Part of Christmas is buying Christmas gifts for our loved ones but many people struggle with the process. In my three years working in the Christmas gift market you’d be astonished how many times I hear the phrase “well, it’ll have to do” and the number of people who make a mad dash on Christmas Ever to try and get all their gifts. Under that amount of pressure, with such limited options, how can you possibly expect to find the perfect gift?
The keys to finding the perfect gift for each person are to plan well in advance to give you the necessary time to do your research and to know that person well enough that you will have a good idea about what they would really like.
We don’t want people politely opening up their gifts on Christmas morning and thaking you out of politeness. We want people to experience an emotion when they open their gifts from you. We want laughter, cheers, even tears of joy. We want people asking how on earth you knew, or how you managed to find that particular gift, or how you managed to arrange something like that.
Also check: Christmas Wishes
Remember that Christmas gifts don’t have to be *things* (toys, perfume, electronics etc.) they can also be experiences. Meals out. Short vacations. Music tickets. Just a few of the gifts I have given over the last few years include a day on a skid pan learning to do 360′ spins in a BMW, a flying lesson, rental of a boat for the day, a visit to a spa, a weekend away, a session with a professional photographer to get some family photos done and more.
Surprisingly many of these have worked out far cheaper than you might expect. Many have simply involved buying a voucher. And yet these types of gifts are able to give twice. Firstly there’s the opening where someone who has always wanted to learn to fly gets their first flying lesson and is blown away that someone has made it come true.
Secondly there’s the time later when they actually get to do their flying lesson or whatever. Often that’s a whole day out, travelling to the air field, having their initial briefing, flying the plane and then travelling home.
The key to success with buying the perfect Christmas gift is getting to know the people you are buying for very well. If you plan early enough they will often drop hints, or can even be asked, before they start thinking about Christmas.
If you spend time with people they will often say things like “I love that bag” or “I’ve always wanted to do that” or “wouldn’t it be cool to see them live?” or suchlike. All of these things are unconscious hints that you should write down and keep a note of because all are possible ideas for Christmas gifts.
Try going shopping with them “will you come and help me choose some new shoes?” and go to the mall and watch which shops they peer into. Pay close attention to what they look at. The shoes are the excuse but their behaviour provides all sorts of clues for you.
So long as you ask well in advance of Christmas so as to not arouse any suspicion you can even ask open-ended questions like “if you won the lottery, what things would you really like to do?” or “is there anything you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t got around to?” and so on which have the potential to provide yet more pointers and ideas without the recipient realizing you are pumping them for gift ideas.
Don't Miss: Christmas Poems 2017
You can even ask other people close to them similar ideas. “What would Kate really like for Christmas?” or “what is the name of that video game that Joe wants?”. Or “Chrissy, I’d like to buy your sister some perfume for Christmas. Any chance you can spare an hour or two in the next few weeks to come and help me decide which one she’d like best?”.
Once you have a list of ideas for each person it is simply a matter of doing some careful research on the internet to weigh up your options. Given your budget, which of them are going to be possible? Which ones do you think will get the biggest effect when given? Which ones will bring the most pleasure?
Then, well in advance of Christmas, make your purchases and simply wait for them to arrive, safe in the knowledge that you’re going to give them a present to remember. And if you’re anything like me, once you feel confident in your choices you won’t be able to contain yourself; you’ll want it to be Christmas tomorrow so you can see their face on Christmas morning.
The keys to finding the perfect gift for each person are to plan well in advance to give you the necessary time to do your research and to know that person well enough that you will have a good idea about what they would really like.
We don’t want people politely opening up their gifts on Christmas morning and thaking you out of politeness. We want people to experience an emotion when they open their gifts from you. We want laughter, cheers, even tears of joy. We want people asking how on earth you knew, or how you managed to find that particular gift, or how you managed to arrange something like that.
Also check: Christmas Wishes
Remember that Christmas gifts don’t have to be *things* (toys, perfume, electronics etc.) they can also be experiences. Meals out. Short vacations. Music tickets. Just a few of the gifts I have given over the last few years include a day on a skid pan learning to do 360′ spins in a BMW, a flying lesson, rental of a boat for the day, a visit to a spa, a weekend away, a session with a professional photographer to get some family photos done and more.
Surprisingly many of these have worked out far cheaper than you might expect. Many have simply involved buying a voucher. And yet these types of gifts are able to give twice. Firstly there’s the opening where someone who has always wanted to learn to fly gets their first flying lesson and is blown away that someone has made it come true.
Secondly there’s the time later when they actually get to do their flying lesson or whatever. Often that’s a whole day out, travelling to the air field, having their initial briefing, flying the plane and then travelling home.
The key to success with buying the perfect Christmas gift is getting to know the people you are buying for very well. If you plan early enough they will often drop hints, or can even be asked, before they start thinking about Christmas.
If you spend time with people they will often say things like “I love that bag” or “I’ve always wanted to do that” or “wouldn’t it be cool to see them live?” or suchlike. All of these things are unconscious hints that you should write down and keep a note of because all are possible ideas for Christmas gifts.
Try going shopping with them “will you come and help me choose some new shoes?” and go to the mall and watch which shops they peer into. Pay close attention to what they look at. The shoes are the excuse but their behaviour provides all sorts of clues for you.
So long as you ask well in advance of Christmas so as to not arouse any suspicion you can even ask open-ended questions like “if you won the lottery, what things would you really like to do?” or “is there anything you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t got around to?” and so on which have the potential to provide yet more pointers and ideas without the recipient realizing you are pumping them for gift ideas.
Don't Miss: Christmas Poems 2017
You can even ask other people close to them similar ideas. “What would Kate really like for Christmas?” or “what is the name of that video game that Joe wants?”. Or “Chrissy, I’d like to buy your sister some perfume for Christmas. Any chance you can spare an hour or two in the next few weeks to come and help me decide which one she’d like best?”.
Once you have a list of ideas for each person it is simply a matter of doing some careful research on the internet to weigh up your options. Given your budget, which of them are going to be possible? Which ones do you think will get the biggest effect when given? Which ones will bring the most pleasure?
Then, well in advance of Christmas, make your purchases and simply wait for them to arrive, safe in the knowledge that you’re going to give them a present to remember. And if you’re anything like me, once you feel confident in your choices you won’t be able to contain yourself; you’ll want it to be Christmas tomorrow so you can see their face on Christmas morning.
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