Always Personal

Always Personal: personalised and photo gifts sold online in the UK

Always Personal is an online gift retailer operating from the United Kingdom through its own store. Its catalogue is built around personalisation: items that can be customised for a specific recipient, whether for Christmas, a birthday, a wedding, a christening or an end-of-year teacher gift. The company states that it offers more than 5,000 gift ideas that can be personalised.

The store is organised by occasion, by recipient and by the interests of the person receiving the gift, which makes it possible to browse without starting from a single product type. Orders over £35 qualify for free delivery, according to the site.

Photo gifts and engraved pieces

A dedicated photo gifts section groups products that incorporate a customer's own image, including photo mugs, keyrings, slates, jigsaws, tins, cushions, T-shirts, mousemats, coasters, clocks and collages. A separate engraved gifts line covers engraved pens, glassware, hip flasks, slate, wood and bamboo pieces.

Gifts by recipient and by interest

The catalogue can be filtered by who the gift is for, with sections for him, her, dad, mum, grandparents, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, parents, teachers, best friends, friends, couples, families, uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews and grandchildren. There is also a corporate category.

Another route into the catalogue is through the recipient's hobbies and personality. For adults the store lists sports, florals, travelling, gardening, Highland cows, fishing, DIY, golf, cooking, alcohol, pets and man cave themes. For children it lists gaming, fairies, sports, construction vehicles, unicorns, ballet, dinosaurs and cowgirls, alongside profession-based options such as builder, gamer, fairy, music and diggers.

Occasions covered

Occasion-based sections include birthdays, engagements, weddings, new baby, house warming, new job, retirement, stag do, hen do, christening, confirmation, holy communion, bat mitzvah, good luck, thank you and memorial. Seasonal categories cover autumn, prom, leaving school, graduation, back to school, Halloween, Christmas, Mother's Day, Ramadan and Eid, Easter, Father's Day, Diwali and Valentine's Day.

Birthdays are broken down further into milestone ages, from a first birthday through to a 90th, with related cards, mugs, candles, photo frames, alcohol gifts, gardening gifts, golf gifts, romantic gifts and teddy bears. Weddings and anniversaries have their own subdivisions by member of the wedding party, plus planning items such as guest books, cake toppers, ring boxes, signs, save-the-dates and plaques.

Product ranges beyond photo and engraving

Other sections of the catalogue include stationery (pens and pencils, notebooks, school bags, pencil cases), travel accessories (make-up bags, wash bags, luggage tags, passport holders, torches), greetings cards for occasions from Christmas and weddings to new baby and thank you, and a popular gifts selection featuring keyrings, mugs, puzzles, teddy bears, hip flasks, water bottles and flasks, maps, sweet jars, bamboo gifts, wallets, compact mirrors, memory boxes, crystal tokens, lighters, candles and candle holders, LED candles, medals, certificate holders, bibles and urns.

Clothing and jewellery form another block, with necklaces, bracelets, keyrings, cufflinks, watches, pocket watches, compasses, jewellery boxes and trinket boxes, alongside T-shirts, socks and wallets. Home and garden lines include tableware (mugs, coasters, placemats, glasses, whiskey glasses, champagne flutes, tankards, egg cups), homeware (cushions, photo frames, candles, lanterns, LED light signs, vases, reed diffusers, stools, trays, wooden crates, house number signs, desk accessories, hooks, calendars, indoor signs, framed prints and doormats), kitchenware, gardening items and pet gifts such as bowls, bowl mats, dog bandanas, paw print gifts and pet memorials.

Baby and kids products include cuddly animals, birth certificate holders, baby photo frames, bowls and plates, cutlery, keepsake boxes, nursery decor, children's stools and toys, money boxes, lunch boxes and bags, water bottles, height charts, colouring and activity books, story books and bedroom clocks. A memorial section covers memorial gifts and keepsakes, garden memorials and cremation ashes urns.

Currency and regional settings

The store presents prices in pounds sterling and offers a country and region selector with options for the United Kingdom, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey. Budget filters allow browsing gifts under £10, under £20 and over £20.