You kinda need to know that person to begin with, even just a little bit. For me i’ll just ask mutual friend for idea, or pool together to get better gift.
For friends and family try listen to their problems/annoyances. Usually people tend to complain until they fix it by themselves and if not, it’s your chance to shine.
If you want to contribute something to a hobby, ask first or gift cash. Most of the time the gift will be not needed or already surpassed with better/more expensive gear.
This, combined with another post saying buy something they want but can’t justify spending that much for an x is the best recipe for gift success.
There’s a number of things I want, but I’m like, I dunno if I’d use it $x worth to justify it, so those are the things my GF buys me.
She’s a spender, but she’ll say, dang I could really use an x, but then she forgets about it, but I don’t, so that’s what I get her.
Also, no need really to wait for a birthday or holiday. Just get people stuff if you like them and feel like it. We typically give each other gifts like a month early since the point is to see them enjoy them.
When it comes to hobby we tend to ask each other to send a link to the product in advance of the gifting occasion. It takes the surprise out of the event, but you get something which you can actually use.
For other gifts, try to keep a log or notes. And yes, gift cards are also very nice.
Pay attention to the things they enjoy, the fashion they wear, and the problems they complain about. Any of these can be a good gift inspiration.
If you don’t know the person very well, a consumable gift like wine or chocolate is a good standby.
Consumables are always the best gifts. I don’t even bother with anything else anymore, unless it’s something that I made myself because then it has sentimental value.
First time you give them a gift ask them to guess what it is. All the wrong answers are now gift ideas for next time.
Is it a house? A spaceship?
🎶 It’s the highway maintenance vehicle! 🎶
If the person you want to give a gift to is a weightlifter or work out enthusiast, buy them a shirt.
If the shirt is too big, they will be flattered, and if the shirt is too small, they will wear it.
For the last several decades now I have asked my wife or others “guess what I got you for Christmas?” (Birthday or whatever…).
The first thing they guess is the real thing they want as a gift.
Usually I think about what they like and what problems they have going on. Like one person in my life commented on being cold a lot, likes cats, so I got her a nice blanket that has a giant cat on it. Not mind blowing or anything, but it shows I was listening. She loves it.
I tell people don’t try to buy me anything technical. Like I’ve been thinking of getting a 4k monitor, but I’ll do an excessive amount of research before buying one. If someone else got me one and it wasn’t right for some reason, I’d feel terrible.
I keep lists on my phone, in Trello. Whenever I think a thought like “they could use X” or if they mention something they like or want, I write it down as a card before I forget.
I listen.
Just ask them. Seriously. Don’t overcomplicate things.
That makes for bad gift giving imo because then they could’ve just gone out and bought something for themselves.
Depends of my relationship with them.
If they are not my close friends or family, something generic like wine, nice tea, chocolate, baby plant is fine.
If they are close to me, I love giving them something I know they can use for their favorite activity or hobbie but never related to their job or school. For example I would not gift my kid something for school, that is a need and bot an actual gift.
I become them. I absorb everything I know about them and create a simulation of them in my mind. I run this simulation through activities i’m aware of them partaking in, trying to include their current possessions in the simulation, and try to estimate how they would be feeling in the simulations as I introduce likely gifts to their routine.
When possible use past conversations and observations as rails for these simulations to keep them constrained to good gift ranges.
As an example of this technique in action every year at birthday and christmas time I’ll run through a little simulation of my partners day in my head, like they wake up and turn on the light and then go in the bathroom turning on the coffee maker on the way and then brush their teeth and then make some coffee etc. just going through each step i’m aware of and looking for opportunities to reduce friction or inject happiness. The most recent gift using this method was a bento style lunchbox. I had simulated from our conversations and observations that her lunch was sometimes at her desk and sometimes in her car so the surface could be quite variable. I thought that instead of trying to deal with a bag full of small containers in the car that it would be easier to work with a single more stable compartmented container. I also suspected she might eat more variety if it was all available at once instead of having to sort through different containers.
This was a wild success and she’s thanked me multiple times for the bento style lunchbox. Well i got that by simulating her, it’s an effective method for picking out gifts I have a good success rate!
I do the same thing and I am lauded within my family as an excellent gift giver.
I ask them to use wishthis.online (FOSS)
I only buy gifts for my SO and and it’s either one from the wishlist she has provided me or something I’ve heard her talking about and I had the foresight to write it up for later.
I don’t. And usually they don’t either.
I would greatly prefer the no gifts option both ways.
I establish this with everyone I know… the gift is being able to spend our money how we like and enjoying each other’s company.
I tried this with my wife. Didn’t go over very well.
To add to what others have said…when you know a little about the person/their likes or dislikes, ChatGPT can be a good starting point. Don’t provide any personal info, but ask if for gift ideas based on the criteria for that person. It might just spark an idea you wouldn’t have thought of. :)
