A Year of Gifts

Today my niece turns 16 months! In honor of her, I’m highlighting the set of gifts I gave her in her first year. Since she lives in Texas, I wanted to come up with a way to spoil her from afar, so I came up with a year of gifts that I could deliver when I went to meet her for the first time. I did 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month gifts that my brother and sister-in-law could open at each of those milestones.

I did a new outfit and hair bow for each milestone. You could also do books, games, and/or a new pair of shoes at each milestone. I also tried to match the season for each milestone as best I could considering the fact that I was shopping a year in advance in the winter.

I feel like she looks more like a three-year-old than a 16-month-old in that picture above! And how beautiful is her newborn photo taken by my incredibly talented sorority sister, Paige?!

You could use the same “Year of Gifts” concept for a variety of other life milestones! Here are a couple ideas.

First Year of Marriage – at each three month mark, you could gift a date night (meal gift cards, movie gift cards, etc.). Or, you could do a bottle of wine that matches the season and end with a bottle of champagne for the 1-year mark! Another cute idea I saw on Pinterest was marking the “firsts” that happen in the first year.

First Year at College – college care packages are always appreciated, and every season, gift cards are a great idea for a starving student 🙂 A couple months in, a laundry care package would likely be very useful as the initial supply will likely be dwindling. Nearing finals time, a coffee shop gift card, brain food, and school supply essentials would be great. Then, returning to school for the second semester or winter quarter you could do cozy comforts from home like a soft blanket and homemade treats. Here’s a blog I found with some other really cute ideas!

Finals