Laser map gifts: which map to make for which occasion

1. Roads3mm walnutHighways and main roads cut as pieces, held together by the frame band so nothing floats.
2. Land3mm maple or birchWater cut out, local streets and the name engraved. Light land under dark roads is the contrast.
3. Water3mm blue acrylicA solid base that shows through every lake and river.

The person who buys a map is usually not the person who hangs it. It is a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a group of coworkers. They want a gift that proves they know the person. A real map of a real place does that.

One laser map business in Ohio started exactly that way: the founder made a hometown map for his brother, who had moved to Florida. Its range now covers streetscape city maps, golf course and hole-in-one maps, wedding maps, housewarming maps and topo maps of local parks.

There are business buyers too. Realtors buy closing gifts, golf clubs buy course maps, and wedding planners may buy for clients (that last one is an idea, not a proven channel). See realtor closing gifts.

• Hometown and moving away: the town name, the years they lived there, a pin on the family house
• First home: family name, street address, move-in year, a house-shaped window or pin
• Anniversary: names, the date, coordinates of where they met
• College town: school year, a pin on the dorm or the first apartment
• Lake: the lake name and the family name, maybe the dock as a pin
• Golf: course name, hole number, date and the yardage of the shot
• Memorial: name, years, and a short line on the back rather than the front

Text, a pin and a date carry most of the meaning. Keep the map itself clean. More on that in designing maps that sell.

Lake owners identify with their lake, and the shoreline reads at a glance. Each lake is also its own search term. Lake maps on the market run about $99 to $180, and one 3D lake listing starts at $179.95 with the price climbing by size and by the number of stained water layers.

With real depth surveys you can cut the lake bed in stacked levels, darkest at the deepest. See lake depth maps.

Course maps sit at the top of the price range. One carved walnut course map sells for $750 with a 3 to 5 week lead time, and clubhouse layered course maps are sold to clubs as large wall pieces. A laser cut version with raised fairways, sand and water is a strong mid-priced gift, especially with a hole-in-one marker. See golf course maps.

The occasion picks the place. The budget and the room pick the format. A quick way to steer the buyer:

• Small budget or many recipients: an ornament or a coaster set. Easy to ship, easy to buy in multiples.
• One meaningful gift: a 3D layered wall map. Depth and real wood are what make it feel like more than a print.
• A story with several places: a love story board with one window per place.
• A desk, a shelf or a cabin: a map clock or a key holder by the door.
• A big wall: map tiles, one map split across boards that hang side by side.