How To Make Sure You Always Give The Best Christmas Gifts

Wonderful though Christmas undoubtedly is, it would also be fair to say for the most part that it can be somewhat stressful. The stresses of Christmas include having to organise everything like the food and the decorations in time for guests, they include having to rub along with family and in-laws who perhaps you aren’t always best of friends with, and they involve having to spend lots of money. One of the toughest parts of all though is also one of the parts that should be fun and rewarding: giving gifts. For while we all enjoy to give people and we all enjoy the look on their faces when we give them a gift that they really love, unfortunately we are also always aware that there’s chance they won’t love the gifts we bought – and when we’ve put a lot of time and effort into choosing something, and spent a lot of good money on that item, this can be rather disappointing.

The solution then is to simply make sure you’re smart about how you’re buying gifts for your loved ones. By thinking the right way about what your friends and family would really appreciate, you can save yourself a lot of stress, save yourself money, and make sure that your gifts are well received and that you help to make their Christmas special. Here we will look at how you can get it right every time.

Avoid the ‘Easy Options’

Almost anyone you buy Christmas gifts for you will find has ‘easy options’. These are the gifts that you know the other person can use and that maybe they’ve asked for, but at the same time they’re also the items that won’t make as much of an impression.

For instance a young guy will almost always appreciate a DVD of one of their favourite films, and Mums will almost always like CDs of songs from their era/boxes of chocolates. Girlfriends will always appreciate jewellery. But the problem is that when you go this route you immediately eliminate any chance of surprise and in doing so you lessen the impact of your gift. While they might like what they’ve received, they’ll still likely be a little disappointed at the lack of surprise or imagination.

Avoid Serious Risks

At the same time though, you also don’t want to get something completely ‘out there’ that they have no interest in. Not only will they not want to use such an item, but it will also suggest that you don’t really know them which is never a nice feeling when it’s someone you care about.

Think What Makes Them Them

The solution then is to try and get right to the core of what makes someone tick. Most people can easily be put into some kind of category based on their interests or on their personality. For instance if your friend is an artist then they might do many things in keeping with that identity – they maybe have lots of flamboyant tattoos, like art-house movies, or make lots of their own crafts and creations. On the other hand you might have a friend who’s very elegant and delicate – perhaps they enjoy throwing dinner parties and wearing nice clothes. Again, that’s the identity that this person gives themselves and there are many paraphernalia that go along with that.

By getting to the route of what makes your friends and family who they are, you can give a gift that speaks to them on a fundamental level. For the artist that might mean getting them a great painting set, or perhaps a painting that you found in a market. For the person who enjoys dinner parties, it might mean cut glass or a serving dish. Either way, the point is that you’re giving the person something that they will be bound to use but also that will show you have insight into who they are. This allows you to be creative while at the same time as staying safe, so ask yourself: who is your partner’s mother?

And one more tip: if you have a good idea at any point in the year for a gift someone would like (or if they mention something they’d like), make a note of it and come back to it.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Today’s guest author is Jamie Watson and he enjoys writing about his work experiences at Christmas All Year, a company that offers innovative Christmas decorations. You can learn more about his opinions at www.christmasallyear.com.au.