MANILA, Philippines – The struggle is real. You have no idea what to give everyone on your list for the holidays. You also don’t know where you can find the nicest gifts that fall within your budget.
But don’t let Christmas gift shopping stress you out this merry season. Instead, consider these suggestions on how you can buy the perfect gifts for your loved ones this Christmas.
1) Write down the person’s interests and personality.
If you’re having a hard time coming up with gift ideas for a certain person, try writing down the things he or she is interested in. Describe his or her personality as well. You can search online for gift ideas that match the things you wrote down. This way, you can have more defined criteria in selecting a gift for that loved one.
For a creative person, you might want to buy him or her some calligraphy tools. A cute and comfortable neck pillow, though simple, can be all that a traveler wants for Christmas. A wide reader will surely appreciate a copy of the latest edition of Guinness World Records.
2) Ask for a wish list.
Ask your family members, relatives and friends to give you a wish list that contains at least three items that they want to receive from you for Christmas.
This is great because it gives you a better idea of what the person would appreciate. It doesn’t also spoil the surprise factor as the recipient wouldn’t know which of his or her wishes will be fulfilled.
Ask for wish lists as early as you can so you have enough time to search online stores and malls. Some wishes might be challenging to find.
3) Don’t hit the stores without a list.
You can never find anything meaningful in stores if you don’t carry with you a list of gifts to buy. Before shopping around, make sure to have at least rough ideas on what kind of gifts you need to look for. This will save you a lot of time and money, keeping you from spending on impulsive buys.
4) Consider gift cards.
When coming up with gift ideas becomes too difficult, you can opt for gift certificates or rewards cards. But be sure to buy from your recipients’ favorite stores. For example, a gift card from a coffee shop may sound lovely but the recipient might not be able to appreciate if he or she is not a coffee drinker.
5) Let a gift idea generator do it.
Did you know that there’s such a thing as gift generators that you can use online for free? The generator has various items in its database and it can give you instant idea in a click.
An example is National Book Store’s online gift generator. It is a microsite that can give cute and functional gift ideas based on different personalities. The generator churns out random ideas so it’s exciting to use especially if you don’t have any idea at all on what to buy. You can check it out here.
One final note: To be able to give the perfect gift for your loved ones this Christmas, be sure to put a lot of thought and love on your gift. Go out of your way to find something that they’d really appreciate. Write a brief note on the Christmas tag to add to the thoughtfulness.
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