How to shop for anyone. The very words “secret Santa” are enough to give me hives. You see, I like gift giving. I like to take the time to think about the recipient and to choose something that they will really love. In fact, seeing the delight on someone’s face often gives me greater pleasure than gifts I get. Buying presents for someone I don’t know very well, however, is a whole different story.
HOW TO SHOP FOR ANYONE
Don’t overspend or over personalize. Giving a very personal gift or something obviously expensive can be awkward when you don’t know the recipient very well.
Give the unexpected. When all else fails, bring a bottle of wine, right? Sure, wine is always a good gift, but try to make it more memorable. My cousins always dog sit for me when I go away, but because they don’t really drink wine I’ve been forced to be creative. Last time I brought them a beautiful hand poured bottle of olive oil. They were absolutely thrilled. One year I gave out beautiful crystal embossed lighters. People loved them not only because they were so fun and pretty to look at, but because they were actually very useful.
Baked goods are always a great idea. Sure chocolates are always a good option and especially when you purchase the fancy hand painted artisanal kind, but how about an antique tin filled with melt in your mouth aromatic cookies or brittle chunks of toffee? Another option is to bring savoury treats, or if you are attending a dinner party, a luxurious (and useful) set of exotic salt will be a welcome gift.
Presentation matters. People are generally visual and first impressions matter, so take the extra time to make the presentation exceptional. If someone is delighted with their gift before they even open it then you are pretty much good to go. Going back to the antique tins for a moment, this idea was given to me by a friend who was planning on giving out peanut brittle to her family members in lovely old tins that would become keepsake boxes after all the goodies were eaten.
What do you like to gift someone you don’t know very well?
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18 Comments
Great ideas, I really struggle with gift buying when I don’t know the person very well too. Gemma xx
http://www.jacquardflower.uk
Thank you! I know, it’s really tough to give a gift someone will love when you have no idea what they even like.
xo
Love the photos and these tips ♥
summerdaisy.net
Thank you!
xo
Lovely tips, it´s harder to buy for someone you don´t know as well. Some of your tips are great! 🙂 Happy weekend. http://kjandersen.org/
Thank you so much! Have a great weekend too.
xo
These are great suggestions! I totally agree about presentation. Love how it can make a small/modest gift special and unique.
xo,
Josephina (http://www.josephinacollection.com)
Thank you! I totally obsess about the presentation. I love giving beautifully wrapped gifts. I think it comes from when I worked at a fancy (aka extremely expensive) chocolate shop.
xo
Awesome ideas! You can never go wrong with a bottle of wine 🙂 Enjoy the weekend, Caroline~
Thank you! I agree.
xo
Hey!! This is a great post! One gift I always like giving to someone is a cool coffee table book with lots of awesome pictures. Everyone loves those kinds of things, and if you know the person even just the tiniest bit it is easy to customize. My other go to gift is a great pair of gloves, scarf or tuque- who doesn’t like to stay warm???
I love those kinds of gifts too! Gorgeous coffee table books are so awesome (I wish I had more but with my constant moving I just can’t buy them). I also believe that one can’t ever have enough scarves and I’m totally loving the gloves idea. Who buys themselves a pretty pair of leather gloves but what a luxurious treat.
xo
Omg I thought I was the only one scared of secret santa!! Thanks for this post, life saver!
Beauty Blender- worth the hype?
Ha! My pleasure!!!!
xo
Baked goods make for the best gifts – super thoughtful too!
Mr Essentialist
I agree 100% , it really shows that you care.
xo
You are so right about secret santa. I even have a hard time with certain relatives. Thank you for the suggestions
It’s really tough to shop for people. I always wind up spending way too much time thinking about it!
xo