Right now, thousands of people are searching the aisles trying to find that perfect gift for the holidays. If you’re like me, you may have a significant other whose parents are new additions to your holiday shopping list. Shopping was difficult at first for my boyfriend’s parents. I wanted to find the perfect present that would put me in their good graces even further. Here’s how I did it!
- gOt to know them
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First and foremost, before I even thought about getting them a present, I wanted to get to know them. I found out their likes, dislikes, favorite candies, favorite colors, and so on and so forth. I definitely didn’t want to get them something they hated or would never get themselves. This is crucially important in my opinion because in order to have a long-lasting relationship with my boyfriend, I need to understand and know his parents up front.
- built a relationship
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Building a relationship was probably one of the most important things. In order to get to know his mom and dad, I had to talk to them, hang out, and just overall have a good time with them. His mom and I gossip, his dad and I joke around…and it’s almost like being friends now! Spending time with them in order to build up our current relationship definitely gave me insight into what their perfect gift might be.
- observed my surroundings
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Whenever I was at my boyfriend’s house, I took a mental note of things his mom and dad said they wanted or needed. It really helped me out in the process of gift searching. I also kept my eye out around their house to see if they already had the item I had in mind. For instance, there was this Tinkerbell tumbler cup I wanted to get my boyfriend’s mom, but when I went into the cupboard to get a cup of water and saw that exact same cup on the shelf, I knew not to buy it. FYI I did NOT snoop around, I just simply observed my surroundings.
- Asked them what they wanted
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My boyfriend and I have been in a relationship for over five years and last year I skipped the subtle shopping and went forward and asked his parents what they wanted for Christmas. They gave me some general ideas, like candles, cups, house decorations, and other things, but I wanted to go the extra mile and make it more tailored to them and their personalities, which they absolutely loved.
Overall, gift shopping is stressful, (at least for me), and bringing your potential future in-laws into the mix makes it that much more nerve-wracking. However, I do think I cracked the code to finding the perfect gift for my boyfriend’s parents.