This holiday season is already here and everyone is starting to buy presents for people on their list. If you’re anything like me, you love to give gifts and know how to get someone the perfect gift. If you’re not, that is totally okay, this article is here to help you!
- Listen
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To find someone the perfect present you need to really know them. Know who they are, what they like, and their aesthetic. One of the easiest ways is to look through stores and online websites and look for something that reminds you of them. One thing I love to do is to buy someone something that they can’t justify buying for themselves, but they want. Or if you go shopping with them a lot pay attention to what they show you or look at in the store, and then go back and buy it later (or if your sneaky enough sneak away and buy it without them noticing). I have done both of these and gave people presents they enjoyed.
- Put Yourself in Their Shoes
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If you know enough about a person’s life you can put yourself in their shoes and think about a gift that would make their life easier or better. Whether it is a Keurig for someone who loves coffee, a crockpot for someone who doesn’t have time to cook a whole meal when they get home, or just a book and some fuzzy socks for your friend who likes to read, thinking about their life can help you come up with a gift idea that they will love.
- It Doesn’t Always Have to be a Thing
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Not everyone likes to receive gifts. It could be the anxiety of opening them in front of people or it could be that gifts are not their love language. A gift could be tickets to an event, a day at the spa, or even something as simple as dinner on you. This could be an easy way to reduce the stress of gift-giving and its more impactful because it creates a memory. This option can be both very high and very low on the price spectrum, because you could get them expensive front row seats to their favorite band or you could take them to a picnic or a scenic hike.
- You Can Make it Instead of Buying it
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There is always something more personal about a handmade gift than an object bought at the store. Both are great options, but sometimes what you are looking for you can’t buy or you just want to make a gift more personal. Making something can be as easy as making someone their favorite dessert to building them a new desk! There is such a range and so many creative avenues you can take by making a homemade gift.
- It’s Okay To Ask
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Even though gifts are supposed to be surprises, it is completely okay to ask them what they want or what they think about one of your ideas. If you are not super confident in your gift it could be better to make sure they like it so neither of you are disappointed. You can even ask in ways that are better than just asking, “What do you want?” For example, you can say, “Is there anything you can’t justify buying for yourself?”, “Have you seen anything cool while out shopping lately?”, “What could you use to make your life easier?”, or you can even take a Marie Kondo route and ask, “What brings you the most joy?”
In the end, it isn’t really that important what you get someone, it is just that you spend the holidays together with your friends and family. The reason for this season is not to buy tons of excess, it is to show people you love them in whatever way you do best.