Holiday Gift Guide #2: Personalized Gifts

I'm back for the second gift guide of the season, featuring one of my favorite gift genres... Personalized Gifts! Who doesn't love a good monogram on a gift, nothing says personal more than something with your name or initials on it, of course. This will be a shorter guide, but I had to post it ASAP.The most important thing about a personalized gift (aside from getting spelling right!) is to order with enough time... personalization takes a longer amount of time to ship, so you want to make sure you know the deadlines so you can order on time. These gifts may lean more towards the females of your checklist, but they work well for newlyweds or for those who just really love their own name/are scared their roommates will use their items.

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Initial Alex and Ani // Monogram J. Crew // Monogram Mail Holder // Monogram Scarf

Shop Dandy has a great selection of monogrammed items, like the infinity scarf and mail holder pictured above. They also have jewelry, hats, pillows, and more. Monogrammed jewelry is a given for a gift guide, as they have become very popular the past couple years. All my favorite bloggers, celebrities, and people on the bus wear a monogrammed necklace or bracelet like the one I have from Etsy (an entire Etsy guide is coming soon, btw!) pictured at the beginning of this post. You could also spring for a "Carrie" necklace. 

In case you were wondering, there is a traditional placement of initials within a monogram. If you are creating an interlocking, circle, diamond... generally the kind with three letters, with the middle initial larger, traditionally uses the order of first, LAST, middle initials, in that order from left to right. If you are getting a gift for a married couple/newlyweds, then you put the last name in the center as usual, but it is kind of up to you which spouse first inital goes where. I think "ladies first" is a good rule to abide by! So, if John and Mary Smith are receiving the gift, you would have the monogram read mSj. Now, you may notice that my monogrammed necklace is weird. My monogram should read kOr, but I thought the O in the center would be boring, so I decided to be "unique" and got mine to read last, First, middle initials... I do not recommend that, haha,

 If that can be too confusing, then stick with slapping a last name on an item, like dish towels or a handmade sign. You can totally get crafty with monograms and personalization! 

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What gifts do you personalize?

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