Gifts - What Are You Going To Get Them?
Rod Tilton
Life is all about balance. With the holidays, the good news is you will be with family, get some time off and exchange gifts. The bad news is you need to come up with some gift ideas, a truly scary task!
First things first. Unless you love standing in lines and crowds, you should consider doing as much of your holiday shopping as possible online. The holidays should be a relaxing time spent with family, not a time of shopping rage standing in line.
On to gift buying strategies. Find yourself staring at the wall when the subject comes up? The biggest problem most people have is getting rolling. Once you do, you can find things pretty readily, but where do you start?
Over the years, one approach has worked for me. Instead of thinking generally, think specifically. Focus on the person you are buying for. What do they do when they have free time?
What about buying for a grandparent? You can go with an age-oriented gift, but they probably don't want one. Instead, ask yourself what they do in their free time? Like to play cards? How about a book on gaming?
If you want to hit a home run, you should use the hobby idea for all the gifts you buy for that person. Remember, this is something they have already expressed an interest in, so buying within the scope of their interest should be a hit.
Just as important is the message this gift giving approach sends to the recipient. By focusing on their interest, you are telling them that you are happy to spend the time on figuring out what they like, even if they don't voice it.
Far to often, we get caught up in buying people things we think they should like versus what they actually would be happy to receive. This is not about you. It is about them. Watch them closely and you can buy them something that will be a hit.
It can be really tempting to buy gift certificates if you are in a rush or don't know about an area of interest for a person. Try to avoid giving such gifts as they often aren't used and really say that you don't have time for that person.
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