Do you have a present drawer? Ooh I'd LOVE a present drawer...

[champagnesupernova]

I have always hankered after having a drawer of presents for emergencies. I am working towards being more organised so obviously this is a step towards this.

What I'd like is not to be going to

• someone's house for dinner/coffee
• out for drinks for someone's birthday
• a child's birthday

and have to rush out to find an appropriate gift when usually it's the same old same old.

I DO have a card box which I add to here and there whenever I see good unisex age cards or whatever.
And I bulk buy fun "all occasion" wrapping paper when I see it.

But would love some inspiration as to what would be good to fill it and good value things to keep in the house for giving away to other people.

TIA

After spending a very dispiriting morning looking at overpriced crap in my local shops for a kids party this afternoon I am definitely going to start one! Seem to be spending loads on kids presents at the mo.

No.
I do not buy presents anymore.

We have 2 present boxes - the kids one is in the loft and is full of duplicate gifts the dcs have received and things I have picked up in sales etc. We also have books and left over party prizes in there. I keep it in the loft as the dcs sometimes get things out of there too if there is a good reason for a reward.
The adult box contains gifts I have received but know in all honesty I will never use. It also has things I have gathered in sales and toiletry sets - usually from Body Shop parties where you feel obliged to buy something but don't really need anything yourself. The more suspect items (unwanted gifts) are handy if you need a raffle prize for a fund raiser. You do have to remember who gave it to you so you don't donate it where they may be or give it back to them
The card box just contains cards I have seen that took my fancy. I have kids ones, adult ones, thank you cards, get well cards, blank cards etc. I just add to it as I go along.
They do save a great deal of stress. You can stop the stock getting too old by using a lot of it up at Christmastime so it remains reasonably current.

I got so sick of DH's old school trunk sitting in the back of my study that I commandeered it as a present stash. Best Decision Ever. Most of it is stuff i've picked up in sales/ duty free, some of it is regifted, but it has a post it note on it to make sure I don't give it back to whoever gave it to us.

I've just checked and it contains:
Wrapping Paper
Scissors
Sellotape
Ribbon
Gift Labels
Selection of Cards
Gift bags and boxes
Some nice bottles of red
Gin
Myla knickers
Bottle of Balsamic
Some roll on Marc Jacobs Scent
A few boxes of decent chocolates
Fairy Wings
Angelina Ballerina book
Thomas the Tank engine train set
Patterned tights age 5
Scented Candles
Nice Soap and bath stuff
Ipod socks
A gap kids boys top age 4
One of those baby sensory mat thingys
White company slipper socks
3 M&S vouchers

I'm very proud.

I have massives of presents brought in sales and it's kept in various places- loft, on top of wardrobes!

Ooo, how exciting, I am the least organised person in the world and I have a present drawer :o

Admittedly it was only started about 6 months ago when I saw stuff I wanted for DS in the sales but he is too young for it this year and then it got added to for other kids, so there is quite a bit now :) It is only young children's stuff though, nothing for adults.

Ok.

HAve to be honest some of it sounds a bit crap!

Sorry but everyone knows it was last years boots christmas set and you look at best like a bit of a cheapskate who bought a generic gift in the sale and is now giving it to someone who isn't deserving enough to justify a gift bought with care for them or at worst it looks as if you are regifting something that wasn't good enough for you but would do for them.

I know what you mean Change but it depends what the regifted item is. I have some jewellery for example which is just not to my taste but which is the sort of thing the majority of my friends wear on a regular basis. I have toiletries that I know my friends buy for themselves but which I cannot use due to allergies. The suspect items only go the raffles, not friends, and a kids toy is a kids toy! You do have to watch how long things have sat there though. It is not a matter of not good enough more unsuitable iyswim.

I have a present cupboard. I have cards and wrap and stuff like that.
I buy bargains and in they go! It makes me feel all organised and proper.
It did take a long, long time for me to stop buying loads of girly things. I used to do it for DD's friends and I couldnt quite make myself stop doing it even after she was gone. I still know girls of course but with four boys you need to buy more Ben 10 than glittery pen sets

I LOVE it when we get an unexpected invite and I can go in the cupboard and pick up a gift bag and fill it with appropriate gifts AND have the right card.

(bit sad, I know)

I received one of the best Christmas presents this year.

It's a 'Cards' storage book. It has a page for each month and each page has a little calender with space to write the birthdays in and a pocket to put the cards in. At the back it has an address book.

I love it!

Now i've seen this I'm working on the present drawer!

Yes. In fact it's a cupboard. Mostly unwanted pressies and left overs from christmas.

OP - if you're still looking for shops to stock up a good range of 'generic' presents from, Muji is fantastic - kids stationery and game type things, ink and stamps sets, stuff like that... little travel clocks and tricksy folding gadgets, really quirky and nice stuff for men too, and never looks dated even if you bought it five years ago

Thanks all = muji is a good one -
any other online gems?

dotcomgiftshop. www.dotcomgiftshop.co.uk (I think, you may have to google)

It good for girly bits and some boyey (not a word I know) bits too. I always have a lurk about after the main sale. They keep bits on special until they get rid of the stock. I have had some great things from them.

I've got presents stashed about the house that I bought in advance of occasions and then forgot about. Some are under the desk in the snug, some are in my wardrobe and sometimes I'll discover something in the drawer under the bed that can have been there years.
You can be too organised.

I have a chest of drawers in the basement, so the wrapping and stuff can be in one and presents in the next. Buy stuff as you go (second dotcomgiftshop - bloody brilliant). Use a smallish one so you can wrap on top of it.

Having been given loads of presents which were clearly from friend's present drawers I am not a fan. It's nice to feel someone has bought something special for you and you alone. However, I do have one for children - the things are never quite right, but sometimes they do in emergencies ie: books, craft sets, stationery. What I mean is that it is usually not quite the book that particular child would have wanted (this time I needed a Football Annual and found in present drawer a book on WW2 - this is for 10 year old) Or a child would have liked a tiny lego kit and all you have is a colouring set....Then if you do buy the lego set, there is no child that wants lego for a year or two....
I once had a Robin Hood dressing up set (£3) in my present drawer for two years. It drove me barmy not knowing who to give it to...Too small for my own children, and in the end it was too large for my godson...

Like Grumpy really

Wow Bambi, I wish you were my friend!

I alway buy (good) things in sales and stash them... in my present drawer I have:

Champneys toiletries
Sylvanian families bought at bargain prices (happens from time to time!)
Books for children
Stationery sets for children
A Batman Lego ds game bought for £10
Hello Kitty keyrings
A scooter (under the bed!)

I have a present cupboard - contains nice candles, bath stuff, nice mugs... perfect for when you suddenly remember at 8pm that the reason you are meeting a friend for a drink that night is because it's her birthday...

Mine is for children mostly. DS is almost 6, so still getting invited to lots of big partied when we dont necessarily know the child involved

I have at the moment, some Lego sets for boys, some top trumps for the slightly older ones and some bracelet making kits for the girls.

Handy to have stuff in really
I also have a few bits that didnt arrive it time for Christmas so will gift them on this year too.

I have toys bought when I've seen them on mega-special, presents for specific people (best friend loves vintage, so if I see something she would love at a flea market in January, I buy it and put it away until her birthday in September), and a few bits and pieces skimmed from DS's overly big pile of presents from PILs. He doesn't notice that he got 67 presents for his birthday rather than 75, and we don't have room for all the shite they buy.

I have a box on top of my wardrobe. I try to avoid buying toiletries and cosmetics now, because they spoil after a certain time and some people have sensitive skin. But it makes perfect sense to buy up stuff in the sales and to stock up when you have shopping time, instead of rushing around at the last minute and only finding one suitable thing that you know was half price a few weeks ago!

I have a small cupboard for gifts, which range from cookery books/ CDs/ Molton Brown Shower Gels/ Clarins Hand Lotion and White Company Candles.

I have a shoebox full of cards, another for ribbon and a gift wrap holdall.

If I go to someones house for dinner/ cuppa, I always take something homemade such as chutney, jam or cookies.

I think a present drawer works quite well when you are on the children's birthday party circuit.

Not so sure for adults - the toiletry sets etc turn me a bit cold...

I have a cards box and a gift ideas box. Whenever I get a good idea for something to buy for a present for a specific person, I write a note and pop it in. I also put in any likely-looking catalogues.