How to become thoughtful gift giver - Tips

Giving gifts is a beautiful tradition that helps bond people. Choosing the right gift, worthy of its recipient, is an art that can be daunting for someone not skilled in giving gifts. 

However, it should also show the effort that you put into thinking of it. Besides, a gift should be practical and not a random trinket you found in a gift shop. In order to check all these boxes and become a thoughtful gift-giver, you need excellent observation skills and some practice.

If you want to learn the art of becoming a thoughtful gift-giver, this guide is a great place to start.

Don’t Leave It to the Last Minute

Many people make the mistake of putting off gift shopping until the very last minute. If you think you can buy a thoughtful gift while you are on the way to the celebrations, you are mistaken. You can buy something expensive or even pretty, but it won’t be thoughtful. So, better take some time out beforehand and walk around in the market, looking for a gift, instead of buying whatever you see in front of you at the eleventh hour.

Keep a Close Eye on Others’ Interests

When it comes to giving gifts for adults, we should prioritize needs over wants. For instance, you may think your sister needs a new blender, but all she wants for her birthday is that pearly necklace she saw in the mall, the last time you two were there for shopping. 

People’s wants and choices are extremely varied, and you can’t figure out who likes what if you aren’t paying attention. Your boyfriend might have figurines lined up on the shelves, indicating a childhood fascination with toys that has survived through to adulthood. You can look into awesome LEGO adult gift ideas if you are thinking of giving a gift to someone who likes to live out their childhood toy fascination. 

Personalization is Impactful

Remember how your aunt used to gift you adorable Christmas sweaters every year? They may not have cost a lot, but they left a mark. You still associate her with those sweaters. If you want to leave an impact with the quality of gifts you give, you should personalize the impersonal. 

You can have a signature wrapping style that makes others recognize your gifts from afar. Adding that personal touches to your gifts can make you become a thoughtful gift-giver. 

Elevate the Practical Gifts

Depending on the recipient, sometimes a practical gift is more thoughtful than a sentimental one. For instance, if your brother just had a baby, chances are they will be fully stocked on the baby items. So, in order to make your gift stand out, you can give the couple some gift cards to their favorite restaurant or spa. 

But to make it even more personal, and inclusive of the baby, you can slip in the gift cards into a baby bib set cover. In this way, you can make the practical gift more suited to the occasion.

Stay on the Safe Side

If you are unsure about someone’s likes and dislikes, it is better to play it safe with your gift-giving because you don’t want to upset someone with an extreme gift choice. Chocolates are one of the safest gifts to give unless you know for sure the other person does not like them. 

In that case, you need to reevaluate your friendship with them because who in their right mind would not like chocolate?

For such cases where you are not sure about the recipient’s interests, you should never be overly personalizing a gift. You should also keep the wrapping minimalistic, yet presentable. 

Take Help from their Social Media Pages

Millennials think of social media as their own public library where they share pretty all about their lives. If your friends are active social media users, half your job of thinking of a gift to give is done. All you need to do is pay attention to what they’re posting. 

Chances are you will get many ideas from their posts on social media, accompanied with captions like ‘WANT’ or ‘SOMEONE BUY ME THIS.’ 

It would be cruel of you to ignore these hints and to get them a cashmere shawl when they clearly wanted a boot-cut bottom. A little social media stalking can make you a very thoughtful gift-giver but don’t go all Joe Goldberg with the stalking.

Ask Them for a List

It may not be the most conventional idea for giving gifts, but it certainly has its own perks. However, it depends on your relation with the recipient. But if you two are comfortable communicating with each other and you think they will prefer getting something specific, you should just outright ask them. 

Some people are very particular about the gifts they should receive, and you should cash in on that habit of theirs to gift them something they will cherish. 

For instance, if your sister is an avid reader, you shouldn’t buy her a book by her favorite author; chances are she already has it. While it might be sentimental, it wouldn’t really be thoughtful as she’ll have little need for it. 

But, if you prod her for her favorite book that she doesn’t have, you will end up giving her a book she can actually cherish and associate with you.

The Bottom Line

Becoming a thoughtful gift-giver is an art that can be learned through a bit of trial and error. But once you master this art, your friends and family will want to get gifts from you. If you know how to give thoughtful gifts, people won’t be able to stand the wait to see what you’ve bought them this time. People will often associate the gift-giver with the feeling that gift gives them. The above-mentioned tips will help you become the best gift-giver in your social circle.