Ready or not, holiday shopping season is upon us again. What will be the “must have” gifts this year? Computer tablets? Smartphones? Hipster clothing? The tried and true diamond earrings?
It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of Black Friday sales and ‘must have’ gift advice, but the truth is that gifts that are made for the masses generally fail to deliver the personalized touch that can make gift giving so special. As neat as a new iPad would be, it sort of loses its luster when you realize that everyone else you know has one as well, doesn’t it?
That’s where this article comes in. If you’re looking for a gift that is truly unique this year – a gift that will undoubtedly get a ‘thumbs up’ from even the most reserved gift recipient – you need to put down the Sunday ads for big box stores and start thinking outside the box. In fact, you need to stop thinking about gifts as you know them.
Traditionally, gifts are things. Material objects. A gadget or piece of jewelry or a clothing item, for example. They can be seen, touched, heard, tasted, and felt. They are also subject to technology advances that make them obsolete, fashion trends, personal taste, and Father Time who often misplaces things, breaks them, or puts them away, never to be used again. This is where many gifts fail. People stop using them (or never use them). Things break. Stuff gets lost. And what was once a valiant attempt at giving the perfect gift becomes a thing of the past, forgotten like so much else. What did you get for Christmas 5 years ago? I can’t remember either.
So what is the solution? It’s simple and brilliant. Stop shopping for gifts that are things. Instead of looking for a material object this holiday season, consider shopping for an experience gift. Instead of giving the racing fan in your life a new jacket with his favorite driver’s number on it, send him to the track to drive the race car! Know a foodie that you were considering buying some fancy, destined to be used only once or twice, kitchen gadget for? Buy them an evening with a personal chef or a tour of their cities top restaurants instead. Experience gifts make incredible Christmas gifts for men, women, families, couples, or even yourself! There are experience gifts available across the country for people with nearly any sort of interest on any kind of budget. Go all out with bucket list items like flying a fighter jet or keep it simple with a day at the spa. The possibilities are nearly endless!
Well done, it is a unique posting. I think your articles are very nice.
Thank you for this, we appreciate it.
Susan
Thank you John! 🙂 Susan