The holidays are upon us, and the stress to give the perfect gifts is here. As luck would have it, my boyfriend’s birthday is a few days after Thanksgiving, meaning I have to find a birthday present AND Christmas present for him within a month!

You’ve got the giant TVs and the connected home items, the auto accessories, the clothes and expensive watches, etc. It seems every gift has to be big and impressive or expensive. However, I love giving handmade (by me, or by someone else) items as gifts because they are way more unique and way more meaningful.

Sean has been wanting to get into drinks lately – getting his downstairs bar room set up, buying the necessary equipment and learning to make delicious drinks for him and our friends at our notorious parties.

That’s why this custom vintage pub bottle opener from Artificer Wood Works was the perfect gift for Sean’s birthday. Sean is Irish, and loves decorating his bar room with “pub” references. This handsome carved wooden wall-mounted bar opener says ?_____’s Pub, established ____”. I customized it with 2017, the year we moved into this house and Sean got his bar room.

It arrived in a week and looked amazing! But my favorite part was the card that came with it, in which the people who made it, engraved it and packaged it personally signed their names. What an intimate touch for a personalized gift!

This bottle opener was the perfect final touch to the presents I was already getting him: a stainless steel bar kit, a very nice cocktail book and 2 fun shots recipe books.

I was super impressed with the finished product, especially for the price of $59. Artificer Wood Works also offers anniversary wine boxes, individual wine bottle boxes, wooden phone speakers and keepsake/jewelry boxes. I’m definitely keeping this site in mind for future gift occasions – weddings, engagements, new babies, birthdays and anniversaries.

Do you prefer to give expensive gifts or handmade gifts? Let me know in the comments!

Disclosure: I received these products complimentary for review purposes. All opinions are my own.