How to find the perfect Birthday Gift
Most of us frequently - if not all the time - are short of good
birthday gift ideas. Regardless of who the intended recipient
is, whether it is a brother, sister, mum, dad, grandparent or
in-law, often we all end up frantically searching through
shopping malls for the elusive perfect birthday gift. All too
often unfortunately, all these stores seem to stock only
products that fall into one of three categories - they are
either unsuitable, overpriced or impractical.
So when you are looking for birthday gift ideas it can help to
bear in mind the following points. Firstly, does the recipient
deserve the efforts you are going to find them a gift? If they
are a passing acquaintance or you find them disagreeable, then
perhaps a gift is not necessary. If the person does deserve a
gift, you should determine to what extent you want to go to for
them. Are they worthy of you trudging through a crowded shopping
mall for? Quite often, the quest for good birthday gift ideas
can take longer than initially envisioned, so it is important
that you only extent this for gifts for the people most
important to you.
DETERMINING SUITABLE BIRTHDAY GIFT IDEAS Often, before setting
out on a shopping expedition to the mall, or online, it is good
to have a think about your intended recipient. What are their
interests? Have they been dropping any subtle hints about
something they may particularly want or need? In some cases, you
are geographically distant from the recipient, so it may be hard
to determine quite what they may be looking for in a gift.
However generally you will have at least a rudimentary knowledge
of the person interests and what they like. You should also
determine prior what your budget is for the gift, and stick to
this. While you are likely to see otherwise suitable gifts
outside of your budget, you should stick to your original budget
lest exceeding it should cause consternation.
When it comes to choosing from different gifts you should always
consider whether the item in question is most suited to your
recipient. Some of the questions to ask of the prospective gift
include, Is it in some way useful? Could it bring the recipient
enjoyment? And perhaps most importantly, is it something I would
like to receive myself? If the gift meets these criteria and
fits within the budget, then chances are it is entirely suitable.
VOUCHERS / MONEY VERSUS GIFTS Many people tend to give vouchers
or money rather than a physical gift. The reasoning behind this
is that it allows the recipient to spend the money as they see
fit on a gift that they will surely like. The advantages for the
gift giver is that it is a somewhat faster process than trudging
through a mall trying to locate a suitable physical gift, and
they can console themselves with the thought that they have
given something of true value to the recipient. In many cases
however, the reverse of these objectives is achieved. Often, the
recipient may - while grateful for a gift in the first place -
may consider voucher or money as the easy way out, in that the
person who gave them the item did not think it worth the time or
effort to locate a physical gift. The reality is, once received,
money and vouchers are rather easily dispensed with, and for the
recipient it is difficult to relate the fruits of the money or
vouchers to the person
This said, certainly there are places for the gifting or money
or vouchers - specifically to those located abroad or who are
otherwise geographically distant.
BUY IN ADVANCE The reasons to buy presents in advance greatly
out weight the reasons not to. When you begin preparing for
birthdays and Christmas at the start of the year you can buy
presents that are less expensive, more thought out, less
stressful experiences and more time to relax. If you leave
present shopping until a few days before, you will have to pay
the price the retailer asks for a particular item instead of
buying it when it was on sale a few months earlier. Especially
with Christmas, this season can be stressful and it takes time
and money to buy all the presents required in only a few days.
Waiting in long queues is no fun either. It is ideal to buy
presents ahead as you can spend more time on this present, less
money and get them something they will really appreciate. It is
great to shop around over the course of year to find gifts to
suit everyone in your family. You can buy them on sale then
store them safely away in the closet until it is time to bring
them out.
http://www.birthdaygifter.com