The first step toward great gift ideas is knowing your audience …
Having trouble coming up with gift ideas? I know I do.
Maybe you've panicked and hit the Christmas section at the front of Walmart for the majority of your gifts on December 23rd or 24th. (Not that I know this from experience or anything. O_o )
Gift ideas don't have to be complicated
My daughter goes into town for a day of shopping with my wife's mom at the beginning of December, just the two of them, to get her Christmas gifts.
I have to say: They do really well. My wife isn't hard to buy gifts for, but I am, and they still nail it almost all of the time.
A tween's gift budget isn't extravagant, so her gifts aren't expensive (nor would I want them to be!)
But they are thoughtful. “It's the thought that counts.”
Six things that make a gift idea great
- Something they'll use. One of my gifts for the past few years has been a coffee cup or mug. Both my wife and I like our coffee. I probably use one of those mugs nearly every day. They're all in stylish, tasteful colors. I don't think any of them cost more than $5.
- Something they do. This is what makes things like gift cards decent presents. If you know they love their music, then iTunes gift cards are great. If they're a DIYer then a Lowe's card is the ticket.
- Something in a color they'll like. There's a bit of a running joke in our house that I like orange things. (Maybe sometime I'll say why.) A couple of my coffee cups from my daughter (see above) have more than a little orange in them. (One is completely orange.) Coffee mugs are a good thing to be orange in our house because not a whole lot else orange fits in anywhere else (and my wife forbids discourages me from wearing orange).
- Something that speaks to them. My daughter's (beloved) last swim coach had a penchant for saying “It's all good” in pretty much any stressful situation. So when we found a mug with that phrase on it … score! Extend this idea to other
- Something they'll consume. A coffee drinker consumes coffee. A crocheter consumes yarn. A drummer consumes drumsticks. You get the idea.
- Something they need. This is usually what I default to if someone backs me up against a wall and demands that I give them gift ideas. Some new shirts, a couple pair of pants, etc.
