Cake is good, champagne is better, but no birthday celebration is complete without an ‘oh, you shouldn't have!’ pressie. Depending on what milestone birthday you're buying for, we have birthday gift ideas for all ages. So, whether you're searching for the perfect 18th birthday gifts, 21st birthday gifts or even an 80th, you'll find era-appropriate birthday present ideas for whoever you're celebrating in our curated collection. And because the best birthday gifts do double duty as keepsakes, we’ve included plenty of thoughtful, personalised options that’ll go straight to the pool room!
Ideally, your special someone will have been dropping birthday gift hints for months leading up to their big day, but if they’ve given you no leads and you’re totally stumped for ideas, don’t sweat it – we’re here to help. And we’ve come armed with a collection of cool birthday gifts that’ll please the most hard-to-buy-for peeps (Dad, we’re totally looking at you…).
What are the best birthday gifts for her?
Let’s start with the ladies! Trying to come up with meaningful, out-of-the-box birthday gifts for her can be a daunting task, but we’ll let you in on a little secret: Personalised keepsakes make for the most special birthday gifts. We’re talking engraved jewellery, monogrammed leather accessories, custom-printed cushions or bespoke glassware. Whether you’re shopping for your teenage daughter, attempting to win points with your impossible-to-please mother-in-law or trying to tick ‘birthday gift for wife’ off your list of to-dos, we make finding winning birthday gifts for her a cinch with easy-as personalisation options.
What are the best birthday gifts for him?
Gents can be a bit more tricky – but you can’t get him socks and undies every year, so let us take you through some of the top birthday gifts for men. If he’s hitting a milestone Big 0 birthday, you’re going to want something extra meaningful, so look for cufflinks, travel bags, glassware or leather accessories that you can put your own stamp on. (An engraved beer tankard or whisky glass tops our list of the best birthday gifts for boyfriend, while a personalised watch stand or leather wash bag would make a thoughtful birthday gift for husband.) Not feeling the pressure of a milestone number? Have fun with his gift! Novelty socks, a quirky printed tee or a shower beer holder will make him smile. Mission: Accomplished!
Best friend birthday gifts
When it comes to your gal pals, go luxe. We’re big believers that if you love her you should you spoil her rotten, and nothing says ‘indulgent birthday gifts for girls’ like personalised Prosecco glasses – and preferably a bottle of bubbles on ice! Other little luxuries like a hand-stamped necklace, glitter phone case or customised scented candles are some of our favourite birthday gifts for friends... (We hope you’re reading this, BFF!)
How to choose perfect birthday gifts
If you’ve trawled the internet with search terms such as ‘birthday gift for wife’ or ‘birthday gift for boyfriend’ and felt frustrated when your efforts resulted in not-so-good results, give our handy Gift Finder a whirl. Simply select the recipient and the occasion and a hey presto! A magical selection of birthday gift ideas will appear sooner than you can say “abracadabra”. Failing that, following are some useful steps to take:
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Make it theatrical. Think of the gifting experience as an event to be enjoyed and get creative. For example, you could wrap the gift in a gift! We love a hand-screen-printed tea towel for this or a beautiful cotton sarong - simply tie with a knot or hold in place with matching string. How about sending the birthday guy or gal on a treasure hunt? Hide their birthday presents in a tree and leave little clues for them to find it. Or take them out for a surprise dinner and have the waiter present their gift on a silver platter. And never underestimate the fun of opening lots of little, individually-wrapped presents. Sometimes more is more!
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Make a list of their interests. Grab a pen and paper and spend two minutes jotting down everything you know about your bud (or significant other) and the things that define who they are. Now brainstorm something to go with every item on that list, big or small. You don't have to give all of those gifts, but you're going to hit on some rad ideas that you’re bound to find in our birthday gifts collection, plus your giftee will appreciate how personal and thoughtful you were.
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Do some stalking. No, we don’t mean staking them out in your car with a coffee-donut combo like a TV detective, but do check out their social media feeds for useful clues about what they’re into! The very best birthday gift ideas are those that show your giftee that you really know them.
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Make it personal. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - personalised birthday gifts are the way to go. In our Gifts department, you’ll discover thousands of unique and personalised birthday gifts for all the important people in your life, from bespoke cufflinks for your husband, to monogrammed leather accessories for your boyfriend or a set of personalised champagne flutes for your BFF.
Shopping for birthday gifts at Hardtofind.
As you’ve probably worked out, we have a veritable smorgasbord of birthday present ideas within our gift collections. But if you need more inspo or have a special request, get in touch with our sellers via the ‘ask seller a question’ link that can be found on any product page. All our sellers offer free shipping Australia-wide (yay!) and they’re amazingly helpful if you have any specific questions about a product.
If you’re really stuck for ideas, a Hardtofind gift voucher is a fail proof option. And our ‘instant gift’ feature is ideal for gifting on the run - simply print out the gift at home and pop it in a card on your way to the party.
So, whether you’re looking for sentimental keepsakes or fun, unusual birthday gifts, you’ll find giftspo galore in our collection, cleverly organised by milestone B’day. Feel free to save us a slice of cake as a thank you…
