Gifts of the year: Australia's top gift-giving trends of 2021

Whilst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has well and truly impacted the ways in which we've been able to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations, and a plethora of other momentous occasions that have sadly fallen within the confines of lockdowns, the lockdowns have by no means stopped Aussies celebrating entirely.

In fact, some of the year's top gift-giving trends have been dictated by social distancing measures and a growing need to celebrate at home, but together.

We've refused to simply let commemorative occasions pass us by, opting instead to send gifts that defy the restrictions placed upon us, gifts that allow friends and loved ones to demonstrate how much they care, even from afar.

Here are some of Australia's top gifts of 2021.

There's been a steep increase in the popularity of personalised gifts in Australia over the past year, with some of the year's most popular personalised presents including monogrammed wallets and notebooks, as well as custom engraved accessories like photo frames, butcher's knife sets, and other personalised homewares.

There has been a rise in wedding favours and other wedding or anniversary gifts being sent through the post, resulting in some commenting on the nature of virtual wedding gifting as a separate art to in-person gifting itself.

As part of the joy of giving personalised gifts is being able to see the excitement and gratitude of your gift's recipient upon giving that gift, it's become common for people to make video calls with their friends and loved ones upon receiving their gifts in the post.

This way, the virtual gifting experience has been able to retain all the heartfelt intentions of gifting in-person, and newlywed couples or couples celebrating anniversaries are actually able to have more quality time with gift recipients overall.

In essence, personalised gifting has been on the rise simply because this year inspired people to gift passionately.

As a nation, we've found an abundance of ways to brighten one another's days during lengthy lockdowns, from scheduling Zoom family dinners to organising remote game nights with friends and loved ones.

In a time where people have been connecting over hobbies and activities rather than over dinner and drinks, it's not surprising to note that experiential gift-giving has also been on the rise across Australia, with items like gift hampers, sourdough starter kits, wine or foodie subscription boxes, kits and access to online courses, and vouchers for virtual activities like murder mystery games or escape rooms being some of the most popular experiential gifts over 2021.

With everyone working or learning from home, the art of gift-giving has become an act of enrichment, providing gift-givers with opportunities to encourage their friends and loved ones to make the most of their time at home, try some new things, and develop some neat, new skills along the way too.

Local business owners have undoubtedly suffered over a year's worth of repeat lockdowns, but thankfully Aussies across the country have also demonstrated their knack for community care, with local restaurant and cafe owners taking advantage of delivery apps and remote ordering systems, and retailers turning to eCommerce.

One group of professionals that called for support earlier this year were Aussie florists.

Following the unfortunate timing of lockdowns falling around Valentine's Day across Australia's east coast, some florists were forced to dispose of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory.

The loss was immense, but media coverage inspired many in Australia's capital cities to start gifting bouquets and live flowers during lockdown to friends and family outside of their iso bubbles, causing orders at local floristries to skyrocket over the past few months in particular.

With their vibrant colours and mood-boosting presence, bouquets have become not just one of the top gifts given over 2021, but also one of the most happily received gifts too. On that note...

As we touched on in the previous point, there is an enormous number of artisanal designers and small businesses currently struggling with lockdowns and reduced demand.

Buying unique gifts from local businesses is always a fantastic way to step out from the norm whilst helping those currently going through hardships.

From handmade homewares to second-hand finds, there will always be a treasure trove of gift-giving options for you to choose from within your community.

For those that aren't able to go out and source gifts directly from brick and mortar stores, many small businesses have taken the initiative to start online stores. This means that you have a wealth of options for supporting businesses right at your fingertips; ethical purchasing has never been simpler.

There have been extensive reports over 2021 about the steep increase in charitable gift-giving across Australia, with some of the most common gifts received throughout the year being donations made to charities in the recipient's name.

There are two primary reasons for this, the first being that birthday donations have become normalised on social media, with Facebook, in particular, promoting birthday fundraiser buttons on or around the birth dates displayed on profiles, providing Facebook users with the option to ask for donations rather than material gifts.

Alongside this, the impact that COVID-19 has held on other nations has been monumental in comparison with Australia's own experiences. Coupled with the increased need for community care, many Australian citizens felt compelled to 'do their part' and support their wider global community through the ups and downs of 2020 and 2021 as well.

Charitable gifts have been a fantastic method of demonstrating community care with your friends and loved ones and celebrating our own health and security during each and every lockdown.

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Australia's gift-giving trends of 2021 demonstrate that Australians are moving further away from gifting arbitrarily, or sourcing meaningless, material gifts.

With last-minute gift-giving well and truly being non-existent due to repeat lockdowns and the growing need for gifts to be sent and received remotely, our gifts have become more meaningful and our gift-giving more purpose-driven which has, in turn, strengthened our connections to our friends and loved ones during a time where we thought this to be impossible.