Remember this is supposed to be FUN. There is no failure in gift giving. If you are unfortunate enough to have someone in your life who makes you feel bad about your gift choice? Well, they are serious jerks. That’s plain mean, inconsiderate and RUDE. They are crossed off the list for next year. No gift is deserved, gifts are wonderful opportunities to spoil the people you love, but if they are too bratty to appreciate that? Than they won’t appreciate anything ever. Don’t beat yourself up over their bad attitude. You tried your best.

Did you slog thru everything? No? No matter, I’m keeping this list in consideration and you just need to follow my recs. Starting Monday the 24th, for 16 days straight, I will give you a gift idea for every type. Trying to shop for someone specific? Tell me their fav TV shows or sports teams, interests, hobbies or anything and I’ll dedicate a post to it. You know I love this stuff. It’s the thrill of the jewelry hunt!!

World Series Star Bangle

The other day someone found my blog by searching “2014 world series star bangle” which is pretty awesome. At least I thought so, until I realized no, this is not a fellow bangle and baseball officiando, this is some dumbass who thinks the song is the Star BANGLE banner. SMH so hard.

Because I am occasionally helpful I figure I’ll give that star bangle googler the object of their literal search. Now I don’t know if they were a Royals fan or a Giants fan, so I hunted down jewelry for both.

IMG_2910.JPG Kansas city Royals. They have that one pitcher with the evil eyebrows. Not Guthrie, he’s the Mormon pitcher. For their fans Fans Edge offers this $14.95 silver “tone” bracelet. Silver tone means it’s not sterling, which maybe matters to you maybe doesn’t. I don’t even know enough about Kansas City to make a crack about it by saying “oh you people from that fancy Kansas City neighborhood don’t even want it when it’s sterling”… Like they are so fancy that it’s got to be pearls and sapphires or bust. But hey, at least I chose the correct colors of your baseball fan fancy gems.

For the fancy Giants fan there is Daniels Jewelers special edition sterling five charm bracelet for $539.95 $269.95.

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Rumor is too that Tiffany’s makes annual world series champion charms. Alas, the Giants charms from 2010 and 2012 are not to be found.

For the non fancy Giants fan we have this collectible piece.

IMG_2912.JPG Made from SF Giants beads and old barbie shoes. I’m not certain what Barbie shoes have to do with baseball, but so I’m guessing this $5.50 bracelet is not licensed by either Mattel or MLB. What you save in price you sacrifice in official licensing. Either way, there’s plenty of tiny black and orange high heels to go around.

Now don’t feel all left out and butt hurt Yankees fans. Your late 90s and Jeter glory may be over but if you act fast there’s a sterling silver Yankees charm bracelet on the Goodwill website. Auction closes Oct 29. There’s currently just the two bids which put the bracelet at $20.99.

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IMG_2914.JPG I took a brief break from typing to consult with Leroy on his baseball jewelry needs. It turns out he’s not all that interested in this blog post. So there’s that. Not everyone is a baseball fan. For the rest of you, enjoy the game tonight!