This is a collaborative post: Choosing the perfect present for someone special in your life can be easier than it seems. Something that you would automatically recognise as meaningful and heartfelt won’t necessarily make the same impact on someone else. Additionally, if you’re just getting used to someone new in your life, you might have a harder time choosing a present that’s best-suited to them.
Great gift giving is an art that takes a while to perfect. The more you get to know someone, and the more you learn about their preferences, the easier the process will become. Once you know this, you can make use of tailored gift idea lists like UKGifts.co.uk. In the meantime however, you can reduce your chances of a disaster by sticking to common favourites like candles, spa items, and flowers, and staying away from these common danger gifts.
Insulting gifts
It’s difficult to know which gifts might come across as insulting at first, if you don’t know the person very well. Some gifts that might seem insulting to some will be hilarious to others. The best thing you can do is avoid anything that might be a little risky if you’re not sure. Stay away from dangerous gifts and put-down presents until you know the person a lot better.
For instance if you know that your friend has an issue with their weight right now, it might seem helpful to pay for a gym membership for her. However, this gift can actually come across as more hurtful than helpful
Self-Help Books or “Fixes”
If your new friend or your family member hasn’t shared any specific self-esteem issues that they have with you lately, they don’t need you to start creating new ones with your gifts. While you can always suggest that someone reads a self-help book that you found useful, giving that item as a gift indicates that you think the person has a problem that they need to overcome. This could end up leading to arguments or humiliation in some cases.
Don’t give any gifts that seem to be “fixes” for problems – even if you think the issue is obvious. For instance, a subscription to a weight loss service is never a good idea – even if someone has mentioned problems with their weight.
Secondhand or Cheap Gifts
There’s nothing wrong with shopping the sales and looking for great deals on a present – but that doesn’t mean that the items you give to people should look cheap. Even if you didn’t spend a fortune, the goal is to make the other person feel like you did. Items that have clearly been used and bought from a second-hand store or eBay aren’t going to look particularly well-thought out and meaningful.
Additionally, you shouldn’t get a gift that looks obviously cheap, even as a joke. Unless you and your friend or relative agrees that you’re going to spend a specific (small) amount of money on each other, this will only lead to hurt feelings.
Totally Irrelevant Gifts
If you’re struggling to think of the perfect gift for someone, it’s tempting to think that just anything will do. Maybe you end up with a free “add-on” item when you buy another gift from a certain store, or you have something left over from your pile of presents that you don’t want to use for someone else – don’t just pass that item off to anyone.
Although it can be difficult to purchase a good gift for someone that you don’t know very well yet, it’s important to make it seem like you’ve at least made the effort to choose something relevant. Handing someone a gardening book when they’ve never spoke about gardening before just indicates that you’re getting rid of clutter you didn’t want anymore.
Gifts from Other People
Regifting is only ever an option when you know for a fact that the person you’re giving the item to will never interact with the individual who gave you the present initially. If you can’t remember who gave you the item – then don’t take the risk. There’s always a chance in that situation that the person will end up seeing that you’ve given the item away, or you could even re-gift the present you got to the person who gave it to you in the first place.
If you don’t love an item that you received off someone else, your best option is to wait until a reasonable amount of time has passed and sell it on somewhere else. However, even that can be a risky process.