Finding the perfect Gift

Gift giving is one of those challenges that we all face at least once in our lives. It is a balancing game between what you can afford and what you want to get with the added twist of guessing what the other person would like. So I have come up with this helpful little guide. :)

The great presents are not a matter of how much money you spend despite what some people think, it is about the thought. And yes I know it is trite to say 'its the thought that counts', especially as it is usually applied to disappointing gifts.

The greatest gifts fall into three categories. The first is gifts that show you pay attention to the person you are gifting. The best example I have is a little gift basket I got in college that contained among other things some 'refreshing' foot lotion because the giver had heard me talk about how tired my feet felt after walking all over campus. It showed that they listened to me and paid attention to what I said not just what I said I wanted or the obvious thing. These are some of the greatest gifts because they are hard to think of and you do have to pay an awful lot of attention to get it right.

The second category of gifts are the things that the receiver would never get for themselves. This one is tricky, occasionally they will tell you what these things are or give broad hints, usually however you have to pay attention to what they linger over in stores and online or see what they give others (we tend to give the sort of thing we would like to receive.) One of these gifts was a barbie (Portugal princess) While I would buy a barbie for myself (maybe) I would not have bought one of the theme ones (mainly cause it cost more money then the regular one, and I already had one barbie).

The third type of great gift is all about the time and effort the giver puts into it. It can be as simple as a card or a poem or as complicated as a hand knitted garment. It is something that comes from the giver personally, that they have given up their time for and put a bit of themselves into. And the very best gifts of this type show that you know the receiver and what you feel for them and that makes it even more special.

The one things all the greatest gifts have in common are the givers relationship with the receiver. The gifts show how important the receiver is to them, because they show that time was taken to select the right gift and that the receiver is important enough to the giver that they have noticed even the little things.