Fun Gift for That Hard-to-Buy-For Person

Ever need a gift for an occasion and have no idea where to start?

What do you get your co-worker for his retirement? Or a friend that has everything?

Cash and gift cards seem too impersonal, but coming up with a gift they will like and actually use can be difficult. For my girlfriends or female co-workers, I would often put together a gift basket of fun things to pamper themselves with – lotions, bath bombs, face masks, etc.

But what about the guys? What the heck do you give them when you get invited to their birthday party? A bottle? Cigars? Glassware? I’ve done all of those, but then what? Or what about when you need a present quickly and don’t have time to order something?

That’s where gift towers come in handy. The first one I did was for a retirement party. I started with a cake board and covered it in wrapping paper. My cake board was white cardboard, so it was too ugly not to be covered, but I have since found silver and gold cake boards that you can use as-is! Then, I found his favorite beer and made the base layer. On top of the beers, I wrapped a container of cookies. I used the tub of cookies from Aldi, because they were round, and looked nice on my “cake.”

Next, I rolled up bills and taped them one by one around the cookie container. A bottle of champagne sat on top of the cookies. I taped lottery tickets to wooden skewers and poked them into the cookie container. I finished it up with ribbon around the bottom two layers to make it finished. Bam – a retirement gift!

The next one I did because I was in a pinch and didn’t have time to run to the store or order something for friend’s birthday. The boys were taking him out to celebrate, so I made a tower of fun things for their night out. I once again started with a wrapped cake board and his favorite beer for the base layer. I then put another wrapped cake board on top of the beer and set a wrapped container of pretzels on it. Mini red shot glasses were the perfect item to surround the cookies. The center of the top layer was once again a bottle, this time surrounded by confetti poppers, lottery tickets and a cigar. I taped the lottery tickets to long sparklers I had to give it some extra height.

The best part about the gift towers are they are easy to whip together without a lot of running around. I found almost everything I needed at the liquor store or gas station. They are easy to make, personal, and always a hit at a party.

Contents of Retirement Gift Tower

Contents of Birthday Tower

• Cans of beer or pop
• Round tub of pretzels
• Mini plastic shot glasses
• Confetti poppers
• Bottle of liquor
• Lottery Tickets
• Cigar
• Long sparklers

Other Supplies Needed

• Cake board and wrapping paper for base
• Tape, scissors, ribbon
• Wooden skewers