Christmas gift dos and don’ts for different people in your life

Wrapped present under a tree. | pexels.com

With Christmas fast approaching and the middle of the holiday season in full swing, you may be sitting and thinking of how you’re going to come up with what to get people for Christmas. Don’t panic, if you rush an idea and buy the first thing you see, you will likely regret it.

Grandparents

First, think about the most important people in your family tree, your grandparents. They’ve been buying you gifts every year for your whole life, it’s time to repay them with a well thought out gift from yourself.

When shopping for your grandparents, the easiest way into their heart is nostalgia. Do some research about where they’re from and what decade they grew up in, then get them something they were sure to have known about or had at that time. 

For example, a DVD or Vinyl record of a band that was popular in your grandparents’ teen years is sure to make you look like the best gift giver in the family during holiday gatherings. But whatever you do, do not try to get your grandparents the latest tech thinking that they’ll find it useful or even know how to use it. 

You wouldn’t want your grandma to end up in a viral clip of her falling into the Christmas tree while using a new virtual reality headset, would you? If your grandpa still grinds his coffee by hand, what makes you think he’ll make use of the custom emojis with Apple Intelligence in the new iPhone?

Your special someone

Next, you’ll wanna think about your significant other. If you’re struggling with gift ideas for your boyfriend or girlfriend, that’s a problem. You don’t need me to tell you what they like or what’s personal to them, just make sure it’s something unique!

There should be too many gift ideas to count for your partner, you know them better than anyone. But what you absolutely don’t want to do is get them something last minute. If you show up to Christmas and have your partner unwrap a solid-colored phone case from amazon after they spent three weeks making you a gift by hand, you’re going to have a rough holiday.

Parents

Next, your parents should always be a priority. The number one strategy when picking out a gift for each of your parents is to talk with the opposite parent and plan from there. Not only will you and your dad avoid getting your mom the same gift, but your combined efforts are sure to come up with the best idea, maybe even two gifts that compliment each other.

As for what not to get your parents, that really depends. Since you’re their beloved child, they will likely appreciate anything you decide to gift them with. This is where you need to be careful, identify any gifts that you know won’t be good for them. 

For example, if your dad has been talking about how he wants to lose weight, definitely don’t get him a two pound bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups! Or if your mom can’t stop picking up 20 dollars worth of lottery scratchers every time she leaves the grocery store, try not to fuel her even more with more scratchers, despite how easy of a gift idea they can be.

Nieces and Nephews

Now that your immediate loved ones have been taken care of, it’s time to step into the mind of the younger generation and think about what you’re going to get your nieces and nephews. Buying gifts for kids requires more of a process, because it’s impossible to know what all of them want.

The worst thing to do when it comes to your younger family is to guess. If you walk into Target and buy the first thing in the toys section it’s probably going to end up getting played with for a week and then sitting in a closet for 10 years. What you want to do is ask their parents for a list because the parents know them best.

If you find out your nephew plays his PS5 everyday then easy, buy a PlayStation gift card. If your niece is getting a dollhouse for Christmas from her parents, buy her a few extra Barbie dolls to add to her collection. Whatever it is they’re interested in, find it out and feed into that interest for them on Christmas morning.

Now take everything you now know about gift-giving and use it to work on your gift wrapping skills. The transition from childhood and getting gifts from Santa to growing up and becoming Santa might be difficult, but if you make an effort you’ll be sure to make this Christmas a memorable one for your friends and family.

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