The best personalised gifts for a more memorable special occasion
It’s hard to go wrong with personalised gifts. Whether you're buying for her, him or them, we’ve found a gift that quite literally has their name on it, from personalised jewellery and champagne to monogrammed towels and bathrobes
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
When Smash Mouth sang that the years “start coming and they don’t stop coming”, they were probably talking about the special occasion cycle. How often do you marvel at how quickly someone’s birthday/anniversary has come around and curse the need to source a gift once again? If you’re anything like us, it’ll happen at least once a month.
Personalised gifts, it turns out, are the answer to so many of these special occasion-related conundrums. The best gifts for him, best gifts for her and — most puzzlingly — best gifts for dads, can all be solved with a smart monogram or piece of birthstone jewellery. While children in particular love to see their name emblazoned on their brand new toy, we’ve found that the personalised gift transcends age. Put simply, whether it's a gift for a girlfriend or a birthday present for mum, you'll find something on this list that'll bring joy.
Whomever you’re buying for, we’re confident we have ideas for gifts that they’ll actually want to hold onto for years to come. Read on to find out picks.
One of the more touching personalised presents and a housewarming gift to end all housewarming gifts, this framed illustration can depict a home, favourite shop or row of houses. Painted and labelled, it’s a vintage-style print to hang for life.
A delicate chain with a pavé initial, Astrid & Miyu’s take on the personalised necklace is chic, timeless and affordable.
It’s wise to select a gift for its assets before its personalised capabilities and this Charlotte Tilbury ticks that box. One of the finest moisturisers on the market, it has the additional benefit of being engrave-able. A gifting boon.
- Best personalised gift: Vintage Style Property Illustration, £100 at etsy.com
- Best personalised gift for him: Aspinal of London hip flask,
£55£44 at aspinaloflondon.com - Best personalised gift for her: Astrid & Miyu Initial Necklace, £90 at astridandmiyu.com
- Best personalised gift for everyone: Soho Home monogram house robe, £95 at sohohome.com
- Best personalised gift for children: Bespoke rocking horse, £120 at my1styears.com
- Best personalised gift for pet owners: Where’s My Dog? Book, from £19.99 at yappy.com
- Best personalised gift for sneakerheads: Nike by you trainers, from £104.95 at nike.com
MORE GIFT GUIDES…
Advent calendars | Alcohol Advent calendars | Gifts for women | Gifts for men | Gifts for mums | Gifts for dads | Gifts for girlfriends | Gifts for boyfriends | Gifts for friends | Best hampers | Gifts for sisters | Gifts for brothers | Gifts for teens | Gifts for kids.
1/54Elizabeth Scarlett Alphabet Pouch
There are many opportunities for customisation on the Elizabeth Scarlett site, but it’s this alphabet pouch showing embroidering on velvet that proves one of this brand’s most popular. Furnished with a clutch of otherworldly patches, this is a deceptively roomy compartment for everyday use or travelling with treasures.
- Price: £35
- Available at: elizabethscarlett.com
2/54Vintage football shirt
There’s a rule with old football shirts, and it goes like this: the wavier the better. Dip back into their favourite club’s 1990s kits, and find something they can wear to show their allegiance to a time when the phrase “tiki-taka” would be met with a blank stare, and the balls weighed nearly as much as the players.
- Price: various
- Available at: vintagefootballshirts.com
3/54Soho Home Monogrammed Robe
Monogrammed robes are one of those luxury items that feel too self-indulgent to buy for yourself, but yet we all secretly hope we'll receive one as a gift someday. Soho Home's soft, comfortable and fluffy hooded robe, produced by an Italian textiles company, can only be compared to the premium robes you might find at a spa. You can also add up to three characters that will be embroidered on, for the perfect personal touch.
- Price: from £95
- Available at: sohohome.com
4/54Astrid & Miyu Initial Necklace
While you may associate an initial necklace most closely with the ‘90s and ‘00s, this particular form of iconography remains a stalwart in all kinds of jewellery wardrobes. Astrid & Miyu’s, coming in gold-plated pavé on sterling silver, is a more affordable but no less glamorous choice for the tradition.
- Price: £90
- Available at: astridandmiyu.com
5/54Don Julio personalised bottle
Obviously, what’s inside the Don Julio bottle is the main appeal: a smooth tequila aged for at least 30 months in white oak. But it’s undeniably fun to get something of your choice written on the outside, too, even if it does just say “DRINK ME”.
- Price: £260
- Available at: getitinkd.com
6/54Papier Notebook
For personalised notebooks and stationary, Papier should be your go-to online retailer. All of the brand's carefully designed notebooks are available with unique personalisation options, allowing you to create a bespoke notebook specifically for the person you have in mind. Each notebook has 192 sides of lined paper, available in hardback or softback covers.
- Price: from £45
- Available at: papier.com
7/54Happy Socks Zodiac Socks
A lightning bolt for Scorpio, star for Pisces and safety pin for Gemini: graffiti-inspired sketches have been added to each zodiac sign's traditional symbol in abundance in this fun astrology collection by Happy Socks. There's your Christmas sock quota filled.
- Price: £14
- Available at: happysocks.com
8/54Vintage map coasters
Choose anywhere you fancy, and Atlas & I will send you a set of coasters emblazoned with segments of old-school maps of the surrounding locale in one of a range of optional styles. The perfect gift for anyone with a strong sense of place.
- Price: £36
- Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
9/54Cameo
Surprise the superfan in your life at your next anniversary with an extra-special personalised message from one of their favourite stars. Yes, you can actually make that happen. Whether they’re a Game Of Thrones fan, have been eagerly awaiting the series four of Succession to drop or can’t stop watching reality TV, find their favourite actors, comedians, musicians or athletes on Cameo, book your slot, tell them what you want them to say and, boom, you just won the gifting wars.
- Price: from £22
- Available at: cameo.com
10/54Personalised Moët Champagne
Selfridges’ nifty personalisation quarter has produced one of the most simple yet effective gifts of all time: champagne with their name on it. Add a message to the outer tin and rest assured that the Brut within — the people pleasing Moët et Chandon — will stir just as much joy.
- Price: £64.99
- Available at: selfridges.com
11/54New York Times Custom Birthday Book
Let them live their life in glorious black and white with the New York Times birthday book, which is filled with custom front pages from the world-famous newspaper, all from their day of birth through time.
- Price: from £107
- Available at: uncommongoods.com
12/54Personalised wrapping paper
It’s not just the gift that matters – it’s the wrapping, too. Custom paper adds a whole new layer (literally) to personalisation, whether you play it for laughs or choose a more sentimental photo to print.
- Price: £5
- Available at: gettingpersonal.co.uk
13/54Property illustration
You’ll have seen this style of illustration in many a hipster coffee shop around London, and may well have ooh-ed and aah-ed at the cutesy style of them. This kind, cast in a vintage print style paints a house, or row of homes, with the street name printed front and centre. A really beautiful choice for a sentimental gift.
- Price: £100
- Available at: etsy.com
14/54Jellycat Bunny
A gift for kids that puts an immediate end to all of your stressed scrolling, the Jellycat bunny is an impossibly soft win whether it’s personalised or not. Add the child in question’s name to one of the oversized ears though, and you’ve got yourself a stuffie that’ll stay with them even into their university days.
- Price: £23
- Available at: notanotherbill.com
15/54Beavertown monthly subscription
The best part of Beavertown’s monthly beer subscription package is its flexibility. You can add as many cans as you like to your would-be care package, perfectly tailoring the quantity of booze delivered to the amount that the recipient tends to drink.
- Price: from £1.55 per can
- Available at: beavertownbrewery.co.uk
16/54Kindred Fires Birth Flower Candle
Kindred Fires has hit on a sweet spot in gifting for those who are impossible to buy for. What does everyone like? Candles and a spot of personalisation. Well this gift combines the two, allowing you to select their birth flower, add their name and a message, and even select the scent — from Passionfruit Palm to Festive Spice — for their gift.
- Price: £18
- Available at: kindredfires.com
17/54Initialised socks
There’s something particularly natty about initialled socks – they’re a tad ridiculous, in an endearing way – and what’s more, they’ll never go missing in the wash. Just don’t buy them for someone with the same initials as you or things might get complicated.
- Price:
£14£11 - Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
- Price:
18/54Casetify Phone Case
One of the things that makes Casetify’s cases so spectacularly popular? Its thorough customisation tab, which lets you choose everything from the type of case down to the font, illustrative flourishes and even pictures. An excellent gift for a teenager.
- Price: from £66
- Available at: casetify.com
19/54Aspinal Of London Hip Flask
If there's a time of year when having a hip flask in your pocket at all times verges on not just being socially acceptable, but also stylish, it's winter. With a stainless-steel inside and full-grain leather binding, this is a hip flask designed to last a lifetime, with capacity for five ounces of their favourite spirit and the option to personalise it with an engraving. Not only will it keep your family members sufficiently boozed, but it's also impossible not to look elegant and refined drinking from one of these hip flasks.
- Price: £55
- Available at: aspinaloflondon.com
20/54Birthday newspaper
Got a friend or family member who fancies themselves a bit of a newshound? Doorstep them (metaphorically) by presenting them with the real-life front page of their favourite newspaper from the day they were born – or indeed any other significant day in history. Options range from the Racing Post to the FT to (if you secretly hate the person you’re giving it to) the Daily Mail.
- Price: from £20
- Available at: historic-newspapers.co.uk
21/54With Nothing Underneath Shirt
With some of the most diverse scope for personalisation and monogramming we’ve seen from any fashion brand, shirt experts With Nothing Underneath allow for number and letter embroidery to shirt pockets or front panels — or to the hems of shorts. Even better? You can even add hearts.
- Price: from £95
- Available at: withnothingunderneath.com
22/54Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream Moisturiser
Alongside embroidering, engraving is our favourite form of personalisation, and Charlotte Tilbury is now allowing you to do just that on its holy grail product, the Magic Cream moisturiser. A top-shelf gift even when it comes plain, the rose gold topped tub of iconic product just got even more covetable.
- Price: £79
- Available at: charlottetilbury.com
23/54Stitched by Alan pet keyring
Pet-related custom paraphernalia can be a minefield to negotiate, but Stitched by Alan does a great job capturing the inner life of all manner of species and breeds. Just send off a few reference photos and a charmingly embroidered keyring will come back in the post, immortalising your gift recipient’s pet with panache.
- Price: £30
- Available at: stitchedbyalan.com
24/54Desmond & Dempsey Pyjamas
Some of our favourite PJs on the market, Desmond & Dempsey and its big cat-printed co-ords offer the option of monogramming. Add up to three characters in pink, green, red, black or cream and it’ll be added to the pocket of your new jammies.
- Price: from £175
- Available at: desmondanddempsey.com
25/54AirPods Pro with engraving
If you’ve spotted their AirPods skittering across the Tube never to be seen again, they might well need a new pair. If that’s the case, why not gift an engraved personalised set?
- Price: £189
- Available at: amazon.co.uk & currys.co.uk
26/54Biscuiteers Flower Vase Biscuit
If you’re even slightly interested in the ever-changing bakeries of London, you won’t have failed to notice that Biscuiteers makes some of the best cookies around. Home to the capital’s icing maestros, it’s also the spot to head if you’re seeking sweet treats that are iced with your loved one’s name. We like this classic vase of flowers, which feels relevant for many an occasion.
- Price: £25
- Available at: biscuiteers.com
27/54Cocktail Shaker
Everyone needs a cocktail shaker for their home bar, and how better to present the household that is lacking than with a personally engraved one? An unusual gift that strikes a balance between functionality and form.
- Price: from £20
- Available at: notanotherbill.com
28/54Custom Monopoly Board Game
Thanks to Etsy and The Dice Guys, family arguments can now be even more personal. Absolutely everything about this Monopoly board can be customised, from each square on the board, to the cards, to the board itself. For extra, you can even have the playing pieces and money customised.
- Price: from £175
- Available at: etsy.com
29/54Abbott Lyon Name Bracelet
You can choose up to six characters to slot into the ‘clovers’ on Abbott Lyon’s custom name bracelet. Although that may take longer forenames out of the picture, shorter ones, nicknames or initials are good to go. Fair warning: this piece is not for any last-minute gifting emergencies since the popularity of it means you should expect around a fortnight wait to receive your customised item.
- Price: £69
- Available at: abbottlyon.com
30/54Fortnum & Mason Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
What’s better than a single malt Scotch whisky? Lovers of the drop may say nothing compares, but that’s before they’ve seen a bottle of their favourite spirit with their name on it. Give them the personalised treatment with this Fortnum Speyside brew.
- Price: £55
- Available at: fortnumandmason.com
31/54ChouChou Intimates Underwear
Add embroidery to a G-string or bikini brief from lingerie brand ChouChou and it’ll be joined by a dainty rose to its satin front: talk about well-priced luxury.
- Price: £22
- Available at: chouchouintimates.com
32/54Toolbox
The unexpected entry into the list that might well be the answer to your gifts for him prayers, here you have the opportunity to personalise a toolbox. Choose a font and the brand will engrave the metal of their new Toyo camber-top toy for you. Modern living is good, actually.
- Price: from £36
- Available at: notanotherbill.com
33/54Littlesmith personalised gold bar necklace
Think carefully about how to spend the nine characters that Littlesmith will engrave on this understated gold-bar necklace — you can write anything you like, but your loved one is the one who has to wear it…
- Price: £29
- Available at: selfridges.com
34/54LL Bean Monogrammed Organic Cotton Towels
There’s something just impeccably stylish about having your own monogrammed towels, making them an easy gifting win. Both soft and absorbent, made from certified organic cotton, these LL Bean towels are available in a range of colours (from white and slate blue to grey) and can be personalised with monogrammed initials or text in a variety of different designs and styles. A simple gift that you can be confident they’ll use everyday.
- Price: from £15
- Available at: llbean.com
35/54Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne
Jo Malone is always a staple in unisex fragrance gifting, and the sturdy, alluring wood sage and sea salt iteration is our pick for adding some personalised text to. The iconic butter yellow label will look even more special with your message or their name added.
- Price: from £118
- Available at: jomalone.co.uk
36/54Burberry Classic Check Cashmere Scarf
Ah, the classic Burberry scarf: a timeless piece that can elevate any outfit from the start of autumn straight through to the end of winter. Made from 100 per cent cashmere, the scarf is luxuriously soft to the touch, available in a range of colour schemes, from the iconic archive beige to navy, burgundy and blush. And to make it even more special, you can add up to three initials for a personal touch.
- Price: from £420
- Available at: burberry.com
37/54Favourite Song Sound Waves Print
Bringing their favourite song to life through wall art, MixPixie's Sound Wave Prints are a gift that really shows you care and pay attention to what they like. Ideal for music lovers, the prints visualise the sound waves of a song, making for a stylish addition to a wall that also has some meaning behind it. Choose any song they like from a catalogue of 35 million tracks and add some text (up to 100 characters) and you can consider your anniversary shopping sorted.
- Price: £18
- Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
38/54Initial Necklace
It may well feel like a throwback, but an awful lot of early aughts trends are coming back with full force. Our favourite? Wide-leg trousers notwithstanding, for a gifting moment we’re fans of a simple initialled necklace. Even sweeter if you’re buying a birthday gift for your girlfriend.
- Price: £65
- Available at: johnlewis.com
39/54Ffern perfume
Ffern’s business model is unorthodox: join the waiting list (or put someone else’s name down) and at the next available season, they’ll send you a customised perfume which you can choose to return if you don’t like. Then, when you’ve settled on a scent that fits perfectly, they’ll keep sending you bottles quarterly, once per equinox and solstice.
- Price: £89 per bottle
- Available at: ffern.co
40/54Vilebrequin Swim Shorts
Another one of our favourite brands that offers a monogramming service (we’re detecting a theme here), Vilebrequin lets you go back to your school days by adding some identifying markers. Pick them up a sustainable new pair of swim shorts and add some initials: gift for a fitness freak done.
- Price: from £145
- Available at: vilebrequin.com
41/54Corner Bookmark
While the page folding community make as many valid points as the book purists, it can’t be denied that the latter camp lays claim to some irresistible swag. Our current favourite is this corner bookmark from Not On The High Street seller Hurley Burley. Choose from ten different colours and add initials or a short name for quick, wallet-friendly personalised gift buying.
- Price: £12
- Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
42/54Hades Alphabet Jumper
An indie knitwear brand favoured by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and The Charlatan’s Tim Burgess, Hades makes jumpers that argue for disposing of all coats that might obscure them. While rock legends such as Bowie, The Cure and the Sex Pistols have all had the wool treatment, the core alphabet collection is a solid favourite too.
- Price: £220
- Available at: hades-shop.co.uk
43/54Nike By You Trainers
What to buy the sneakerhead who already has every major release of 2023? Easy: design a pair yourself. Whether there's a specific colour they love that just isn't on the market, or they're just into a certain style, Nike's “By You” feature lets you customise your own pair of trainers using 13 colours, three Swoosh options and a range of different textures. Just make sure to put your orders in early as it can take up to five weeks for your custom-made shoes to arrive.
- Price: from £104.95
- Available at: nike.com
44/54Yappy Where's My Dog? Book
In one of the more adorable entries on any of the gift guides we’ve ever put together, this hardcover book from Yappy puts your pet in the middle of Where’s Wally-style action. There are two elements of personalisation here: your dog’s name will obviously feature on the cover of the book, and you can choose an avatar that most closely resembles your pooch to appear throughout the pages too. Pet parents will be pleased to know that there are over 300 breeds of dog available, making representing their pet accurately an almost guarantee. NB: please send us pictures of your dog trying to find themselves in their book.
- Price: £19.99
- Available at: yappy.com
45/54Pressed Birth Flower Pendant Necklace
Not all personalisation requires name or initial flourishes. Sometimes, the practice gets more interesting a twist, such as in the case of these pressed flower pendants. Delicate and eminently wearable, it’ll make for a beautiful addition to their jewellery box. The personalised part? The pressed flower you select should correspond with your giftee’s birth month.
- Price: £34
- Available at: lisaangel.co.uk
46/54Personalised Wood Bath Caddy
For anyone you know who loves taking a nice, long bath to unwind, this bath caddy is the genius invention they need this spring. With space for a glass of wine, a slot for their iPad or iPhone and room to place a scented candle, the bath caddy will mean they have everything they need right with them in the bath. Handmade from rustic oak wood, with the option for a personalised message or name, this is a beautifully crafted gift that will get their 2023 off to a more relaxing start.
- Price:
£49£39 - Available at: notonthehighstreet.com
- Price:
47/54Masel Milano Tie
One of the more sentimental personalisation options, Masel Milano ties offer two instances of bespokery: a visible monogram to the outer material, and a more intimate message on the lining. The perfect anniversary pressie.
- Price: from £105
- Available at: thegoto.com
48/54Away Suitcase
Like all great luxury gifts, Away’s suitcases allow for a personal stamp with the option of adding a name tag pre-gilded with their initials. Make sure to include the USB option to allow this jetsetting present to work its absolute hardest.
- Price: from £240
- Available at: awaytravel.com
49/54Bespoke Rocking Horse
Personalised gifts are always a sentimental extra step you can take to make your giftee feel special, and children are particularly enamoured by having their name on things. This rocking horse does just that with the option of adding a painted tag to its wooden base. Sturdily built and topped by a fuzzy horse seat, it's a classic gift that will act as a plushie friend as well as an indoor playground piece.
- Price: £120
- Available at: my1styears.com
50/54Derek Rose Pyjamas
While Derek Rose charges £15 per character in its bespoke monogramming service, like the pure silk separates it crafts, you’re getting plenty for your money. Choose between fonts, thread colour and size and — everyone’s favourite – add a heart too if you fancy.
- Price: from £15 per character
- Available at: derek-rose.com
51/54Tiffany & Co. Engraved Heart Necklace
If simple and classic are the buzzwords that most fit your partner’s jewellery collection, Tiffany & Co. is the high-end vendor to aim for, with this absolute nailed-on icon of a necklace also offering engraving as an extra special gifting addition.
- Price: from £250
- Available at: tiffany.co.uk
52/54Chitè Satin Lingerie
A lovely pair of satin knickers is a luxury gift in itself, but Italian brand Chitè takes things up a level by allowing an embroidered word, quote or zodiac sign to appear on the back. If you want to go all out, you could even purchase a few pairs with a separate place of meaning to your lover embroidered on each one.
- Price: from
£35£25 - Available at: chite-lingerie.com
- Price: from
53/54Initial & Birthstone Necklace
There’s no safer bet for a personalised gift for her than one of these necklaces – and we’d vouch for that. Personalised not just once, but twice, the necklace includes both birthstone and an initial. A uniquely crafted piece, designed using raw birthstones, it’s a simple yet elegant necklace that they’ll treasure for years to come.
- Price:
£80£64 - Available at: harfi.co.uk
- Price:
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54/54Not Another Bill Backgammon Set
Not Another Bill has built its brand on premium personalised items that make unique and carefully considered gifts. Its product selection ranges from hampers and homeware to tech and leather goods, making it pretty easy to find something for him, for her or for anyone in your life, whatever their taste. We’d recommend this backgammon and drafts roll set, a timeless gift that can be personalised with monogrammed initials to make it truly their own.
- Price: £160
- Available at: notanotherbill.com
