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Well, it’s that time of year again, where we need to go looking for Christmas gifts to be giving people. So in an effort to be helpful, this is a definitive post on gift giving. Like all previous Taibro Guides these tips may or may not help, but should atleast be able to give you a good idea of things you can get people. Also remember, it’s better to give than to receive!

1) Remember that it’s a gift! That’s right, it’s a gift for someone else, not for yourself. It’s so easy to get caught up in looking at things that you would love to have yourself, but that’s not the point behind giving someone a gift. Make sure you’re looking for stuff that the person receiving the gift would enjoy!

2) Know who you’re giving the gift to! While it might be nice giving gifts to people you don’t really know, it makes it all the harder trying to decide what to give. While you could stay simple and give something like chocolate, or even just a simple card, it isn’t quite as nice as being able to personalize the gift somehow. The better you know someone, the more likely you’ll have a better idea of their likes and dislikes. You wouldn’t want to be giving someone a red shirt when they hate the color red now would you?

3) Make it fun and exciting! A gift should be fun, and exciting. You want the other person to be able to open up the gift and be wowed, instead of being sedate. If you give them a bad gift, you’ll know the instant they open it up and see what it is. At that point in time, there’s no return. You’ve already screwed up. So try to get something that’s fun and exciting.

4) Listen for ideas. People typically will drop subtle hints here or there about things they could use, wish they had, or things they need. While they may not be outright telling you a gift to get, if you pay close attention, you should be able to hear them tell you excatly what would be a good gift for them. This can score as bonus points too in the gift giving category because it also shows that you’re paying attention to what the other person is saying.

5) Inside Jokes as ideas. Some of the more fun gifts are gifts that refer to inside jokes that you and the other person may have. While these gifts most likely aren’t useful, they are typically easier to get. If you and your friend have some joke about a movie, then get them something that relates to the movie. This makes it a lot easier when trying to determine a gift to give. It’s also a gift that can be looked back upon and bring up memories of your friendship.

6) Money isn’t everything. You don’t need to spend lots of money on gifts. Some of the better gifts, are the ones which show that thought was put into it. You could easily just go buy an expensive gift, but it lacks the meaning and importance behind something that’s well thought out. Try to be creative and unique. Why give them a CD to add to their CD collection which already contains a lot of CDs when you can be more creative and give something that stands out better than a CD?

7) Just ask! While this may not be all that exciting or fun, or even a surprise, it does make gift giving almost a sure thing. If you ask someone what they want, and they tell you and it’s within reason, then you don’t have to worry about spending hours looking for a gift when you can go get exactly what they want. Now if you want it to be a surprise, then you’ll just have to be creative in your asking. Mazie once gave me a gift where I had basically told her what I wanted without evem knowing it. I only realized after I got the gift that I had told her. Now that’s definitely impressive. Remember it’s all in your creativity!

Well there you have it folks, my guide to giving gifts. Nothing too earth shattering really, but I do think that it should help you when trying to figure out what to give people for Christmas. I guess if all else fails, and you’re running low on time, there’s always the gift card. But I say try to avoid giving people gift cards unless they specifically ask for one. Once again, it’s better to give than to receive!