Balloons, GREY GOOSE® & Suitcase Surprise

- - Birthday, Christmas, Going Away, Retirement

It thrills me to see others use Sunburst Gifts ideas in their gift giving.  Hiding gifts inside balloons seems to be a favorite.

balloons-grey-goose-suitcase-bday-surprise-thoughtful-gift-ideaLinda’s friend once mentioned that she wanted a small purple suitcase for her travels. When it came time to purchase a birthday gift, Linda remembered her friend’s comment and created a Suitcase Surprise.

Linda’s usual go-to birthday gift for her friend is GREY GOOSE® vodka since that is her favorite drink. This year Linda planned a surprise by placing individual small bottles of GREY GOOSE® inside balloons. Then she placed all of the balloons inside a purple suitcase.

When Linda’s friend opened her gift, the purple suitcase was totally unexpected. Linda then asked her to unzip the suitcase and that’s when she discovered it was filled with different colored balloons. Continue Reading

We’re Celebrating a Milestone!

- - Catch All

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We’re so excited to announce that we’ve published our 250th blog post!

Since several of our articles contain multiple thoughtful gift ideas means www.SunburstGifts.org now offers 250+ thoughtful gift ideas for anyone to use. It’s all in one place and easily searchable by gift category and keyword.

Now that we’re gearing up for the holidays, we hope you’ll share our website with your friends and family to help them come up with the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

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If you’re not aware, Sunburst Gifts has a Pinterest page where you can pin your favorite gift ideas. We also have a Facebook page where you can easily share and comment on the gifts we post.

Queen Darlene and Princess Diana wish you the least stressful holiday season you’ve ever experienced, and we hope our gift ideas can get you to your happy place! Cheers!

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Open When… Envelopes

- - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Money, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Wedding

There’s a reason “___ of the Month” clubs are so popular. People love opening surprise gifts on a regular basis!

Most gifts you can open only once. But not Open When… Envelopes.

Gift recipients will receive multiple envelopes containing gifts they’ll be able to open over a period of months!

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For this gift idea, you simply need envelopes, cash and/or gift cards, and a printer. On each envelope, print a different “Open When…” scenario on the front. Here are some examples.

  • OPEN WHEN
  • … you need retail therapy.
  • … you don’t feel like cooking.
  • … you want to see a movie.
  • … you need pampering.
  • … you need gas.
  • … you’re craving ___. (Ex. Thai food, ice cream, fried chicken, etc.)
  • … you need a haircut. 
  • … you run out of booze.
  • … you’re hungry.
  • … you’re thirsty.

Continue Reading

Hat Trick Money Gift

- - Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Him, Kids, Money

A hat is just a hat except when it’s not… because the real gift is hidden inside!

If you want to give a creative money gift or to surprise someone, all you need is a hat. Line the hat band with cash. They’ll think the hat is the entire present until they put it on!

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That’s why I call this money gift The Hat Trick!

Have fun with this gift because hats exist in every color and style for men and women of all ages. Think baseball hats, cowboy hats, straw sun hats, fedoras, twill caps and more!

Continue Reading

Wind Chimes | Sympathy & Condolence Gift

- - Condolence

When someone you love passes away, it’s like a piece of your heart has been taken. We’ve all experienced it, and appreciate those who want to ease our pain.

condolence-wind-chimes-thoughtful-gift-ideaSympathy cards are usually the number one item sent. Thank goodness for Hallmark and other companies that make cards that eloquently express how we feel.

But for those times when you want to do more than send cards or flowers, what can you do?

My mother’s cousin passed away not too long ago. Bob was our favorite cousin hands down or should I say hands up because he was one of the few who knew sign language and could converse with my mother.

Bob, his wife, Ann and their four children, Larry, Beverly, Denise and Mark were intertwined with our family all our lives. We have many wonderful memories and my brothers and I wanted to do more than get a sympathy card. Continue Reading

2 Liter Fortune Bottle

- - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Here’s another clever gift idea to give money. It’s the 2 Liter Fortune Cookie Bottle.

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Fortune Cookie saying inside bottle cap.

Place candy and money inside a 2 liter bottle. At first, the recipient may be puzzled as to how you placed the candy and money inside. Some may even twist off the cap.

That’s when you say, “Look inside the cap.” There they will find a message similar to a fortune cookie.

Fortune cookies are always fun to open and read. I created “Your fortune is in the bottle” inside the lid for a birthday gift. It’s a great saying for a graduation gift too!

Things you will need:

  • 2 liter bottle
  • Variety of candy. I like “100 Grand” and “Pay Day” candy bars. 
  • Money – bills and coins.
  • Create a large label and gift tag for the pop bottle appropriate for celebrating a birthday, graduation, Christmas or any other occasion. 
  • Create a saying for the inside of the lid by Googling “fortune cookie sayings” for ideas or make up your own
  • Ribbons
  • Scissors and tape
  • Exacto Knife

Continue Reading

“Welcome to Our Business” Handwritten Card

- - $20 or Less, Business

It’s not always a superior product or service that makes one business more popular with customers. Sometimes, it’s how a business makes its customers feel.

welcome-to-our-business-handwritten-card-thoughtful-giftSometimes, all it takes is a thoughtful gesture from a business to catch a customer’s attention and create customer loyalty. It happened recently to my husband.

After my husband’s first visit to his new dentist, he received a nice card in the mail from the dental practice.

The front of the card said, “Welcome to Our Practice.” Inside the card, a handwritten note read, “If you ever have any questions regarding your dental treatment or our office procedures, please feel free to give us a call.”

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Click to enlarge

The father and son who own the practice both signed the card. The card had personal touch written all over it, and it was a novelty!

Neither one of us had ever received a card from any of our dentists before. Come to think of it, we’ve never received a card from any of our other doctors. Have you?

Continue Reading

Photo Album of Dead Presidents

- - Birthday, Christmas, Going Away, Graduation, Kids, Money, Wedding

The topic of dead presidents might be boring, unless you’re talking about cash money.

So not every man printed on U.S. paper currency is a dead president. Do you know which ones are and aren’t?

photo-album-dead-presidents-money-cash-giftDead Presidents
$1 – George Washington
$2 – Thomas Jefferson
$5 – Abraham Lincoln
$20 – Andrew Jackson
$50 – Ulysses S. Grant

Never President
$10 – Alexander Hamilton
$100 – Benjamin Franklin

If you’re looking to give a creative money gift, fill a photo album with dead presidents (but feel free to use $10 bills too like I did). No one receiving this gift will care about technicalities!

Photo albums that fit 4×6 pictures are just the right size for cash.

Continue Reading

Baby Growth Calendar Photos

- - $20 or Less, Baby Shower

Parents love to capture precious moments of their baby’s first year, especially how fast they grow every month. I have a unique, cute and easy photo idea for every month – a baby growth calendar!

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7 month, 8 month, 9 month, 10 month, 11 month, 12 month click to enlarge

My cousin took pictures of her baby girl with a large calendar desk pad. The photos consist of her baby lying on top of the calendar every month of her first year.

I’m sure it was easy at first but took several takes to get the photos just right when she started rolling or crawling. It’s all about creating memories, right?

She would write on the calendar 1st month, 2nd month and so on. This made for the most adorable baby pictures. Continue Reading

“Good as Gold” Dollar Coins

- - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Turning 60 is a big deal! It was only yesterday, we were young, going to college, getting married, raising kids and taking annual girl trips.

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Our Friendship is Golden – Birthday Gift

The five of my closest girlfriends have always celebrated our birthdays in some way or fashion.

We love giving each other gifts. Sometimes we would see a comedian, a musical, or play together as a birthday treat. Many times we would go to the birthday girl’s favorite place to eat.

My favorite birthday gift is a night of dancing. I love my girlfriends who are as good as gold for staying out late to dance the night away!

After 40 years of friendship, we have exchanged about every possible gift you can imagine. Continue Reading