Does gift giving make you break out in hives? Do you hyperventilate at just the thought of going shopping to purchase gifts for another person? Does it seem like you never find that perfect gift?
It is true, some people are just hard to shop for. In our family it’s the people who have no patience that are the worst to shop for. If they want something they just go out and pick it up never giving a thought to someone could get this for me as a gift. Other people who are hard to shop for are the people who seem to have everything. What can you get them that has any real meaning or significance? Another difficult one, the person who is just never happy. When it comes to these people it may just boil down to accepting the idea of, “many happy returns”.
Here are some tips to help you be a better, less stressed gift giver.
Walk away from the gift card stands. Yes, they are easy. Yes, it gives the gift of choice. You are telling the recipient two things: one, you mean this much to me (as in an amount of money) and two, I know nothing about you and have no clue what to get you. Be observant. Has your brother-in-law picked up a new hobby? Has your sister changed careers? Is there a new baby in a house? Has your sister-in-law mentioned needing something? People are not shy about what is going on in their lives if you just pay attention. One day my sister-in-law mentioned, she could use more beach towels now having a pool. This is something to take note of and shop for in August/September when they would be on clearance. Know interests and personalities of those you are giving gifts to. Does your brother love practical gifts? Does your sister hate practical gifts? My brother-in-law has recently started hunting. This is a new hobby for him, so it is something we could talk to him about and find out gifts to get. Plan to shop early and often. This will give you plenty of time to find all the gifts you need. It will also help you stretch your gift giving dollars. Look for sales. Do you have someone who loves new Christmas decorations as gifts? Pick them up after Christmas the year before! You do not need to shop at the mall to find great gifts. Take notes before you head out to the store and have a plan. You also don’t have to get all of your shopping done in one day. Notes you might have could be something like this: Joe – plays guitar, drinks beer, enjoys video games, alternative rock music. If you have notes like this and you are at a big box store (Target, Wal-mart) and find beer glasses with old school Nintendo images on it, that might be a great gift.
With a little thought and planning you can be a great gift giver without a gift card in sight. This even includes those hard to shop for individuals of your family.