There is a sentence we hear in Pocketful quite a lot:
“I need a present for someone and I have absolutely no idea what to get.”
Excellent.
We can work with that.
In fact, one of my favourite things about having a physical shop is helping somebody who comes in with almost no information and gradually narrowing it down.
How old is she? What does she like? Is she a jewellery person? Does she love colour? What's your budget? Is this a proper birthday present or a little something?
And eventually we get to:
“Oh! She'd love that.”
That's the bit we're aiming for.
So if you're looking for a gift in Kilmarnock — or shopping online and feeling equally clueless — consider this your Pocketful starting point.
For the person who loves colour
This is, unsurprisingly, quite an easy person to shop for in Pocketful.
Our shop isn't exactly known for its restrained colour palette.
Think bright bags, colourful jewellery, scarves, purses, pouches, hair accessories and all sorts of other things that will stand out beautifully amongst the sensible stuff they already own.
And don't worry about finding the perfect colour.
If someone genuinely loves colour, there's a fairly good chance they don't have just one favourite.
Sometimes the best approach is simply to pick up the thing that makes you think of them.
Have a look through our Accessories if that sounds like your person.
For the jewellery lover
I've been designing jewellery for more than 20 years, so naturally there's rather a lot of it around here.
Some people are easy to buy jewellery for because they wear loads of it.
Others require a little more detective work.
Gold or silver?
Big earrings or tiny ones?
Do they wear bracelets?
Initials, birthstones and charms are brilliant when you want to add something personal without making the gift overly sentimental.
Statement jewellery is perfect for the person who would consider the phrase “these earrings are probably a bit much” to be a recommendation.
And if you're really stuck, look at what they're already wearing.
People leave clues.
You can browse our Jewellery online, but this is also one of those categories that's particularly good to rummage through in person.
For the friend who doesn't need anything
Ah yes.
The difficult one.
She has everything. She doesn't want anything. And if you ask what she'd like for her birthday, she says:
“Honestly, nothing.”
Which is no help whatsoever.
This is where I tend to avoid trying to find a big present and go for something that's simply lovely.
A purse.
A little pouch.
A pair of earrings.
A candle.
A colourful scarf.
Something funny.
Something she wouldn't necessarily buy for herself.
The aim isn't to find something she needs.
She already told you she doesn't need anything.
Find something she'll enjoy.
Much easier.
For the person who is impossible to buy for
Closely related to the person above, but with added pressure.
My advice here is to stop trying to find something incredibly specific.
You don't need to somehow discover the one object missing from their life.
Think about their personality instead.
Are they practical? Colourful? Sentimental? Funny? Always travelling? Always losing things? Permanently cold? Obsessed with bags? Never seen without earrings?
That gives you somewhere to start.
And if you still don't know, come into the shop and tell us everything you do know.
We've had harder briefs.
For a little 'saw this and thought of you' present
Possibly my favourite kind of gift.
No birthday.
No Christmas.
No reason, really.
You just saw something and immediately knew who it belonged to.
These are exactly the things I love finding for Pocketful.
A funny card. A little purse. A colourful bracelet. A pair of earrings. A tiny something that costs less than £20 but feels completely specific to one person.
That's why I don't think a thoughtful gift necessarily has to be expensive.
Sometimes a £7.50 purse that makes somebody laugh is a far better present than something costing five times as much.
Our Treats Under £20 section is made for this sort of thing.
For someone who deserves something special
Sometimes you do want something with a bit more wow.
A milestone birthday. A brilliant friend. A significant thank you. Or just somebody you really want to spoil.
This is where I'd look beyond the little treats and find something that feels less expected.
One of the things I love about Pocketful is that not everything is mass produced or available forever.
I make some pieces myself. We have limited editions. I find small quantities of things I love. Occasionally there will genuinely only be one.
That does mean you sometimes need to adopt my preferred shopping philosophy:
If you absolutely love it, don't assume it'll still be there next month.
Our Something Special collection is a good place to look for those slightly more unusual finds.
For the person whose present you've forgotten
No judgement here.
We've all done it.
You suddenly realise it's someone's birthday tomorrow. You're seeing them in two hours. Or you've arrived in Kilmarnock to visit someone and thought:
I really should have brought something.
This is where having actual shops still comes into its own.
Come in. Tell us the person, the occasion and roughly what you'd like to spend.
We'll help.
You can even tell us:
“She's 47, likes pink, has a dog and I've got £25.”
That's enough information to get started.
And we'll gift wrap it too, which means you can leave looking significantly more organised than you actually were.
Your secret is safe with us.
For yourself
I realise this is technically a gift guide.
I also know exactly what happens when people come into Pocketful looking for someone else's birthday present.
One for them.
One for you.
Perfectly reasonable.
I'm a great believer in not saving lovely things for some future occasion and not needing to justify every little thing that makes you happy.
If you love the earrings, wear them.
If the bag makes you smile, use it.
If you came in for your sister's birthday present and somehow left with a scarf for yourself...
These things happen.
Have a look at our Pocketful Favourites if you need absolutely no encouragement whatsoever.
What actually makes a good gift?
After more than 20 years of making and selling things that people give to other people, I don't think price has very much to do with it.
A good gift makes the person receiving it feel known.
It says:
I know you love this colour.
I remembered you mentioned this.
This made me laugh because it reminded me of you.
I knew you'd wear this.
That's the difference between buying a present and buying their present.
And you don't need to overthink it.
Quite often your first instinct is right.
Come and have a rummage
If you're local to Kilmarnock, Ayrshire or the west of Scotland, come and see us at 37c Bank Street, Kilmarnock.
Pocketful isn't really a shop designed for marching in, grabbing the first thing you see and marching back out again.
Although you're very welcome to do that too.
It's a shop for wandering around, picking things up, trying things on, changing your mind, finding something unexpected and occasionally discovering the present for somebody you weren't even shopping for yet.
You can check our current opening hours on the Visit Pocketful of Joy page.
Or if you're nowhere near Kilmarnock, you can have the online equivalent of a rummage through our Gifts.
Start with the person.
Set yourself a budget.
Then look for the thing that makes you say:
“That's so her.”
That's usually the one.