We all know the struggle to find the perfect gift for your loved one, your best friend, or somebody you appreciate. Let me help you out with some thoughts on this:
I guess you already failed by strolling through a shopping mall, a gift shop, or a market trying to get inspiration. There is a good reason for that. No matter what shopping guides tell you, a perfect gift is usually something your mate really needs. If you know a person well, you already know what they need. Buying somebody a mobile phone as a gift because you cannot reach them is obviously a perfect gift and in most cases highly appreciated.
The big BUT in this: Most people who are living not in poverty have what they need. The others (we work with them) don’t need to read perfect gift guides. Stop wasting time looking around shopping malls or online shops. We also do not recommend buying anything via our platform as a gift for somebody else. What we do recommend is, ordering a gift with us for yourself. You will experience a form of satisfaction out of a collaborative process with an artisan in shopping which you have not had so far. I bet!
I know, this does not solve your current problem and this was not the reason why you read this text. You wanted to find the perfect gift for your friend or loved one and I tell you: Don’t buy gifts for the people you don’t love. We need to overcome this social norm as it generates just waste.
The perfect gift for your loved ones
For your loved ones, the ultimate perfect gift is TIME.
When I say TIME, I mean having joy together doing something. This can be anything. Focus not on what you think the other person might like, focus on what you like and hope that joy comes from it. I give you an example: I like to go to the theatre. My wife and I gave to the 10-year-old son of a friend a visit to a theatre for kids. I tell you, we had so much fun that the next year the boy wished for the same present.
If you struggle with money, you might provide the perfect gift of cooking or baking together. You can share knowledge without spending additional money. You might give a retired person the gift of playing a board game together, singing or dancing together, or attending a yoga class. As long as it involves your time, you show full appreciation.
There is a small risk in this: I once gave my best friend a segway tour through the city as I wanted to do it myself. This hopeless character has after 5 years not requested the execution and let me know that he did not like it. We are still friends and as I avoided buying a voucher it was a relatively cheap present. Those things are happening but it’s a different story if your friend does not appreciate the activity but does not appreciate the “funny” calendar you bought throwing it away right after you left the house as you were the only person who thought its funny.
If you don’t want to spend time with someone, like your inlaw, you could opt-out of gifting and stand the social pressure or carefully try to (re)establish a relationship with this person by giving time.
What if you don’t have that much time to give? Then you might consider your priorities or consider why you want to give gifts to so many people. An alternative I do is, having a party every year, invite all people I know, let them know I don’t want to have any gift and spend time with all of them at the same time – the perfect gift for me and I hope for them as well.
If you still want to buy something we don’t hold you back. You can try this guide from cosmopolitan for the perfect gift but consider the risk of producing waste. Mind the environment in shopping. And if you really need something for yourself, then come back to our page. To avoid forgetting us, just register for our newsletter.