How to Choose the Perfect Gift for Anyone in Your Life
I LOVE when I find the perfect gift for someone. I’m giddy and impatient like a kid at Christmas and always encourage them to let me give it to them early since I’m so excited to see their reaction. That’s what it feels like when you find a great gift for someone. You’re as excited, if not more so, than them. You know that you’re delivering joy and happiness (I imagine that’s how Santa feels).
My giving love language is giving gifts. If you’re not familiar definitely give “The Five Love Languages” a read, its not just applicable for your romantic partner but for all those you love in your life. Essentially, the idea is there are five different ways of giving and receiving love. The way you receive love may not be the way you give love. The Five Love Languages are:
- Quality Time
- Words of Affirmation
- Gifts
- Acts of Service
- Physical Touch
Step 1: Know your recipients receiving love language
Understanding the receiving love language of the person you’re getting a gift for is the first essential step to finding them the perfect gift. While I love giving physical gifts that’s not the receiving love language of all the people I give gifts to so I have to tailor it to what I know about them. If it’s “quality time” a great gift for them might be taking them out for a long meal or just hanging out for an afternoon. For someone who prefers “Acts of Service” maybe you offer to take their car to the car wash, bring them some pre-cooked meals, or do other things that have been hanging out for a while on their to-do list. Some people might have more than one receiving love language so you can even combine them to provide the perfect gift. Do they love “words of affirmation” and “physical touch”? Spend the day celebrating them by taking them out to a lunch where you tell them all the things you love and appreciate about them and then give them a gift card for a massage.
Pro Tip: I keep notes in my phone for when friends and family express interest in certain topics, hobbies, or experiences that I think would act as inspiration for future gifts for them.
Step 2: Tailor the gift to your recipient’s wants and needs
A lot of times we get stymied or rushed in trying to get a gift and don’t feel like we have the time to devote to thinking about what the person we’re getting a gift for really wants or needs. As a result, we can substitute our own preferences for theirs. My mom and I still laugh about the time she got me a faux fur vest for my birthday, something that has never been my style. When I asked my mom, puzzled, as to why she gave it to me she mentioned that it was something she had seen the Kardashians wear. However, the Kardashians haven’t ever been my style icon but they are for my mom.
Pro Tip: The perfect gift doesn’t have to cost money. Is your friend complaining that she and her husband don’t have enough alone time? Gift her free babysitting time.
Step 3: Establish a budget
Gift-giving can get expensive. I’ve taken inspiration from the idea of Christmas clubs and I set aside a certain amount each month in a savings account that I dedicate to gift-giving. To start off with I put together a list of gift recipients. I then went through my calendar and tallied up the number of birthdays and holidays where I planned to give them gifts. I set a budget for each person/event. I took the total and divided it by 12. I then have the money auto-deducted from my account each month and set aside into a separate savings account. I treat this like I would any other bill, I budget and save for it.
Pro Tip: If I’m shopping online and see something I think they’ll love I’ll add it to a secret pinterest board to come back for later.
Step 4: Anytime is the perfect time to find gifts
You don’t have to limit yourself to the week before a birthday or a few weeks before Christmas time to start whittling down your gift list. If I’m out shopping and see something I think a friend will love I’ll get it or at least take a pic so I can come back to it later. I also shop the sales year-round. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with buying the perfect gift for someone for Christmas if it’s on deep discount during a President’s Day sale since a newer model is launching. If its a gift you’ve put some thought into they’ll love it and it’ll help your budget stretch even further. It’s a win-win!
Pro Tip: I keep a calendar with customized reminders of all my gift recipients. If they’re harder to shop for I set my reminders earlier so I can start researching or subtly questioning them for gift ideas. Google Calendar is great for this, you can set reminders and dates, that reoccur regularly for any interval of time you need (annually, monthly, etc.).
What about you? How do you think about finding the perfect gifts for people in your life? Any tips or suggestions? Would love to hear them! Add a comment below. You can also follow me for more suggestions and ideas via instagram and pinterest.
