If you’re plagued with gift-giving anxiety, life can seem like one long year-round present buying exercise. How is it that there’s always a looming birthday / wedding / christening / baby shower / graduation / anniversary that requires a thoughtful gift, all tied up with silky a bow?
Then there’s the hard to buy for a friend – they’ve either ‘got it all’ or their tastes are the very definition of particular – a last minute dash to nearest 24 hour garage for a bunch of wilting carnations and a box of Cadbury’s Milk Tray simply will not suffice.
Of course, you’ve considered a gift card and the old school cash-in-an-envelope approach, but if you’re looking to be thoughtful that just doesn’t cut the mustard. In these scenarios it can be tempting to throw your money at the problem, and burn a major hole in your credit card allaying the associated guilt that comes with buying a gift last moment or failing to second guess that perfect present your BFF has in mind.
The good news is, if you’re feeling panicked by the whole present-buying process you’re not alone. Experts have identified gift-giving anxiety as a genuine condition, which peaks in December with studies finding that Christmas shopping alone can induce as much stress as running a marathon.
Little Black Box is a clever company that aims to make gifting easy by providing a complete experience for the gifter and giftee, creating thoughtfully curated gift boxes filled with products that cleverly compliment one another. It’s a smart and super-stylish proposition – think gorgeous gifts with an element of uniqueness and luxury all prettily packaged in a ribbon tied little black (or gold – your choice) box. Run of the mill gifts will be a thing of the past – Little Black Box was created with a vision to strengthen relationships and encourage the celebration of special moments through the art of gifting.
The contents are considered with uniqueness in mind, you won’t find these chic trinkets and little luxuries in your local corner shop. The curated offering ranges from the artisanal to the premium, all with 3 things in common – style, luxury and quality. There’s Ladurée macaron-bearing key rings, the prettiest of pouches, cosy alpaca bed socks, fine bone china mugs with cool typography slogans… gifting a curated collection of covetable items is a smart move – why hedge your bets on one gift when you can offer a curated box of treats?
Each box is design around a ‘theme’ with a customer in mind, there’s the ‘Chic Happens’ box for stylish stationary lover, the ‘Damn Handsome’ box for the well-groomed bearded gent, the ‘Sassy’ box for that pal who religiously watches RuPaul … no personality will be left empty-handed. And for Little Miss / Mr particular, Little Black Box also offer the option to ‘Build Your Own Box’; customise the contents and gift wrap, then scribe a personalised notecard to create something special and entirely bespoke.
You can also shop Little Black Box with an occasion in mind; there’s edits for mum’s to be, new babies and new homes, or (because sometimes it doesn’t warrant an occasion to spoil your nearest and dearest) – ‘just because’.
And it goes without saying, that when a gift arrives beautifully packaged, the battle is half won. Never has the art of gift-wrapping been more perfectly illustrated on the big screen than in the infamous Christmas shopping scene in the Love Actually, pitched perfectly by Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman. Assuming the role of a pedantic Jewellery Counter Assistant, Rowan Atkinson painstakingly wraps Harry’s pendant of choice garnishing the trinket with crushed lavender, rosebud petals and a holly sprig, no less.
Little Black Box know how to do chic packaging (without the need for a holly sprig, thankfully); your gift arrives beautifully boxed, ribbon tied and ready to go, saving precious time that would otherwise have been spent battling Sellotape and scissors.
So breath a sigh of relief, step away from your credit card and bookmark mylittleblack.co.uk – the best things really do come in black packages!
