10 (Cheap!) Gift Ideas For Impressing A Musician On Any Occasion

Since Christmas is just around the corner, we know not everybody is as creative as musicians, and most people panic when it comes to gift shopping. Whether you have a family member who is a practicing musician or you are dating one for the first time, or even better, if you are an artist yourself seeking some self-pampering, the following list will be of great use to you both in winter time and all year round.

10. Your favorite song of theirs framed!

This one will cost you anywhere from $5 to a max of 20-something if you are going for some fine-looking paper and some solid wood frame. And you can reduce the costs even further by just framing a hook or a third of a song, or a compilation of their lyrics that you most like.

The idea is simple: select the lyrics you like most that your musician penned, print them out, and frame them! Make sure you add a personalized note on the back of the frame to let them know why these lyrics specifically. Nothing says more “I admire you” than showing you paid attention to what they say in their music. Bonus Points if you handwrite them in a beautiful shape or form!

9. A collage of how you see them.

Musicians are art people. Get them something that is buyable with one click and they’ll really, really resent you. You need to step your game up as these people are emotional and pay attention to details. So get to image search, print out the ones most representative of how you see them, cut them out, and glue it all together!

Let’s say your sister is a Folk singer. More likely than not, she plays the guitar, likes reading books, dresses comfy, likes nature, has traveled around a bit, probably bore you to death one evening with everything she saw/remembered from that one bar she performed at randomly, has interesting brand preferences, and despite her being talkative, she fills up your days with light and laughter. Now extract all the nouns and you get your collage: guitar, books, comfy clothes, a tree, a bus, a mic, some vintage item, and a photo of you two. You’ll make someone cry with this beautiful, thoughtful gift.

8. A letter of encouragement signed by as many people as possible.

This one will be their guiding light the entire year, if not life, especially if your musician is an Indie artist who hasn’t made it yet. The music industry is absolutely brutal. And most of the time, the artist knows he/she has a very low chance to succeed in turning their hobby into a full-time job but as long as their spirit and body afford it, they usually push through. If you want to bless their soul and help them believe in themselves and avoid depressive episodes, write a heartfelt common letter, speaking in the name of all people who signed it, where you tell them all their positive attributes, how much you like their music, how they affected you throughout the years, and other loving words. The more people sign it, the better. Bonus Points for using a wax seal (very cheap on Amazon) and some nice-smelling lavender inside the envelope.

7. A personalized advent Calendar.

We went with Advent Calendar for Christmas reasons but if you’re gearing up for gifting them something for their birthday in April, you can reduce the count from 25 days to as few days as you like/can afford. Now for these gifts, since most of them will be small, there truly are no limits to your imagination as long as you are sincerely thoughtful. A list to help you out: music-themed key chain, diary, fun vinyl stickers, Elvis-themed socks, a biography book of someone they look up to, old records, poetry, polaroid-style stamped memories, a Beatles poster, a link to an archive of music memes, etc. Keep the biggest gift for last! Bonus Points if you can record their reaction to each gift they receive from you.

6. Matching handmade jewelry (or scarves, hats, phone cases)

Buying matching stuff online is easy and requires no effort of you other than putting in your card info. Go further than that and do something yourself! It will be tenfold appreciated and treasured for years and years to come. YouTube is filled with tutorials on everything under the sun! So get to work and paint those phone cases or knit those funny-colored scarves! Bonus Points if it’s an ugly sweater for Christmas and you make them sign a contract promising you to wear this sweater at every Christmas party for the next 5 years!

5. A Spotify code to a specially curated playlist.

The creativity employed by small manufacturers and solopreneurs around the world is astounding in this day and age! From key chains, silver bracelets, golden necklaces, photo frames, bottle openers, night lamps, and T-shirts, you can engrave your Spotify code on nearly everything and have it delivered to your door for a very low cost.

While these companies usually advertise a single song for code displaying, we highly advise you put together a whole playlist for your musician. The playlist, obviously, has to make sense and represent something. It can range from the songs that best represent the timeline of your relationship, the songs that most remind you of them, to songs you dedicate to them in different scenarios. Once you’ve created the playlist, hit the three dots, copy the playlist link, then head to Spotify Codes (https://www.spotifycodes.com/) insert the link, and voila! There goes your custom scannable playlist code.

4. A fill-in book about you two!

These are just about the loveliest, most thoughtful gifts one could possibly “craft” for another. Truth be told, we all agree that there is an innate need for attention residing in most musicians. They seek validation through the external love of their music and positive feedback from their fans and supporters. But who doesn’t? A doctor gets validated through gratitude from the patient. An actor – through his accolades and awards. A CEO – through the satisfaction rates of their staff and profits.

Emotions of love, appreciation, and admiration are the soft spot of an artist. So get the appropriate book for your relationship, get to fill in the pages, and nicely wrap it up for your musician. Bonus Points for details! The more you write, the better.

3. A customized photobook.

By now you understand that musicians require to be seen and acknowledged. Seriously, they’re probably the only ones that will appreciate a lengthy love letter more than a gold watch. Had they been after the material goods of the world, they wouldn’t be doing music. Everyone knows music barely ever covers the living costs.

So immortalize the beauty, energy, and sincere moments of your relationship. Turn all those silly selfies into a physical archive that will serve your musician emotionally for years to come.

Bonus Points if you can find the time and energy to pull off a manually done photo album adorned with quotes, dates, and background stories of the respective photos. Some call it, a scrapbook!

2. Video footage from the family and friends.

Basically the video version of the letter gift. Video is so precious for it immortalizes the looks, voices, and thoughts of those involved in shooting that video at that very moment. It’s a sort of time capsule.

Make sure you involve only people who truly matter in a positive way to your musician! If you involve the wrong folks, just as they are able to love the deepest, musicians will also hate the hardest. Someone who’s not the loveliest presence to your friend will have them avoid that congratulatory video faster than you can figure out why and how and since when?

The cheapest way to pull this off is to collect the video files from friends, family, and fans yourself. The easiest way is to use services like Montage or Vidday.

1. Video footage celebrating their uniqueness.

Similar to 3 in execution but different in style, this video compilation focuses on the subject instead. If you live in proximity to your musician, plan for this as much time as you can in advance and start taking videos of them at different moments, on different occasions, in different environments, from different perspectives. Then you will nicely compile all the footage you collected into one final video that displays their personality, liveliness, and uniqueness. A visual love letter if you will by showing them how you see them from your eyes through the camera lens.