7 inspired ideas for spring gift-giving

(BPT) - Warmer temperatures, sunnier days, buds and blooms appearing everywhere — is there a season more vibrant and inspiring than spring? From graduations and holidays that honor our parents, to weddings, Easter meals and the first cookout of warm weather, spring is also full of occasions that call for a truly inspired gift.

You want to give something that will be memorable, touching and personal, yet also a celebration of the season. This year, your gift-giving can capture the spirit of spring with these refreshing ideas:

* Easter may be the first spring holiday, but some of the most enjoyable gifts for this holiday will also work as host or hostess gifts for events throughout spring. For example, the dozen buttercream frosted flower and bee cutout cookies in the Cheryl’s Collector’s Edition Bee Hive Cookie Jar will be a tasty gift for any spring occasion, and the recipient is sure to use the cookie jar again and again throughout the year.

* Food is always a great gift, and you can make it even more appealing by playing on the flavors of the season. For example, Harry & David’s Spring Snacks Gift Tower includes all favorites that work perfectly with warm weather — creamy white cheddar, pepper and onion relish, hickory-smoked summer sausage and more.

* Mother’s Day is a top gift-giving occasion, and you want to find just the right gift to show Mom just how much you care. Try planting her a garden; it can be as simple as a potted tomato plant, pepper or other favorite veggie that you prepare and bring to her house. Or, go big and plant flowers in the front or backyard flower beds.

* Flowers are a time-tested Mother’s Day gift sure to make Mom smile. In fact, more than 67 percent of people who give Mother’s Day gifts give flowers, according to the National Retail Federation. This year, let the colors of spring inspire your floral choices and present the flowers in a unique container she can reuse. The Make Her Day Bouquet from 1-800-Flowers.com incorporates the best-loved hues of spring with lavender roses, soft blue delphinium, pink lilies and more presented in an antique-inspired white ceramic pitcher.

* Spring is also graduation season, and across the country kids will be moving up and moving on. Have a middle-schooler bound for high school or a high school graduate on the way to college? A quality ergonomic backpack is a must. Ergonomic backpacks allow students to carry everything they need for class, while ensuring the weight is properly positioned to preserve back health.

* For college graduates about to leave the halls of academia behind to strike out on their own, put together a survival kit. Stock a large laundry basket with basic household tools, gas and grocery gift cards, a warm throw, coffee maker, a handbook on laundry basics, etc. — whatever they might need to make it on their own.

* Of course, Father’s Day caps the spring holidays — and gives you a chance to help Dad head into summer kitted out with everything he needs to enjoy the warmer weather. For Father’s Day, don’t feel tied to traditional gifts. After all, does Dad really need another necktie, pair of socks or garden tool? Why not give him something you know he already loves? Harry & David offers an array of popular, familiar and delicious food gifts Dad is sure to love.

Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal — and with some ingenuity, it’s possible to give gifts that capture the inspiring nature of the season.