Siblings are the hardest people to buy for because they know you too well. Anything generic gets a raised eyebrow. Personalised brother cufflinks work because the design can be something only the two of you share, which means he will actually laugh when he opens the box, and then quietly wear them to every wedding for the next ten years.
They also get round the usual sibling problem of gifts that are either too soppy or too cheap. You get to say something affectionate, but you say it through a daft photo or a nickname, which is how most brothers prefer to communicate anyway.
The in-joke he will clock straight away
Every family has them. The nickname from when he was seven. The name of the caravan park. The dog you had that bit the vicar. The design can be a word, a drawing or a photograph, as long as it makes him groan in recognition. Some favourites for brothers:
- The unfortunate school photo, haircut and all
- A screenshot-style line of something he once said, typed out cleanly
- A childhood drawing of his, dug out from your parents' loft
- The badge of the Sunday league team you both played for
- The two of you in matching outfits your mum insisted on
From the back seat of the family car to his stag do
It helps to think about the stage of life he is in. For a younger brother heading off to university or into his first job, a photo of the two of you as children says "I have your back" without the need for speeches. For an older brother, a nod to something he taught you, such as the bike you learnt to ride on or the football shirt you inherited, lands nicely. If he is getting married, a picture from the stag do is an obvious choice, though you may want to pick one that is safe for his future in-laws.
When he is getting married: a set for the brothers
If there are several of you, or you are standing up as groomsmen, brother cufflinks make a neat set for the wedding party. You can put several different designs in one basket, so each brother could have his own photo or initials while the groom gets something special. One idea that works well is to give every brother a childhood photo of himself, all taken at roughly the same age, so the set looks coordinated on the day while each pair of brother cufflinks stays unique to its owner. Another is to use your family surname in the same font for everyone and save a photo for the groom. Order 5 or more pairs and each pair is £15, plus £5 shipping per order, so five pairs come to £80. That makes it easy to include your dad and the best man too.
Making a scruffy old photo or screenshot work
Sibling pictures are rarely professional. They are usually on an old phone, in a group chat or stuck in an album at your parents' house. A few tips:
- Save the original from the phone that took it, rather than a copy forwarded through messaging apps, which shrink images.
- If you only have a print, photograph it flat in daylight to avoid shadows and glare.
- Crop so one or two faces fill most of the square.
- For text jokes, use a bold, simple font and large letters; thin handwriting-style fonts can get lost.
Our printing uses your full-resolution original, so the bigger the file you start with, the better the result.
Sending it off
Upload the image on the product page and the live preview puts it on both cufflinks. Drag and zoom until the joke lands, then add it to your basket. A single pair is £40 with shipping included. Checkout is secure, and every pair is made in Cornwall and packed in a gift box, ready for you to present with a straight face.