Sometimes finding a gift for someone you know well can be tough. Today's gift issue came from Bronwyn of Mackay:

"Tomorrow is my Mother-in-law's birthday and I haven't got a clue as to what to get her. She lives in a rented unit, so she doesn't have a great deal of space. She will be turning 61, so she is pretty well set up. My Mother-in-law is a diabetic, so food (and chocolate) is out of the question. She loves gardening, but doesn't have a garden." Bronwyn, Mackay.

There are a couple of options that come to mind and I bounced these off Bronwyn. Firstly, is the option of flowers. Most women love to receive flowers and birthdays, births, anniversaries, graduation and Christmas are great occasions to give them. Unfortunately, unless they are artificial, their shelf life is limited - but they are a lovely luxury that should be appreciated!

Another option is to give a mini DIY garden. I offer a small version through Hamperific called "Green thumb" that includes a hanging basket with some herbs, gardening gloves and a spade. The gift recipient can pot their plants up and have lovely fresh herbs close to hand. I suggested to Bronwyn she might like to go one step further and purchase two troughs and a selection of herbs for one of them and some pretty flowering plants for the other. Then her Mother-in-law can create her own mini garden to suit her location. And if she ever has to move she can take them with her.

Finally I enquired about the recipient's hobbies, one of which happens to be reading. It would be wonderful to purchase a great read for the recipient, but as once learnt with my uncle, you never always know if they have read the book! So, I suggested a gift voucher from a good quality bookshop. You could also purchase a gift voucher for one of the department stores where they often have the latest releases at discounted prices, but the selection doesn't seem to be as large as a bookshop.

Some people don't like to give gift vouchers as they say they aren't personal enough. In some cases I would agree, but not always. Personally I love gift vouchers because I can find something I like and this gift option suited Bronwyn as she knew she couldn't go wrong with a gift voucher from a bookshop. Team the voucher up with a great card and present with a huge smile!

Kirsty