Gifts

Collecting Vintage Vases & Candy Dishes

I’m starting to collect vintage flower vases and candy dishes to use for a Vintage inspired themed wedding next Fall. Think 1950’s soda fountain meets candy counter!

Now to find a place to store them between now and then. I’ll be making some other DIY things for the wedding too. Check back for an update on what those may be. If you, too, are inspired by lovely vintage pieces, be it a piece of jewelry, a vase or a china pattern, I think you’ll like what I’m working on!

Use vintage candy jars that you can find at thrift stores or garage sales for a Candy Bar at a wedding or your next vintage themed event.

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Summer…where has it gone?!

Wow! Summer has flown by this year. At Little Miss Idea, we’ve been busy helping our clients get organized, plan their summer parties and get caught up on all kinds of administrative & daily tasks. Summer is my favorite time of the year, with so much to do…festivals, weddings, bridal showers, parties, BBQ’s and more! My next favorite time of the year is Fall. I love the change in seasons and welcome the cooler temp’s. If Summer got away from you and you could use some help this fall, please keep Little Miss Idea in mind for any of your needs. We’d love to help you get organized, shop for your upcoming dinner party, get your holiday card/gift list started or updated well before the rush…whatever you may need help with, just ask! On a personal note, I will be embarking on a cross country road trip with one of my best girlfriends in September. I’m really looking forward to our one on one girl time and seeing what we can discover along the way. I love road trips. They remind of youth and feeling free. If you haven’t taken a road trip in some time, I highly recommend it. It’s good for your soul to get out on the open road. Even if it’s only a few hours away…it will do wonders for your spirit. Enjoy the rest of your Summer, with or without a road trip. If you do take one, I hope it leads you on an unexpected adventure!

Holidays = Gift Wrapping

#60 – Gift Wrapping at Department Stores or Shopping Malls

I love getting a fantastically wrapped package as a gift and try to be creative when wrapping gifts for my family and friends. Most large department stores still offer gift wrapping services for free or a small fee. If you love wrapping presents for birthdays and all the holidays throughout the year, this might be a great part time gig for you this holiday season. I have a friend who worked evenings and weekends doing this for several holiday seasons to make extra money. She loved giving customers beautifully wrapped gifts and even though she was on her feet long hours and got a few paper cuts along the way, she enjoyed the money she made making bows and wrapping pretty packages for appreciative customers. Something to think about now before the shopping season is in full swing!

Cash for the Holidays…tis the season!

# 66 – Be a Personal Shopper

How many times have you heard, “I have no idea what I’m going to get so-and-so for…” depending on the holiday in question?! You could offer to be a personal shopper for friends, colleagues and even strangers. You will need figure out your fee structure for shopping and then if you need to ship items, you’ll also need to come up with shipping and handling fees. If you decide to deliver in our local area, make sure you account for mileage and how much gas costs and charge accordingly for a local delivery.

I’m not sure what the going rate is for a personal shopper and this could vary greatly depending on what part of the world you live. So do your research and get a good idea what other personal shoppers are charging in your area and in other areas that may be comparable. You could get this started by word of mouth but you may want to think about setting up a simple Word-press site and then set up a Pay-pal account so that you can take payments online from your customers. I would recommend that you collect payment before you actually purchase anything. I think it would be a good idea to come up with a questionnaire that cusotmers fill out and send to you on your contact form (on your site). .This will help you know the type of person you’ll be shopping for,what their budget is and if there are any items that are totally off limits. Follow-up is key for any kind of service business, so make sure you check in with your customers after you deliver the gift or gifts to make sure they meet their expectations and they are satisfied. This will help you get repeat business too.

If you are notoriously a great bargain shopper and frequently find great deals on fantastic gifts that your friends and family always love, this might be right up your alley. I believe people who are busy and time is not on their side, would welcome this service as helpful and cost effective. Time is money to many people. If you love shopping, always find great deals and think you could fit this service into your life why not try it? Wouldn’t it be great to actually “make” money while you’re shopping with someone else’s money?!

Are you a Creative Gift Giver? How about starting a Gift Basket Business?!

#71 – Gift baskets…bowls…bags…or anything that would be a great container to hold & deliver gifts in

I recently needed a “Get Well Gift” for a good friend who had emergency surgery. I tried to find a local company to put together a great get well gift and deliver it. I did find a company but when I reached out to them, they told me they weren’t doing customized gifts any longer. I was really disappointed to find this out but I was creative and came up with my own gift and then delivered it myself. Luckily, my friend was recuperating close to where I live or doing this myself could have been quite a challenge. I noticed that many gift basket companies such as the ones I found when I googled “Get Well Gifts”, were baskets of tea or coffee, chocolates, cookies or a combo of all of these OR flowers and edible arrangements (fruit on a stick that looks like flowers). These are all great, but I really wanted to be able to customize my gift with things that would comfort my friend (like soup, tea, frozen popsicles, magazines, etc…) not just send flowers. I also found that the delivery charges were almost as much as the gift I wanted to purchase, doubling the amount of money I wanted to spend. This made me think of the idea that if someone was creative and a bargain shopper, starting a gift basket company and delivering them to their local area, they might be able to turn a nice profit or make some extra cash at the very least.

I’m sure there are many ways to set up the choices that customers can choose from, and that of course, will be a personal choice for you, but I would highly recommend having a great “Get Well” gift available or customizable selections available for cusomers to choose when they need a gift like I needed recently. If you have time to put personalized gifts together and deliver them, I think busy professionals like myself would definitely use your service, especially if they truly are customizeable.