Gifts other than flowers
Instead of flowers, give perfume when you want a gift that stays, cake and chocolate when you want something opened, balloons when you want the joy to show, or jewelry when the occasion is big. Worried the substitute will not please them? Mix perfume, chocolate and cake at one budget on Haddiyah and they pick one; a single gift, jewelry aside, arrives in Riyadh and Jeddah the same day once they drop a pin before 4 pm. They suit people who do not like flowers or are allergic to them, and occasions where flowers are simply too expected, and this guide orders them by what you want the gift to do.
Perfume: when you want a gift that stays
The first substitute for flowers is perfume, because it does what flowers cannot: it lasts a year and recalls you every morning. Choose an edition of their perfume if you know it, otherwise one from the same house. See perfumes.
Cake: when you want something opened tonight
Cake replaces flowers for a birthday and congratulations: it reaches the house, is cut in the same sitting, and needs no vase or care. See the cakes in every size, and add balloons if the party is at home.
Chocolate and sweets: for guests and recoveries
When the gift is going to a house full of guests or a hospital room, chocolate and sweets do the flowers' job with no scent and no water: a box of chocolate, baklava or petit fours. See chocolate and sweets.
Balloons: when you want the joy to show
Balloons replace flowers in the photos: numbers, letters and colours delivered inflated that turn a room into a party. They suit a birthday, a graduation, a new baby and a success. See balloons.
Jewelry: for the big occasion
When the occasion is bigger than a bouquet, an anniversary, an engagement or a birth, jewelry is the substitute that stays for years: a necklace, a ring or earrings. It is delivered in Riyadh and takes longer to prepare, so order days ahead. See jewelry.
Before you send
- Ask what the bouquet would have done: shown? Take balloons. Stayed? Take perfume. Been opened with guests? Take chocolate.
- For an allergy keep the substitute free of strong scents: cake, chocolate or balloons, and perfume only if you know they wear it.
- Not sure of their taste? Pick two perfumes, a chocolate and a cake from one level and let them choose what they want.
- Flowers with chocolate or with perfume is a halfway house: if they like the second gift more than the flowers, the pure substitute is better.
Frequently asked questions
What do I give someone who does not like flowers?
A perfume they wear if you want a gift that stays, cake and chocolate if you want something opened right away, or balloons if the occasion is a celebration.
What replaces flowers for a birthday?
A cake in their favourite flavour with number balloons of their age, which does the bouquet's job and the photos' at once. See birthday cakes.
What replaces flowers for a recovery?
Chocolate or light sweets opened for visitors at the hospital or at home, since some rooms do not allow flowers. See get-well gifts.
Do the substitutes arrive the same day?
Perfume, cake, chocolate and balloons, yes, for a single gift when the recipient sets the location before 4 pm. Jewelry takes longer to prepare and is delivered in Riyadh. Some gifts need longer to prepare. The time is on each gift page.
See also luxury gift ideas.
Ready to gift?
Ordering takes two minutes, and the recipient sets the place and the delivery time.
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