Dear, I am on the front page, they liked my story! Isn’t it exciting to see your kid, who has just turned 18, jumping around, calling people, and going ballyhoo about the gift he has just received on his 18^th birthday? This idea will make him do all this.

Gift Idea

The year in which a person turns 18 is the most exciting time of the person’s life. He or she has just taken the first step into adulthood, and this custom gift will thrill him/her to the bones. A personalized newspaper will make him/her feel special. It is his day, and let us make this day memorable for him.

Print excites people and everyone like to see him or her in prints. This indeed is the idea behind crafting this authentic looking personalized newspaper, and gifting it on the recipient’s 18^th birthday.

Content

The first step in the creation process is to make a layout for this custom gift. The first step in the process is to gather information, and pictures you want to include in the newspaper. I am using the word gather because like almost all of us, you were busy working when your kid was growing, and chances are you have missed many things, and occasions that are valuable to him/her. This is the time to payback. Gather information about the important incidence that has happened to him/her in last 18 years.

The next step is to synthesize the information and the images collected for the customized newspaper into a series of articles. Each article will be talk about one aspect of his or her life. Keep the article short, simple, and exciting to read. If you cannot write an exciting article on your own, hire a professional to do this job. I will suggest against using a serious tone to write any of the articles; remember no one likes preaching. You can convey the exact same meaning in slightly less serious words. I will suggest giving the reader a comic relief while conveying the message you want to convey. Fun is the best way to convey any meaning.

As for the images, you need to shortlist one primary image, which will work as an attention grabber, and couple of secondary image to support the articles wherever it required. You need to optimize the image for print using Adobe Photoshop or any other graphic designing application. You can hire someone to do this job as well, if you are not good at handling image enhancement applications.

Layout

Once all the content is ready, it is time to put them together and make a front page of the newspaper. We begin the process with creating a wireframe that will get filled with the content (articles and the images) created above. In this layout, you should also have a space for solus advertising. This space will fulfill two functions. On the one hand, it will make the newspaper look more authentic, while on the other hand it will give you a space to do some direct communication in the form of advertisement. The message posted in the solus advertising can be a direct message from you wishing him a happy 18^th birthday, or it can be any other personalized message. Get this message designed by the same person who has done the Photoshop work.

Creation

Once the articles and images are placed in the layout your newspaper is ready. It is time to get it printed. This isn’t difficult; any printer in your locality will do this job. You can also search the Internet for assistance. The printer might ask for a specific file format to print. A page layout made in Quark Express is widely accepted. You can also use other page design application for the purpose. As for the name, I will suggest using, “The Birthday Times”.

Distribution

It’s a decision time. You can either use the regular newspaper delivery channel to get this newspaper to your kid, or you can frame it in a picture frame and gift it wrapped in a shiny piece of birthday-gift wrapping paper. In my view, you should adopt a mix of both. Talk to your newspaper delivery guy couple of days in advance about your plan, and give him the newspaper to be delivered on the day before the birthday. The custom newspaper should be packed in such a way that your kid’s image remains visible from a distance. In the morning of the D-day, ask your kid to go out and bring that day’s newspaper.

You can get one more copy of this personalized newspaper printed and framed using a classy black photo frame. Give your kid this gift right after he cuts the cake. The newspaper used for framing should be bigger in size than the one you got delivered in the morning. The newspaper should be visible from a distance as your kid is going hang it on his bedroom’s wall.

Tags: custom gift, personalized, personalized message, personalized newspaper