Unique personalized gifts sound like a wonderful idea for gift giving, but sometimes you give a personalized gift you spent hours or even weeks carefully selecting only to never see it again. What happened? You may have chosen a gift that was personalized and unique but didn't really suit the recipient very well. When you want to personalize something, be sure you're choosing the gift for the right reasons, not just because it can be monogrammed or is unusual. Here are some tips to keep in mind when shopping for unique personalized gifts:

1: Keep the recipient's personality and taste in mind. An elegant cut-glass picture frame might be something you appreciate, but your grandmother's taste may run more towards knotty pine and country decor. Remember that you are shopping for the other person, not yourself. It helps to think in terms of interests you are sure that they have. For instance, your grandmother would certainly love a gift that featured pictures of her grandchildren. Look for gifts with a personal touch like decorative throw pillows that you can have made with pictures of the grandkids. She'll love putting them on her sofa and showing them off to all her friends.

2: Make it easy care. Sometimes personalized gifts are too hard to care for or too valuable for the recipient to feel comfortable. Precious, easily breakable objects that are dust collectors make people nervous. When in doubt, go with a gift they can enjoy without worrying about how to take care of it. An easy-care, personalized photo blanket is perfect because it can be used daily and is machine washable. You can even have it customized with names and dates to commemorate special occasions.

3: Every day gifts are winners. Special occasion gifts are nice, but if you give a gift that the recipient can see and use every day, they will think of you often and appreciate your gift so much more. One gift that's sure to make a lasting impression is a beautiful bedspread or duvet customized with a beautiful photograph you've chosen yourself just for them.

4: Take their special interests into consideration. Personalizing doesn't have to mean monogramming. Do they love gardening? Consider taking some high quality photos of the flowers in their own gardening efforts and have them enlarged and put on some throw pillows so that they can enjoy the beauty of their garden year-round. If your nephew is an avid surfer, you could have a photo of him surfing turned into an awesome comforter for his bed. If your parents love their dog, a plush dog bed with his picture on it would be a truly unique personalized gift that would let them know you understand how important their pet is to them.

5: Commemorate a special moment in a unique way. Wedding anniversaries, engagements, graduations and other milestones are all perfect opportunities to look back and create photographic collages of special moments in people's lives. For the graduate, assemble pictures from each grade in school. For the happy couple, gather pictures from each year they were married or from their dating past. Putting these together on a memory blanket with the date is a unique personalized gift that will be cherished for years.

Unique, personalized gifts are always nice, but if you take the time to find one that's truly perfect for that special person, they will appreciate it, and you, even more.