Personalized New Year Gifts – Make your New Year gifts the most memorable ones by adding a personal touch to it. For the family members, close friends and special ones you can create hand made New Year presents.
It’s New Year party time! You would be searching for the best New
Year gifts to exchange it with your near and dear ones. Charm the New
Year celebrations by showering gifts to your loved ones and turn the
festivity more meaningful. The
Ideas for New Year gifts depend on the age and taste of the person.
The best way know what exactly you can pick for your beloved is by
understanding his/her preferences. You can order for gifts online or can
hit the special New Year stores to make the right choice. Cards, flowers and cakes are very much popular but, try to think
something unique and astound your loved ones this year. Turn the event,
the most memorable one by picking the best suitable New Year gifts.
Happy New Year Gift Ideas
Personalized New Year Gifts – Make your New Year gifts the
most memorable ones by adding a personal touch to it. For the family
members, close friends and special ones you can create hand made New
Year presents. Monogrammed coasters and coffee mugs – Your darling would
always think of you; whenever he/she would have coffee, you would be in
his/her mind. Walk into your honey’s heart by getting your loving
pictures printed on the coffee mugs or coasters. Bottle of wine or champagne with name engraved – Nothing is
more romantic and festive than a bottle of wine on New Year eve. Order
of the large size champagne bottle and add a love note with it. Make
your New Year gift ideas the most unforgettable ones. New Year planner (Diary) – Make each day of your loved one
special by presenting planner for the New Year. Your hubby would surely
love this. He can plan his schedules better and would think of you
always. New Year Calendar – Collect all the lovely pictures you
clicked last year and get a calendar printed this year. Assemble the
sweet memories and add one picture for every month. The twelve surprises
given by you would undoubtedly steal anyone’s heart.
New Year Presents
Chinese New Year Gifts – You have some very close friends in
China and you want to surprise them this New Year by sending Chinese New
Year gifts. The Chinese New Year stretched for fifteen days
celebrations and is determined by the lunar calendar. Here are some of
the very famous New Year Chinese presents –
Chinese coin money tree
Silver fortune cookie box engraved with the New Year message
Wooden chopsticks set in presentation box
Chinese New Year treat bag
Good fortune charm bracelet
Red Chinese lantern
Personalized Chinese symbol Wooden picture album
Gift Ideas for New Year – Simpler yet very useful gifts that you
can present to your relatives are the best ones. You don’t have to
flaunt expensive and fancy gifts for the New Year. Here are the New Year
gifts for personal and family purposes –
Window dressings – Drapers, tassels and Curtains
Bedspreads – Pillows, cushion covers, bed sheets
Dinner ware – Cutleries, dishes, bowls and platters
Wine and Vodka shot glasses – Set of six goblets
Hope you enjoy the celebrations and pick the best New Year gifts for all your loved ones
You can customise your perfume for the receiver (Naomi King/Flickr)
A little bit different and completely unique – essentially a perfume
in lip-balm form. All you need is three pretty simple ingredients
(beeswax, carrier oil and your choice of scented essential oil) and the
best bit is you can make them in whatever easy-to-carry containers you
want. Have a go here.
In fact, there are a whole range of solid cosmetics you can make.
How about some soap bars or a tightly-screwed jar of mini bath bombs?
2. Candles
Tea cup, egg cup, cereal bowl – you can make a candle in pretty much anything round (Rya Pie/Flickr)
A shop-bought candle is a pretty naff gift, but when you make your
own there is no end to the inventive possibilities. Plus, if you’re
using glass or crockery, it being full of solid wax will make it less
delicate when packing. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Hand-crafting elaborate truffles and bonbons is both difficult to do
well and will have been all for nothing when they inevitably morph into a
sticky, dodgy-looking blob in transit. But a solid chocolate slab or
brittle is much more likely to survive and can even be pre-smashed and
handed out in Cellophane bags. Try this recipe, which comes from the chocolate experts: the Belgians.
4. Flavoured hot drinks mixes
We’d advise choosing your flavours carefully (Cory Doctorow/Flickr)
Providing after-dinner cakes or biscuits is another labour that will
most likely crumble – literally. But you could provide the coffee/tea
itself with your own unique flavours and, again, choose whatever
container you like that will make an attractive and easily transportable
vessel. Here are some examples of how to have a go at tea and different ways to flavour coffee. Or, if you like to get really festive, how about some mulled wine/cider spice bags?
The classic marshmallows and chocolate powder is always a winner (Trevor King/Flickr)
For friends with a sweeter tooth, put together a sturdy jar full of
all the ingredients to make a deliciously indulgent hot chocolate treat
like this.
5. Personalised calendars, etc…
Remember this? They had the right idea! (Gareth Copley/PA)
Having calendars and other accessories (tea towels, coasters, etc)
printed with your own pictures doesn’t have to be cheesy. You can use
beautiful photos from travels, family history or even a choice of quotes
that will bring a fresh little surprise every month. They are easy to
wrap, light to carry and most printing websites will offer deals for the
more you order.
6. Make your own book
No one’s saying it has to be a novel, but that’s up to you (quattrostagioni/Flickr)
Take it a step further by having your own books printed. Recipes, life hacks, stories… the possibilities really are endless.
7. Anything you can design yourself
Once you get going, you might even find it hard to stop! (Rob Faulkner/Flickr)
If you’re a dab hand at drawing or sewing, then any used items (still
in a decent condition) that you can effectively rejuvenate makes a
great gift, and you can base your ideas around things that are easy to
pack. We particularly like this idea of burning pictures and writing into wooden things, such as chopping boards.
8. Anything you can transform yourself
Finally, something to do with all those retro band T-shirts! (Sonja Lovas/Flickr)
So you might not be an artist, but a few whirls of a needle and
thread and you can turn various old bits and bobs into whole new items
with a cool and original look. Sweater tote, anyone? T-shirt quilt? The
internet is full of suggestions you never would have thought of!
9. Anything you can frame
When we say ‘anything’ you can put in a frame… (Toby Melville/PA)
Whether it’s a print, your own drawing, a photo collage, or something
written, anything that can be put on paper and framed can simply be
layered in between piles of clothes in a suitcase. But just to be on the
safe side, we’d recommend frames with plastic covers rather than glass!
Or if you have a frame but no idea what to put in it, you could always
try turning it into a tea tray.
10. Adopt an animal
Who wouldn’t want this little face for Christmas? (David Cheskin/PA)
Not literally an actual animal. That would be ridiculous. But if you
sponsor your friend or loved one’s favourite endangered animal, then
everyone wins and the most you have to transport under the tree is an
envelope – all the updates and freebies will be mailed directly to them.
OK, so it isn’t exactly handmade, but you could always decorate the
envelope.
There’s nothing wrong with store gift cards and cheesy handmade
coupons, if that’s what you know your gift-ee really wants. But
delivering it tucked inside a handmade personalised card (a good one)
adds that sentimental value and shows you have still gone to some
effort.
12. Mini hampers
Make-your-own garlic bread hamper? It’s one idea… (insatiablemunch/Flickr)
We know it’s pretty bad form to buy your presents on the night before
Christmas, but no one said anything about assembling at the last
minute. Buy a load of flat and foldable cardboard boxes, small, light
wicker baskets, or even pretty gift bags and then fill them with
thoughtful and easy-to-pack bits and pieces when nobody’s looking to
create personalised hampers for everyone. Delightful.
So you’ve bought the gamer in your life all the blockbuster winter
releases they asked for – congratulations, they’re going to be very
happy. But what else do you get for that special person who’s probably
going too spend much of the festive season sat in front of the TV
shooting at aliens?
Here are 20 video game-themed suggestions, ranging from clothing to
books. Sure, you could also buy them a bike or a kite or something to
try and coax them outside, but frankly that’s your problem – good luck
with that. In the meantime, we have cuddly toys and comics.
Namco Bandai Europe has just opened an online merchandise store
full of mugs, hoodies, t-shirts, artwork and other goodies themed
around its games. There’s a lot of Pac-Man stuff obviously, but I like
this Tekken bag featuring the classic fighting game’s loveable Panda
character. It’s perfect for hauling your Vita or 3DS around, or doing
the weekly shop (no 5p carriers for you), and it’s made from recycled
materials, so you’re effectively saving the environment through stylish
accessorising.
OK, these are among the most expensive gaming headsets you can buy,
but the Astro A40s are used by pro gamers and feature great build
quality, superb Dolby 7.1 Digital surround sound and plenty of
customisation options to get the audio levels just right for your
requirements. If you’re looking for something cheaper, the Sennheiser PC
310, HyperX Cloud II and Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Alpha are all
pretty good options and will support PCs and most consoles – just make
sure you buy the right version for the machine your recipient is playing
on.
Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to spend the whole of Christmas day
wearing this enormously cute and tasteful Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas
jumper from gaming merchandise specialist Numskull?
Available in an array for sizes and totally unisex, this high-fashion
item features the legendary hedgehog in his famous finger-wagging pose,
as if to say “no, you cannot have Christmas without Sonic”. And he is
right of course. Although, if for some reason the hedgehog doesn’t cut
it, Numskulls has a whole bunch of alternative pullovers featuring
everything from Star Wars to Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate.
Building toy manufacturer K’Nex has a whole range of Nintendo
tie-ins including this Mario Kart set, which comes with a buildable
Mario figure and bike. You can also get Yoshi and Donkey Kong versions,
as well as karts and a Starting Line playset to race them all on –
though that might be taking things a bit far if you’re over the age of
twelve. Apparently the packaging doubles as a ramp so you can set it up
on the dining table and see if you can launch poor Mario over the
turkey.
If your loved one is a fan of racing simulations but they’re still
using a standard joypad, they are, quite frankly, doing it wrong. The
new T300RS is a force feedback steering wheel offering precise control
and a smooth, silent feedback motor. The wheel comes with two metal
pedals offering progressive resistance, so you get authentic control
over acceleration and braking. Right now, the wheel is only compatible
with the PC, PlayStation 3 and PS4, though Thurstmaster does do other wheels for the Xbox One.
A lot of the official Minecraft merchandise is expensive and a little
disappointing, but I really like this torch, designed to resemble the
vital piece of mine lighting equipment from Mojang’s hugely successful
construction game. You won’t need a stick and a piece of coal as this
one is made from plastic, and it emits a warm orange glow making it a
perfect night light. You can even wall mount it, to keep those zombies
away. The torch is available from a variety of online stores and toy
shops.
Designed and built in the UK and endorsed by Sir Clive Sinclair, this
miniaturised version of the classic Speccy connects to your TV via USB
and A/V cables, giving you access to a thousand pre-loaded licensed
games from the 1980s. There’s also a micro SD slot so you can load up
extra titles. It’s a reasonably expensive way to rediscover classics
like Jet Set Willy and Chuckie Egg, but if you know a nostalgic veteran
gamer who goes misty-eyed at the mere mention of the phrase “Kempston
joystick interface”, this is for them
London-based label Data-Discs makes absolutely beautiful video game
soundtrack albums in conjunction with the original composers. The
Streets of Rage album takes us scorching back to the days of the Mega
Drive and is based on audio files taken from the old NEC PC-88 files. It
also comes with two lithographic prints featuring art from the game
packaging. The company is specialising on Sega right now, with further
soundtrack releases Shenmue, Shinobi III and Super Hang-On all just as
lusciously packaged. Try sticking one of these on at the family
Christmas disco.
This beautiful hardback book is a retrospective of the legendary
science fiction artist Chris Foss who has illustrated hundreds of
classic SF novels (as well as providing concept art for movies such as
Alien, Superman and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unreleased version of Dune).
It’s not a new publication, but if there is someone in your life who’s
looking forward to next year’s space exploration game No Man’s Sky –
likely to be one of the major PlayStation 4 releases of the year – this
is the book from them. Foss was a major inspiration on developer Hello
Games and his influence can be seen in the title’s super stylised
spacecraft and richly colourful alien environments
Created by licensed giftware specialist Paladone these teeny Street
Fighter models are designed to look like the pixellated game visuals of
the Super Nintendo era. Ryu comes as 181 blocks which you (or your lucky
gaming friend) painstakingly put together to reconstruct the classic
pugilist. There are also Blanka and Ken models so you could get them all
and keep a veteran Capcom fan entertained on Christmas day. They’re
available from Amazon and a host of other digital stores.
Way back when, the Romans had a god named Janus.
He was the god of doors and gates and had two faces — one looking
forward and one looking back. Julius Caesar thought it would be
appropriate for January, Janus' namesake month, to be the doorway to a
new year, and when he created the Julian calendar, he made January 1 the
first day of the year (this also put the calendar year in line with the
consular year, as new consuls also took office that day). For Caesar, the Julian calendar was a political tool and weapon. As
the Roman armies conquered new lands, the Empire often gave its new
subjects some freedom in retaining certain religious and social customs.
After the calendar was created, though, it was used in every corner of
the Empire, not just for consistency, but to remind all citizens of
Roman authority and Caesar's power.
After Rome fell and Christianity spread through Europe, the
celebration of the new year was seen as pagan (the Romans, after all,
had observed the new year's first day by having in drunken orgies), so
the first day of the year was moved to a more agreeable date to
Christianize it. Some countries started their year on March 25, the day
Christians commemorate the announcement to Mary that she miraculously
was pregnant. Other countries used Christmas Day, December 25, and
others used Easter
Sunday, no matter what date it fell on. Often, this change only applied
to the government calendar's. In common usage, January 1 was still the
first day of the year, as regular non-clergy, non-royal folks didn't t
see a need to change it.
Change the Date
This calendrical chaos worked for a while, but a frustrated pope
would put an end to it during the Middle Ages. An error in Caesar's
calendar had caused the Julian year to become misaligned with the solar
year. By 1582, the difference had grown to 10 days. Over the years, the
Spring Equinox (and, with it, Easter) kept getting moved up, and Pope
Gregory XIII was tired of having to re-set the holiday. Gregory devised a
new calendar that used a single leap day every four years to keep it
aligned. He also restored January 1 as the first day of the year.
Most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar quickly, but
the Protestant and Eastern Rite countries were a little more hesitant.
The Protestants complained that the "Roman Antichrist" was trying to
trick them into worshiping on the wrong days. The Eastern Rite churches
wanted to maintain tradition, so some Eastern European countries kept
the Julian calendar for centuries more. Russia didn't switch to the
Gregorian calendar until after the 1917 revolution, and even today the
Eastern Orthodox Church still follows either the traditional or revised
Julian calendar to set its liturgical year.
Eventually the Protestant nations came around and switched to the
Gregorian calendar. Most, though, changed the start of the year well
before they adopted the whole thing. England, Ireland and the British
colonies made January 1 the start of the year in early 1752 - Scotland
had already switched about 150 years earlier - but waited until
September to fully embrace the new calendar. The staggered move was
perhaps symbolic, bringing the government calendar in line with the
peoples' before bringing the nation's calendar in line the with Pope's.
The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new
phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed
to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the
time of the vernal equinox,
in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also
used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and
Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks
celebrated it on the winter solstice.
Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year
The early Roman calendar
designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months,
beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of
March is still reflected in some of the names
of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth
months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months
(septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten."
January Joins the Calendar
The first time the new
year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the
month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second
king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the
months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to
January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the
two newly elected Roman consuls—the
highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure. But
this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new
year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.
Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year
In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new,
solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman
calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over
the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman
world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.
Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished
In medieval Europe, however,
the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and
unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the
beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout
medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth
of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.
Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored
In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January
1 as new year's day. Although most
Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was
only gradually adopted among Protestant
countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar
until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still
celebrated the new year in March.
New Year is the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner.[1] The New Year of the Gregorian calendar, today mostly in use, falls on 1 January (New Year's Day), as was the case both in the old Roman calendar (at least after about 713 BCE) and in the Julian calendar that succeeded it. The order of months was January to December in the Old Roman calendar during the reign of King Numa Pompilius in about 700 BCE, according to Plutarch and Macrobius,
and has been in continuous use since that time. Many countries, such as
the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the United States, mark 1
January as a national holiday.
During the Middle Ages
in western Europe, while the Julian calendar was still in use,
authorities moved New Year's Day variously, depending upon locale, to
one of several other days, among them: 1 March, 25 March, Easter, 1
September, and 25 December. These New Year's Day changes generally
reverted to using January 1 before or during the various local adoptions of the Gregorian calendar, beginning in 1582. The change from March 25 – Lady Day, one of the four quarter days – to January 1 took place in Scotland in 1600, before the ascension of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603 and well before the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain
in 1707. In England and Wales (and in all British dominions, including
Britain's American colonies), 1751 began on March 25 and lasted 282
days, and 1752 began on January 1.[2] For more information about the changeover from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and the effect on the dating of historical events etc., see Old Style and New Style dates.
A great many other calendars have seen use historically in different
parts of the world; some such calendars count years numerically, while
others do not. The expansion of Western culture
during recent centuries has seen such widespread official adoption of
the Gregorian calendar that its recognition and that of January 1 as the
New Year has become virtually global. (Note for example the New Year
celebrations held in Dubai to mark the start of 2014, which broke the
world record for the most fireworks set off in a single display,[3] lasting for six minutes and including the use of over 500,000 fireworks.)
Nevertheless, regional or local use of other calendars persists,
along with the cultural and religious practices that accompany them.
Many places (such as Israel, China, and India) also celebrate New Year
at the times determined by these other calendars. In Latin America the
observation of traditions belonging to various native cultures continues
according to their own calendars, despite the domination of recently
arrived cultures. The most common dates of modern New Year's
celebrations are listed below, ordered and grouped by their alignment
relative to the Gregorian calendar.