Collaborative post
Gift shopping can be pretty fun. In fact, aside from food shopping, gifts are my favourite things to shop for. I love to see the look on people’s faces when they open a gift selected especially with their hobbies and tastes in mind. It could be a birthday gift, something simply selected to make them smile, or something to say thanks. We gift for all manner of reasons.
I must admit I do sometimes get a little apprehensive when shopping for a child I don’t know well with the gazillion kids birthday parties we get invited too. I’ve no idea why that happens. As a big kid and blogger of fun toys, I normally get my gift selection spot on each time. Adults that seem to have everything can sometimes be an area of concern. Fear not, I’ve had plenty of experience there too.
When it comes to picking a gift, it’s worth keeping the following things in mind…
Don’t Stress
If like me you put a lot of effort into selecting a gift you’ll find that the recipient will often love it. That doesn’t stop you from worrying about whether they like it up until you hand over the gift. Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves to find the perfect gift when it needn’t have been so stressful a feat. Don’t forget, it’s the thought that counts. They’ll know if you’ve thought about what you’ve bought or regifted a random gift from the back of your cupboard.
Buying Around their Interests Doesn’t Always Work
I can be a bit of a super sleuth on occasion. I’ll discretely phone a friend’s partner, quiz my other friends that know them, even question the giftee in a nonobvious way well before their birthday to get some clues as to what they might like or need. This can often work well, but, sometimes you’ll find the perfect gift, you’ve researched, covered every base only to discover they’ve literally just bought the item for themselves! If only people wouldn’t buy themselves things just before their birthday. ? ?
Classic Gifts Can Sometimes Be the Perfect Gift
We spend time looking for a great gift for others and try to avoid allowing our preferences to influence our choices. Their favourite flowers, chocolates can be very well received. I’ve found that hampers can be very popular. Whose not going to love a package full of tasty goodies. They make a great treat and are something people tend to buy for others rather than themselves, which avoids the issue of them having just bought one. I’ve looked at hampers from Virginia Hayward for gifts as they can have some lovely choices. In fact, I’ve even been involved in a group blogger giveaway for readers to win one in the past as they are that popular.
When All Else Fails
Some people are just too hard to buy for by their own admission. Sometimes giving a gift card or cash can work best so they can spend it on whatever they like. One4all gift cards are a popular choice and can be used in numerous stores. If you know the person is struggling, cash can sometimes be the best gift. They can opt to use it for bills, food, etc. It is still going towards helping them, reducing someone’s financial burden even as a one-off can help reduce their stress a little and be much appreciated.
It’s important to put thought into buying a gift but also not to put too much pressure on yourself in the quest for the perfect present. Shopping for a present should be a fun process not stressful. Start looking in advance, do your research and you’ll find the perfect gift.
Have fun!
Do you go all out to find the perfect gift?
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Written by Melanie Edjourian
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Some people are si hard to buy for – i usually find something suitable – quite often from reading blogs !
You can find great gift ideas on blogs.
i love buying gifts! i try to buy something that means something, something personal! when you recive a gift where you no a lot of thought as gone into it are always the best!
Personal gifts can work very well if you know the person well enough.
These are some great suggestions, I have to admit I often go for gift cards as it means the recipient can buy what they like as well.
It can work out better that way, especially if you don’t know them well or don’t know what to buy.
These are all good pieces of advice when shopping for gifts. I always make sure that I chose a gift that would suit a person’s likes and interests. However, when I am pressed for time, I go for gift cards instead.
Gift cards make a great backup and can be bought last minute if you forget!!!
I agree with the don’t stress part. I used to worry especially when getting my daughter presents but I tend to just ask my facebook friends and look at gift guides and there are plenty of ideas out there.
There sure are. If it’s for a daughter you can always take her on a shopping trip so she can select it herself. It works well with mine.
Like you, I absolutely love to buy gifts for other people. I think it’s the main reason I love Christmas so much!
Brilliant advice here, no matter how much you love to shop, some people are really hard to buy for x x
It’s great isn’t it. Simply seeing how happy you’ve made them makes all the difference.
Weve always found a mix of ideas over the years, some are easy and some are not so much, gift cards for some are always our fallback, I’m happy with these lol, but some do like the quirky presents.
Gift cards always work out well as a fallback.
I find some people really easy to buy for and others I do stress out about buying gifts for, and can spend hours trying to find something. Gift cards are always a great back up though
It’s important to try not to stress over it. Gift shopping should be fun x
I do struggle to buy people gifts sometimes. Especially my dad! When I ask him what he would like, he always tells me not to get him anything, so more than not he ends up with money.
Mine does the same. He does love food and drink so I tend to work around that.
With so many birthday’s coming up something I have no idea what to get each of the birthday celebrants, Giving giftcards is a great idea, will be checking out oneforall giftcards
They can be a great back up plan.
Great ideas! I love shopping for other people, I can’t wait to start my Christmas shopping 🙂
Ha, I’ve already started. I like to get as much as I can in advance. Enjoy your Christmas shopping.
I go all out to find the perfect gift for the people who matter most whereas for mere acquaintances I will tend to just go for their interests.
That’s a good way to approach gift buying. Have fun shopping.
Whenever I have a casual conversation with my friends and family, I always look for small details that they show interests with (or love). In this way, it will be easy to find gifts for them. Be observant.
That’s a great way to see what people might like but discretely.