By Ese Grage

Is it just us or is the new year carrying us where we don’t know? Even January that would feel like it had 20 extra days stylishly tacked into it is now ending as though it began yesterday. But, you know what this means right? It’s Valentine’s season already. Time to wear your creative hats so that you can gift the special people in your life something other than the usual boxers and singlet, my gender, you know what I mean now, wink! If you live in Abuja, you are in luck because we are going to be exploring in no particular order top 10 gift shops within the city that will cater to all your gifting needs for Valentine and beyond.

1. Regal Souvenirs 

They are located in Lugbe but also have a thriving Instagram page where they showcase their products which range from cute teddies to male watches and fancy bottles. My favourite item in the store is a golf club inspired luxury pen that goes for ₦10,000. With ₦20k, you can curate a very nice gift box for either sex.

2. Home Bargains

Tucked in the heart of Abuja, Wuse, Homebargains is a one-stop shop for all things unique. Imagine you just came back from America or the UK and there is a particular brand of chocolate you just can’t find in Nigeria, well, the chances are that you will find it at Homebargains. They stock the most diverse sweet and candy variations as well as cute gifts such as trinket dishes, diffusers, mugs with funny inscriptions all at really affordable prices. With a ₦15K budget, you can make your partner quite happy

3. Oludidit

When it comes to intentional gifting, that’s the Oludidit brand. They stock quality products that help you say what you are thinking to your partner without you having to do so verbally. I particularly love their tee shirts that come with witty inscriptions like “error 404, Bad vibes not found” and “looking G.O.O.D is my cardio”. The best part is all your items can be personalised including journals, mugs and my personal favourite, the “I love u because” journal that allows you to fill the page with thoughts on why you love your significant other. This book comes with writing prompts as well as empty pages for you to express yourself freely. You can go sexy or even nasty, wink! It’s for their eyes only anyway so please, go wild.

4. Larisalefleurflorals

Let’s not even lie, Abuja ladies are “boujie” and so flowers are our thing. Plus, it makes very good content for our Instagram pages so why not. This is why @Larisalefleurflorals as they are known on Instagram is a beehive of activities already. They offer fabulous flower arrangements but note, they aren’t cheap. Not because the flower shop itself is expensive but because flowers, fresh flowers are generally not cheap so you must hold your bar if you want to contact them. For instance, the “Love it Bouquet” which is an arrangement of white roses flanked by red mini flowers costs ₦672K. Yup! Don’t clean your eyes, you read right. So, if you want to impress, boy, get flowers but hold your money too!

5. Plushy Gifts

I stan a business that thinks ahead and Plushy Gifts is that business. A visit to their Instagram page will leave you content as they already have pre-packaged valentine gift arrangements for you to select from. You can get a gift box from as low as N15K to as high as N200K and if you aren’t satisfied with the options provided in each category, you have the opportunity to build your own unique box from the array of gift items they stock.

6. The Gift Source

One interesting thing to note about The Gift Source is that for every occasion or event in your life, there will always be a unique gift set to celebrate. Whether its for Grandma, a great boss, a remarkable sister or a romantic partner, The Gift Source has you covered.  From exotic teas to classy plaques, the items this brand stocks will leave your partner feeling classy.

7. Dang Lifestyle

Even though this brand stocks mostly skincare products and is quite new in Abuja, the almost cult following I encountered when I paid a visit proves that women are taking self-care quite seriously this year. So, curate a box of body oils that will leave her skin fluffy or go for a set of hair, a set of face products that will smoothen and texturize or oils to enrich her mane. Yes, there are products for men too like perfumes, home sprays, scented candles and diffusers that smell heavenly. I used the Richie Rich diffuser recently, and let’s just say I will definitely be a repeat customer. The scented candles range from ₦13K to ₦180K but with ₦50K you can definitely curate a box that will make your partner swoon. Add a romantic/ sexy note why don’t you? This is an added service which is free when you place your order.

8. Celebrations NG

If you love a good hallmark production, then you would be happy to do your shopping at @CelebrationsNG as the brand has a back story that would be very familiar in those kinds of movies. It is a very popular gift store in Abuja that stocks all kinds of gifts, from luxury perfumes to exotic drinks and biscuits that will make great fillers for a gift box. Now, you can check their Instagram page for items for your gift box. But I will do you a solid and ask that you visit the physical store yourself because the online store has got absolutely nothing on the physical store. You will be spoilt for choice

9. @Sweetsurpriseinabox_abuja

It’s one thing to walk into a store and be spoilt for choice when planning on gifting that special person in your life but it’s another thing to have a service handle all that thinking and planning for you, ergo sweet surprise in a box_abuja. This brand will simply curate beautiful boxes for you once they know your budget, who you are gifting and what they like and then plan the perfect surprise. So, essentially all the stress is taken off you. How cool is that?

10. @verbgiftery

This brand has pegged their Valentine gift curated boxes from ₦50,000 upward which includes the service, as well as the gift items included in your package. However, their services go beyond Valentine so you can contact them for curated boxes for all occasions.

There you have it, the top 10 gift shops and gifting services that will make February 14 a breeze for you and score you points with your partner. We try abi we no try? It’s a 10/10 if we do say so ourselves. Happy Valentines lovers.

Ese Grage, a creative writer, is based in Abuja

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.