It’s
a thought that I’ve considered before. One I’ve probably shared.
But it’s a common problem. An ongoing problem. A problem you may
have faced yourself. (And one we can visit again.)
What
to get for the person that doesn’t fit the mold.
I
waded into the waters recently for Christmas. I wanted to get
a couple of gifts sent out, and honestly couldn’t think of anything
new or different that might be a bit fun. And, well, maybe we
need to back up a bit…
One
of the difficulties in gift giving is that most people can fall
into two scenarios: (1) When they really want something, they
buy it, and therefor don’t need anything (or even have anything
sitting on their want-to-get list). (2) Even if they do fit into
some group, or have some particular interests, it can be hard
to avoid giving horrendous gifts associated with it.
In
the end, you get left with three lovely outcomes:
1
- Even when you try to be thoughtful, it’s far too easy to end
up giving some of the most thoughtless and hideous gifts.
2
- Everyone gives them the same thing, or theming it the same
way, so you end up adding something tacky or stupid to the pile.
3
- Beer. They drink beer. We buy them beer.
Don’t
believe me? Ok… find someone that loves giraffes and ask them
if their friends and family know they love giraffes. When they
say yes, have them explain how much they love everyone knowing
they love giraffes. Chances are good you’re going to hear about
the most amazing giraffe gifts ever given. Yes, that means some
really cool giraffe gifts. It also means some of the craziest
knickknacks you could ever blankly star at with disbelief. (And,
it means far more moments of disbelief.)
Now,
let’s face facts. If someone loves whiskey, and makes it clear
which whiskeys they like, this can work out wonderfully for them.
Most people know the brand or two they prefer, have shared that
with family and friends, so plenty of that coming in. A small
and trusted handful of people get told what they look for when
tasting new brands, so every holiday and birthday can bring in
a bit of something new. It can work out wonderfully.
But
if you think someone loves barbecue… and you head out on the internet
and search for best new barbecue gifts… umm. Let’s just say a
person only needs so many personalized branding irons, aprons,
thermometers, and effectively useless multi-use tools. At a certain
point, they’ll probably still be kind and smile when they open
it, but they won’t be getting much use from the latest stainless
steel this-or-that. Mainly because if they truly are that serious
about their craft, they already have all of their preferred tools
within reach. They don’t care what you saw on television, at someone
else’s house, or while you were out.
Still,
it never fails. The holidays come around, and you don’t want to
send yet another basket of muffins or pasta or popcorn or cheese
and summer sausage. But then you do, because you care about the
recipient and want to send something.
It’s
not that there’s anything wrong with pastries and assorted goodies.
They’re fine. And it is the message that you’re thinking about
them that means the most. I just think the majority of us really
have a desire to find the perfect gift and we often end up a bit
lost in the pursuit of perfection.
So,
here’s my little piece of advice. Start now. Don’t wait for the
rush to be on to begin thinking about what you might do. And this
isn’t some new way of saying to shop early. But if you think the
most fantastic of gift ideas is going to come to you at the last
moment, I assure you it won’t. Find it now. Write it down. Order
it later. (Just make sure you consider demand and shipping concerns
in your delivery timing.)
It’s
either that or surround yourself with whiskey lovers. (And honestly,
that’s not too bad a situation if you decide to go that way.)