Mistakes to Avoid when Buying Christmas Presents
Follow This Advice to Buy Presents that Will be Cherished
You know how disappointing it is to get a present that’s just wrong – wrong size, wrong type, or just something you’re not interested in at all. Avoid giving other people the wrong thing by observing the following:
Don’t Give Something You Like but They Don’t
Just because you like something, doesn’t mean everyone else will. Christmas is not the time to give a loved one a CD by your favourite band in the hope they will come to like it. Don’t give writing paper to someone who only ever emails, or gardening gloves to someone who doesn’t know a chrysanthemum from a cauliflower.
Use a bit of empathy, and try to think of things you don’t like that you know they do. Chances are if you get them one of these things it will be safer because you won’t be projecting your own desires on to them.
Don’t Give Something They Can’t Possibly Use
Before you whip out your wallet, think – does the recipient have any allergies? For example, can she wear all make up, or just the hypoallergenic type? Can he / she eat those chocolate or is he / she lactose intolerant? (If you’re stumped, try and think if you have ever seen them eat chocolate or ask a relative about sensitivities.)
The worst and most common offence in this category is clothing that doesn’t fit. Never, ever buy clothes unless you know the person’s size. Maybe you’ve got a gift receipt and they can return it, but the hurt that can be caused by a wrong size should not be underestimated. Too big and she thinks “He thinks I’m that fat?”, too small and she thinks “He wishes I was thinner!”. Remember, you can always buy a gift card for their favourite store – again, ask a relative.
Don’t Use the Gift to Change Them
Christmas presents should give the person what they want, not what you want them to want. That doesn’t mean you have to give a heavy drinker alcohol or an obese person chocolates. It’s perfectly alright to avoid presents you think are unhelpful, but it doesn’t mean you give the obese friend membership in Weight Watchers or a gym pass, unless he or she has expressed in interest in losing weight.
Another classic mistake in this category relates to clothing. This time it’s mostly women who are at fault. Don’t buy him a tie if he never wears a suit, just because you wish he did. Don’t buy him hair gel because you wish he wasn’t so traditional, or cuff links because you wish he was more traditional. These presents will only languish in a drawer and make him feel you are unsatisfied with him. That’s hardly the Christmas spirit!
Finally, don’t buy presents in a rush. That’s often easier said than done, but a bit of forward planning and particularly budgeting can avoid enormous debts on the credit card spent on last-minute, impulsive presents that the recipient won’t like.
Don’t Rush!
Try to think in advance about who you will buy presents for and how much you want to spend. Try to stagger the present-buying to give you more time to think about it, rather than rushing it all in the final weekend. And if it does come to the final weekend and you are too rushed and stressed to choose well, remember that an IOU and an explanation is much better than a hastily chosen, inappropriate gift which will only disappoint.
Christmas Presents
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