No matter the circumstances that bring you apart, it’s always important to keep in touch and stay connected with your family. Though you may not always be on the best terms, showing them that you care and respect them can be all it takes to rekindle the love. Even if you’re far apart, sending gifts is a wonderful way to show some love and it doesn’t need to take a lot of effort on your part. Thanks to the internet, it’s become increasingly easy to pick out a meaningful gift and send it from the comfort of your home. You can even buy virtual gifts that don’t even need to be sent to their physical address.
So in this post, we’re going to take a look at the art of sending gifts to distant family members and how you can make it work.
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Simple gifts with a meaningful message can still be powerful
Sometimes, all it takes is a simple gift with a meaningful message to make a statement. If you have the email address of your distant family member, then consider getting them something simple over the internet. This could be something like an Amazon gift card or even an iTunes gift card. Since these products are essentially just codes, you could give them the code itself instead of sending the entire card. In some cases, you can gift the balance directly into their account if they use the same service. For instance, you can send Amazon gift cards directly to your recipient’s email and all they do is click a button to add it to their balance.
Many of these gift cards can also be sent with a message. You can add pictures, music or even a custom voice message. If you time this for your distant family member’s birthday or a special event, there are usually seasonal messages to help them get into a festive spirit. You can adjust the exact amount that you send via the gift card, and it’s far more practical than trying to pick a gift and send it to them directly.
Just make sure that you purchase a gift card that works in their region. Some services might require the gift card to be sent in a specific currency. You should also think about the recipient and what services they use. While Amazon is the most popular, a younger family member might prefer Fortnite V-Bucks if they play video games. Similarly, a music lover might enjoy an iTunes card. It’s all about picking something that is relevant to the interests of your recipient. But if you’re not entirely sure, then we’d suggest just sending a general gift card for an online retailer such as Amazon.
Physical gifts can be sent straight to your recipient’s address
If you know your recipient’s address, you can actually send a variety of different things that are made to be gifted. For instance, you can ask Amazon to gift wrap something and remove recipients and other documents. This creates a gift that is sent directly to your recipient in a convenient and inexpensive package. You can even add a special card if you want to.
For a more general gift, why not consider birthday flowers? A beautiful bouquet of roses, tulips and lilies can be an amazing gift for someone that adores flowers. Bouquets are often sent directly to the recipient via a courier. This ensures that the flowers aren’t crushed during transport and will help retain the lustre and beauty of the entire bouquet. Whether it’s celebrating a birthday, an event or just as a birthday gift, flowers can be a wonderful choice. Just make sure you look around for different services or businesses that offer a flower delivery service. Much like other gift services, you can often choose to add a special message to the flowers or even accompany it with chocolates.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to just do things the simple way by sending your relatives something in the mail. Just make sure you get a box that is large enough and add some padding to ensure the item you’re sending doesn’t break. Do be warned that some items might not be accepted. For instance, some types of foods might be rejected when entering another country and it’ll have to be thrown away. Make sure you look at delivery restrictions to ensure that you don’t violate any rules.
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Sending your family members something unique to your country or city
A fun way to send a meaningful and memorable gift is to actually buy something that is unique or special to your city or country. For example, you could send special foods or chocolates that can only be found in your country. You can even send typical supermarket items that aren’t common in your recipient’s country.
If you’re sending something to a relative that has left the country, then why not consider sending a care package of the things they love and miss from their home country? For instance, maybe they can’t find certain types of cooking sauces or ingredients that they normally use for cooking. If they miss the home cooking of the country they came from, then a care package might be one of the most exciting gifts they’ll receive. If you’re feeling extra special, you could decorate the box with different images and trinkets that are unique to the country you’re in.
In addition to food items, you could also think about sending souvenirs based on your country. Whether it’s typical gifts you can buy in a shop or something homemade that is infused with the culture of your town or country, there are countless options to think about. We highly suggest that you look into the history or culture of your city to find inspiration for what to send.
If you don’t keep in touch with them often, then recapping can be a great idea
We typically don’t talk to our distant family members much because they’re minding their own business and we’re doing our own thing. However, there may come an opportunity for you both to catch up and talk a bunch. While this is perfectly fine over the internet or phone, a hand-written message to a loved one can actually be a lot more impactful.
If you’re thinking of sending a simple gift such as flowers, a gift card or anything edible, why not accompany it with a hand-written letter explaining what’s been happening with your side of the family and what you’ve been up to? It’s a great read for your distant relative to catch up with what you’re doing and it’ll usually prompt a similar response. It can be an enjoyable experience to catch up with loved ones that are no longer local.
In some cases, it could even convince you and your distant family members to start talking again and engaging in conversations. Thanks to social media, instant messaging programs and video platforms like Zoom or Skype, you can actually keep in touch with almost all of your relatives with the internet. It’s a great way to stay in touch and keep up with all your family affairs.
Some final words
Distant family members are still family. No matter how little you keep in touch, it’s important that you don’t forget who they are and that you don’t neglect them. We hope that this article has helped you pick out a gift for a distant family member so you can show them that you’re still thinking about them.
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