Dec 13, 2011
Now that the holiday season is in full swing, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of sales everywhere every week, it is time to start thinking about gifts for this season. We all love to receive gifts, but giving them feels even better, especially when the receiver is really going to enjoy them. Now that Black Friday has passed (with sales upwards of $11 billion), that means there is only about one month to find friends and family something special that will make their holidays better, but beware, for it will be just as easy to find a bad gift as it will be to find a good one.
The number one gift to not give someone would be a gift card. Gift cards say, ‘I know you enough to get you a gift, but I don’t care enough to find out what you would actually like,’ so giving someone you’re close to a gift card seems kind of insensitive. Although gift cards are a good scapegoat when you are shopping for that person that is impossible to shop for, you should try your hardest to find them a gift that would mean something to them; and if you are planning to give them a gift card, do not give them one to a restaraunt. Gifts are supposed to be meaningful, and giving someone something that will go in and out of their bodies within a day will be forgotten as soon as the food is digested. Give them a gift card to a special shop they love or a cash card that they can spend anywhere, that way they can definitely find something they love.
Another questionable gift to give is clothes. There’s an abundance of clothing stores out there, but finding someone that perfect shirt or those perfect jeans is really hard and it would be really embarrassing if you got them a size too big or a size too small. Also, it’s hard to find something that will fit perfectly with that person’s specific style. Nothing is worse than getting an ugly shirt or plain socks on Christmas; and even though they will have it longer than the gift card, every time they see the gift, it will be a reminder of that time you failed at gift giving or that time you got them a shirt that was too big and made them feel fat. If clothes is the way you want to go, though, try to get them a funny shirt or some cool socks, that way they can wear it ironically or you can both laugh at the joke for years to come.
If you want to do a sweet gesture for a member of your family or your significant other, make sure not to get them flowers. They may be pretty and they may be good for various other occasions, but the holidays are hectic and people are always busy. The receiver may not have time to tend to the flowers every day or may not even be home to receive them, so your flowers will just end up dead and droopy. A sweet alternative would be a mix tape filled with songs they love. They can listen to it on the go and nothing is better than finding good new music.
Although it will be easy to find bad gifts season, there are plenty of awesome ones out there, too. One of the hottest gifts this season is definitely the iPhone 4S. Despite the fact that it looks exactly like the iPhone 4, it comes with a higher quality camera, various internal improvements, and Siri, the most popular new feature added. Siri is a voice-activated assistant with incredible capabilities. The iPhone 4S may not be very different from the regular iPhone 4, but that didn’t stop Apple from making it more expensive. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, it might be better to just go with the iPhone 4, which is $50 cheaper and basically the same.
For the video-gamer in your family, a good investment might be one of the various videogames that have come out in the past couple of months, the biggest one being Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Everyone and their mother plays it (including my mother); and the receiver will be sure to love it on any console. Uncharted 3, the third video game in the critically acclaimed Uncharted series for Playstation 3, came out in early November and is the perfect game for any adventure-lover that wants to stay in for the holidays.
The list goes on, from brand new movies on DVD (the final Harry Potter installment, The Hangover Part 2), new technological gadgets (the Kindle Fire, the aforementioned iPhone), and even other random, but meaningful gifts that you can find this season. Do not be lazy and resort to lame gifts that give only a hint of satisfaction. All it takes is a little hunting and you can always find the perfect gift for someone that they will undoubtedly love.