Gift-Giving Made Easy with Lulu

Publishing 6 min read

Are you struggling to find the perfect gift for a friend or loved one? Are you wracking your brain, looking for something that will delight your customers and let them know you appreciate them? Are you tired of having to include gift receipts in all of your presents?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, or you’re still reading anyway, you are in luck. Today, we are talking about how to make unique, custom gifts for everyone on your list. This year, give them something they can’t return. Not that they would want to…

When people think of Lulu, mostly books come to mind. And that’s good, because we do make those. But books can come in many different forms. That versatility + print-on-demand = perfect gifts for every occasion.

Notebooks, Planners, and Journals

We have some product sets that naturally lend themselves to gifting. Notebooks, planners, and journals are a few of those. I have never met a person who didn’t enjoy the freedom of a blank notebook. The possibilities are endless. You’re gifting the ability to stay on track, reflect on the day, plan for the week ahead, record new recipes, write a new chapter, measure progress, or just have a cool place to keep a grocery list. The possibilities are endless. And the best part is, you don’t have to decide how they use it. It’s a blank canvas for the recipient to fill with whatever they want, while being reminded of how thoughtful and wonderful you are in the process

Notebooks, planners, and journals are also great as end-of-year gifts for clients or employees. A custom, branded notebook can help keep you top of mind for clients (while working double time as free advertising) and provide employees with a functional thank you at the end of the year. But probably you will want to add something else. I think our notebooks are amazing but, come on. Throw some chocolates in there or something. At least a pen.

If you’re thinking, “When will I find the time to make custom notebooks?” stop that right now. We’ve made it easy with free interior files. Download 100 or 200-page interiors in any of our trim sizes. Once you’ve picked out the interior file, all that’s left is designing the cover. You can download a free cover template for your specific project in our pricing calculator, then create your own using InDesign, Canva, or the cover design tool within our publishing platform.

Calendars

If you are looking for a gift that is guaranteed to delight, go with a custom calendar. I have gifted calendars many times, and will continue to do so, because nothing beats the look on someone's face as they flip through 12 months of memories, carefully curated by you. It’s thoughtful, it’s personal, and between me and you, it’s easy.

All you need is 14 photos and about half an hour. You could probably make one in less time if you had to, but we all know your cat is going to jump in your lap as soon as you really get cooking, so just give yourself the extra time. With Lulu’s calendar creation tool, you simply drag and drop the photos in the order you would like and choose one of four grid themes for your date layout. You can also upload your own completed calendar, if you have a grid layout that you prefer, or want to create something more design-heavy.

One of my favorite parts about our calendar tool—other than the ease of use—is that you can add your own custom dates and events. Remember that time you absolutely destroyed everyone in the annual chili cookoff? Well, now they will, too! Tired of Nana forgetting your birthday? Make sure she doesn’t this year by adding in the date, and maybe even a countdown to give her plenty of time to mail that check. If you are creating calendars as a gift for clients, include important reminders or annual events that will help keep them in the loop.

Calendars can also be a great way to raise money for charities, organizations, or events that are meaningful to you or your business. Simply add the organization as a payee in the project, select the percentage of revenue you would like to be allocated to them, and voila! Gift-give while giving back.

Also just a PSA for all gift-givers out there—if anyone on your list has a pet that they love and possibly treat like an actual human child—there is no better gift than a calendar full of photos of their beloved. You will be immortalized in the gift-giving hall of fame.

Photo Books and Cookbooks

Next on my list of highly giftable Lulu products are photo books and cookbooks. I am grouping these together because both will take more planning and design skills than what I’ve previously mentioned. However, all that time and effort will be rewarded with a truly beautiful and unique gift that will put all others to shame.

Photo books can serve as time capsules for the past year, a lifetime of love or friendship, an amazing vacation, or just a way to get all of those great photos off your phone. If you own a business that is highly aesthetic, an end-of-year photo book can be a great way to remember interesting projects, wins, and accomplishments.

Cookbooks can also be a deeply personal way to show people you care by compiling your favorite family recipes and adding in anecdotes, memories, and photos along the way. We’ve also seen communities come together to create cookbooks as fundraising tools throughout the year. If you’re in the restaurant industry, a cookbook of favorite menu items, drinks, or desserts can be a great way to create additional revenue and give locals and out-of-towners alike a keepsake to return to when they can’t make it in for your famous death by chocolate lava cake.

With photo books and cookbooks, you will want to use design software to create your interior file outside of Lulu. Before you get started, I recommend visiting our pricing calculator so you can pick your trim size and format and download free templates to use as a guide. You can use something like Adobe InDesign, Affinity Designer, or Canva to create your interior and cover file (or use our built-in cover creator tool). Once you’ve completed your pages, export them as a PDF file, then bring them to Lulu to upload and publish.

A Few Tips to Get Started

Regardless of where your adventures in gifting take you, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind:

Print-on-demand products can take 3-5 days to produce, plus shipping. Give yourself plenty of time to create your projects and order proof copies to ensure everything looks perfect.
To save time, use Lulu’s Order Import tool. Our Order Import tool allows you to place multiple orders for multiple products at one time by uploading a CSV file with order info.
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