Going away present ideas, please?

I agree with a nice garden plant,in a nice big pot, that will flower every year and remind her of your friendship. Mini rhododendron is lovely also hydrangea or a nice Acer

Redrobin51

Etsy do a good variety of porcelain Christmas tree bells. I noticed them last Xmas when I was searching for a gift for a friend.

This is genius! As well as a gift direct from me, I will order one from each of the groups we belong to and have a personal message engraved. Thank you!

I will hear from the artist soon, and if that works out I am sorted. If not, there are some excellent ideas on here. Thanks again everyone. I knew I could rely on you😊

Etsy do a good variety of porcelain Christmas tree bells. I noticed them last Xmas when I was searching for a gift for a friend.

Greyisnotmycolour

Will she have a garden ? If she will, I'd get a plant, maybe a flowering shrub that could go in a pot and won't need much maintenance.

When we moved here 20 years ago a friend gave me some bulbs for our new garden. I remember thinking what a good idea she'd had.

She is moving about 200 miles away. We'll keep in touch, but I don't know if we'll meet up - possibly.

I don't know if she's in the NT, or whether there will be many properties where she's going - probably, as they have properties all over the country. There is a Tourist Information place in Hometown - I'll look in there for things like teatowels, but meanwhile I have asked a local artist to think about something that will represent the places we go to practise our hobbies and interests. If she can come up with something I will commission a small painting that she can put somewhere unobtrusive .

Thanks for the ideas - if the commission doesn't work out I'll revisit the thread.

Does she belong to the National Trust? Is she in an area where there are many NT properties? Membership for a year? Is she moving far away? Will you meet up with her in the future?

Rather more prosaic idea but my town has some good quality tea towels showing scenes from the town on sale in the museum. I have used them to fold round (wrap up) small gifts for other family members instead of wrapping paper.

Checkout lotsy.co.uk. They make personalized prints.I recently ordered one for a family member moving from Canada to Barbados and was very impressed with the print. I will attach a picture so you get the idea. You can choose colours, what the message is and pinpoint on the map where you are moving from and where you are going.

Greyisnotmycolour

Will she have a garden ? If she will, I'd get a plant, maybe a flowering shrub that could go in a pot and won't need much maintenance.

Yes, sounds like a lovely idea. Perhaps a garden centre voucher would be good, and maybe you could offer to go with her to choose it if she won't be too far away?

A hamper is a nice idea to be delivered once she arrives at her new home or maybe a photo frame with a pic of the two of you on some outing you enjoyed?

Good idea Applegran
I have gifted these - both the old area and the new. They have been well received.

The other nice gift was an ariel photograph.

shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/custom-made/

You can get a folded map or a framed one - the framed ones cost more.

You can order a special map from Ordinance Survey with her new home in the middle. You tell the OS what to write on the outer cover and you supply a photo too - so you could put a picture of her and call the map 'Person's name new home' or something like that.

A Christmas bauble is a great idea. If I can find one with a reference to Hometown, even better.

I think a Christmas tree ornament could be an extraordinary gift.

The other choice mentioned that I thought was exceptional and personalised is the silver bracelet ..

A few thoughts, with autumn and winter coming:

1) A furry throw blanket for the sofa in a neutral color ..

2) A gorgeous wool scarf in her favourite color(s) ..

3) A gift box of teas, marmalades, biscuits, scones or cheeses and charcuterie ..

Some lovely ideas here especially the Christmas ornament.
What about a throw for her chair every time she snuggles she will think of you. I've been on the receiving end of a M&S gift and it was lovely or a Cornish gift box that contains scones, jam, biscuits, tea, as well as cornish pasties.

It depends on how much you want to spend and how you know each other.

What about some tea from Fortnum and Mason?
Or a small F&M hamper?

Wedgewood has some nice Christmas tree ceramic ornaments :-)

www.wedgwood.com/en-gb/home-decor/christmas-decorations-and-ornaments/christmas-decorations#aq=%40categories%20%3D%3D%20(%22Christmas_Decorations_2024%22%2C%22Christmas%20Decorations%22)&numberOfResults=27

A friend of mine sent me a lovely ornament for the Christmas tree. It was a porcelain bell. I think of her every time I hang it on the Christmas tree :-) It's lovely and I'm careful with it.

I can't see anything similar online. Emma Shipley also has some lovely ceramic things. The mugs come beautifully boxed

emmajshipley.com/collections/mugs

There are some great ideas here, thank you all.

How about a 'snowscene' of something/place personal to you both.

I've been pottering in the garden and noticed the bird feeders, so that's another idea. if she already feeds birds she will probably have a few and there's always room for one more. If she doesn't then she could get started. There's a huge range of styles & to suit any budget.

You could pop a photo of the plant in the leaving card so they know to expect it and it doesn't look like you haven't bothered to get anything.

My favourite gift which always goes down well especially when someone is moving into a new property, is a luxury M & S hamper depending on how good friends you are, otherwise a bunch of flowers, a bottle of wine and a Good luck in your new home card.

Thank you all. Yes, she is a keen gardener. I don’t want to give her something fragile that she’ll need to transport, but I could have something delivered later - that’s a good idea.

I am looking into getting a picture commissioned representing our ‘things’ in our town, but that will also have to be sent after she’s gone as the timescale is tight.

I had hoped to have a send off for her, and give her a gift then, but maybe I should adjust my ideas and concentrate on just getting it right.

There are books about our town, but I know she’s had to make difficult decisions about getting rid of books because of downsizing.