Useful gifts for Christmas – we’ll help you think!
It’s getting late to start planning what to get for Christmas? After all, we’ve been through my birthday, at least four Black Fridays, December is just around the corner… now maybe it’s not too soon to think.
After a certain age, you buy what’s really important – and you don’t pile up the semi-important or unimportant things in your home. It is becoming increasingly difficult to give presents to each other, even in a close-knit family, let alone among cousins and aunts. If you’re struggling to find the perfect gift for Christmas, I’m determined to help you now. Run through the points and let me know in the comments if you made it to the end!
Christmas gift ideas – forget these first!
You knew from the lead up that I wasn’t going to encourage you to order a NEW mug with a NEW inscription or a NEW weird coloured tie, right? If you wouldn’t be happy with a 180 centimetre wide puppy poster from a random auntie, you wouldn’t be piling the junk in someone else’s apartment. Let’s be specific, useful and personal when we give gifts!
- Start with the nature of your relationship!
Your second cousin and your partner deserve a different kind of surprise, is that clear? The energy and money you spend on gifts is also limited by the type of relationship you have. But even within that, you can be specific: if your mum has just had a bad year, if your brother or sister has gone through a big change, you might want to think a little differently about their gift giving. The closer someone is to you, the more personal a gift you should look for.
- Think about what your loved one is interested in lately!
Take a close look at your loved one and see what their latest hobbies, interests and hobbies are. Have you just taken up a new sport? Has she adopted her third (temporary) kitten? Did you love gardening in the summer, but now you’re stuck indoors for the winter? Can you use all 200 of your nail polishes to paint a circular picture on 10 nails? A real bookworm? Is hiking her life?
If you can’t think of anything off the top of your head, my best advice is to call him on the phone and have a 10-minute chat. Listen to what he talks about, what interests him, what he cares about. Listening carefully will tell you a lot about each other and build your relationship!
Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a starting point. Run through what experiences, objects or accessories you could give them that are related to their interests: you’ll quickly have a gift for Christmas.
- The perfect gift for Christmas… what is it that she needs and would love to get from you?
If your interests haven’t helped you with a specific theme, then take a look at what she would most need right now. An important addition: only include things that he would genuinely be happy to get from you. (Coelho’s The Adultery is something your partner should buy for himself, but not from you under the tree…)
Think about what he needs now! Are you running your business from home? Have you switched from public transport to cycling or walking more? Have you switched from the gym to running outdoors? Are you going to university this year from your laptop?
If your interests and hobbies haven’t helped, you might have a great Christmas gift for your changed life and new challenges! An online course, a handy piece of clothing, a comfortable mouse for your laptop or an ear warmer can be a surprise in such cases.
- Let’s look at some specific Christmas gift ideas!
Useful Christmas gifts for women
For your mum, your girlfriend, your brothers and sisters and female relatives, it’s probably a bit easier to choose. Or is that why it’s harder to find the perfect gift for Christmas? A handcrafted cosmetic, a delicious selection of jams, a tiny ring holder or a warm scarf to match her colour scheme is almost always a good idea. If you’re on a bigger shift, you can help a little: a beeswax wrapping napkin or canvas bag for zero waste, a make-up remover or jewellery holder for a change of style, or a good novel for a deep relaxation.
A more special, bigger gift for Christmas this year? Then you can look towards shared experience gifts: a day together at a barista training, beauty or style workshop is sure to be memorable and, with one or two people, still doable in early 2021. Need some more ideas? Check out my 50 Christmas gifts for women blog post for more inspiration.
Christmas gifts for men
Soft-spoken uncles, all-round granddads and dads and teenage nephews holed up in their rooms can give up the lecture. With their hobbies, men tend to buy what they need: so what’s left on the gift list? Let’s not underestimate the food and drink specialities: and I’m not talking about the cognac and champagne bottles that have been lying around for years!
For men with a sweet tooth, it’s now easy to find special, even artisanal, dessert selections. For beer lovers, there’s a selection of craft and foreign choices that’s guaranteed to make it hard to choose. And the wine regions also cater for speciality spirits, dry beers and even ciders.
Men can also appreciate new, practical solutions, but here we’ll take the measure: would you be happy with a mobile phone and watch holder for the hallway? Would it make his life easier and TV switch and magazine organizer? Do you need a large tool storage unit or a new hand tool? If after a little investigation the answer is yes, you’ve got the ideal gift.
Need more ideas? The article 50 Christmas gifts for men is just waiting for you!
Unique gifts for your loved ones
The days of clichéd mugs and tumblers with clichéd labels are really over. If you want to give a unique gift, mix up a cream of your favourite fragrance, hand-paint a small picture or painting on his or her desk, or call up your favourite photos together on a small canvas.
A fun gift for Christmas – for the clown in the family
If you have a child lost in the person you’re gifting, you certainly can’t miss with board games, quirky plush toys, accessories to match their favourite toy or a sock with a special pattern. Just in time for them to get their first chemistry experiment or magic set from you! They’re guaranteed to use them in their everyday life, and they won’t be a useless dust catcher or a piece lurking at the back of a drawer.
Personalised gift voucher for Christmas
If nothing else comes to mind, a voucher to a bookshop or sports shop can be a real jolly joker if you want to surprise a distant relative or friend. But now you can also buy vouchers for home furnishing stores, clothes shops and jewellery shops – and you can even find gift vouchers in our Outwardly Happy webshop!
Order Christmas gifts online – contactless and secure
I don’t think I’m alone in feeling a bead of sweat on my forehead at the thought of the crowds of people thronging the mall… 2020 has added a little frown to the mix. So, if anything, this year it really is worth getting everything online and on time to guarantee it gets under the tree. (And now, with a grateful heart, let’s think for a minute about the delivery people. They don’t even have reindeer, yet!)
At Happiness Outside In, we’re also prepared for the Christmas rush, so we can get your gifts to you in 1-2 working days. If physical distance means you won’t be able to deliver in person this year, you can even send it direct to the recipient’s address – we’ve got that covered too!
I’m trying to make this year’s gift-giving as simple and expedient as possible. I’m looking forward to a few days of just being at home together, playing video games, watching TV shows and snacking on goodies. I hope I’ve helped you find the perfect surprise for Christmas – let me know in the comments if you’ve managed it or if you need any more tips!
