How to Personalize a Gift: Names, Dates, Photos, Prints and More

Personalization is so much more than engraving a name. It can be the date you met, the map of the place it all began, a photo, a few words in your own handwriting, or the tiny print of a fingerprint. The gifts people keep start with one of these details. This guide walks through the kinds of details you can use, and which work best on each type of gift.

Start with the detail, not the product

Before you choose a gift, choose the one detail that makes it theirs. Most personal gifts are built from one of these:

• Names and initials: a first name, a nickname, a monogram, or every name in the family.
• Dates and years: a birthday, a wedding day, the year you met, "Est. 2012".
• Places: a map of where you met, coordinates of a first home, a sketch of the family house.
• Photos and portraits: a favorite photo, a drawn portrait of a couple or a pet, even an ultrasound image.
• Handwriting and little prints: a note in their handwriting, a signature, a fingerprint, a baby's handprint or footprint.
• Words that matter: a short message, an inside joke, a phrase they always say.
• Symbols: a birthstone or birth flower, a hobby, a favorite animal or place.

One clear detail almost always says more than five crowded ones.

Match the detail to the gift

Necklaces, rings and bracelets

Jewelry has the smallest surface, so it suits the smallest details: initials, a short name, a date, coordinates, a birthstone or birth flower. A fingerprint or a few words of handwriting work beautifully on a pendant, because they are small but completely unique. A tiny portrait of a partner or a pet can turn a necklace into something they reach for every day.

Ideas: their fingerprint on a pendant, a child's handprint, a map of where you met, grandchildren's initials, a ring engraved with your wedding date.

Ornaments

An ornament marks one moment in one year, so a name with the year is a natural fit. They also work for the milestones of the year: a first Christmas, a first home, an engagement, a new pet, a big trip. Many ornaments have a front and a back, so you can put a picture on one side and the words on the other.

Ideas: baby's name and first Christmas year, a handprint from this year, "The year we said yes", a first home with the address, a pet's name and paw.

Keepsakes and night lights

Larger keepsakes have room for a whole scene and a few lines of text. This is where a photo, a family's names, or an illustration of a favorite place shines. A night light with a child's name becomes part of their room for years.

Ideas: an ultrasound image with a due date, a first dance portrait, every family member's name, a little one's name above a dreamy scene, a favorite place drawn from a photo.

Blankets and throws

A blanket has the most space of all, so it can carry a longer letter, a collage of photos, or a portrait of everyone in the family, pets included. It is also the gift people actually use every day.

Ideas: a letter to a daughter, ten photos for ten years married, portraits of the family dogs, a grandmother's favorite family photo.

Sweatshirts and tees

Clothing is personal in a quieter way. A name on a sleeve, children's names on a "Mama" sweatshirt, or a short note in a child's handwriting can be worn every day without shouting.

Ideas: kids' names on a mom sweatshirt, a handwritten note on the cuff, matching first Christmas tees, a pet's name and portrait.

Home: doormats, mugs and tumblers

Home gifts suit the family name, the year the home began, or a portrait of the house itself. Mugs and tumblers are perfect for a nickname, a role or a short joke.

Ideas: the family name with "Est." and the year, a drawing of their house, a teacher's mug with the class year, "Papa Bear" on a tumbler.

Journals, wallets and keychains

These are carried every day, so keep it simple: initials or a name on the cover, a short message inside, or a child's footprints tucked into a wallet.

Ideas: initials on a leather journal, "Letters to my baby" for a new parent, baby footprints inside a wallet, a short promise on a keychain.

For a child's room

For little ones, their name is the whole point. Put it on a night light, a puzzle or a pennant, and choose a scene from something they love: the ocean, the woods, the stars.

Short words for small spaces

When space is tight, a few words do the most work. Some ideas:

• Partner: Always you · My person · Home is you · I choose you, still
• Mom: You were my first home · Thank you for everything · Love you more
• Daughter or son: Brave and loved · Go gently, go far · Proud of you, always
• Sister or friend: Side by side · Since third grade · You get me
• Grandmother: Loved by all 7 of us · Nana's whole heart
• For him: Proud of you, Dad · Yours since 2015 · Hold steady
• In memory: a name and the years · Always with me · Carried with love

Ways to write a date or a place

• Numbers: 06.14.19, short and clean
• Roman numerals: VI.XIV.MMXIX, classic and a little secret
• Year only: Est. 2012 or Since 2015
• Coordinates: 40.7128 N 74.0060 W marks a place without naming it
• A map: the streets around where you met, married or grew up

Before you order

We make exactly what you approve, so a final check is worth a minute.

• Names and words: check every spelling, capital letter and space, and count your characters against the limit on the product page.
• Dates: 06.07 means June 7 in the US but July 6 in many other countries, so pick a format they will read the right way.
• Photos: use the original, full-size photo in good light. Screenshots and photos sent through messaging apps lose detail.
• Handwriting: dark pen on plain white paper, photographed straight on in daylight.
• Fingerprints, handprints and footprints: a clear, dark print on white paper, with no smudges.

Each product page explains exactly what you can personalize and how. If something goes wrong on our side, we remake it free.

Ready to start? Browse all gifts or shop by the person you love.