The Dollars and Sense of Holiday Gift Giving
December 07, 2011The holidays are upon us, and it is often said of gifts that it’s the thought that counts, but have you ever received a gift and said to yourself, “What were they thinking?!?” If you’re like me, you’ve spent a fair amount of money on gifts that didn’t quite hit the mark, so allow me to share with you some of my personal worst gift ideas so that you don’t end up spending money on something that really isn’t worth the hard earned money you paid for it:
Bad gift idea #1 – The home spa
The worst gift I ever gave was a Polynex Home Spa for my mom. I was in high school, and I worked at the mall over Christmas. The day after Christmas, when everyone brought back gifts to exchange, I picked up this item in a torn, flimsy box, because I thought it would be cool to turn my bathtub into a Jacuzzi. So, in other words, it wasn’t really a gift for my mom, it was a gift for me. When in use, the thing sounded like a jet engine, and it filled the bathtub with COLD air bubbles. Not exactly the image on the box. Pretty sad, huh?
Bad gift idea #2 – Skydiving in Lodi
After my first year of college my buddy asked if I wanted to go skydiving with him in Lake Elsinore, so the two of us, along with his dad and a college roommate, made the 90 minute trip from San Diego so that we could strap ourselves to an instructor and jump out of a perfectly good airplane at 13,000 feet. The experience was so incredible that I thought it would be great to purchase a jump for my girlfriend. The following year I took her, along with some college chums, to a jump site in Lodi. I wanted to surprise her with the “experience of a lifetime,” but when she realized what I had planned for her she didn’t exactly react the way I had hoped. She went along with it—after all, I had already paid for it—but I can’t say she enjoyed it.
Bad gift idea #3 – A cordless vacuum cleaner
Alright, before you start sending me hate mail, let me explain. We have hardwood floors. We also have small children and pets. If you have any experience with this combination then you know how quickly the floors can get dirty, so my wife likes to use a corded vacuum to do small, quick cleanups when she sees crumbs, pet hair, etc. on the floor. Now I appreciate the fact that she does this, so much so that I thought I would make her life easier by removing the nuisance of the cord. Well, my wife is a very gracious woman, and she tried her best to show her appreciation for my “thoughtful” gift, but I’ve come to realize that buying household appliances for Susan is like buying clothes for me. No matter how hard someone tries, it’s very difficult to get it right; but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?
A better way to buy gifts
The problem with each of the aforementioned gifts is that they were not purchased with the end user in mind. Sure, I was thinking about them when I bought the gift, but I bought it based on what mattered to me, not them. Had I taken the time to learn what really mattered to them, I would have chosen differently:
The home spa – What I wanted to do was to pamper my mom, so rather than buying her a cheap gadget that would end up in the hall closet never to be used, and eventually sold at a garage sale, I could have purchased her a day at the spa.
Skydiving in Lodi – What I wanted to do was to give my girlfriend the “experience of a lifetime,” so rather than making her jump out of an airplane (which is the wrong experience for someone that does not enjoy an adrenaline rush), I could have taken her on a trip. Her family did not travel much, so anywhere would have been the experience of a lifetime for her. (Oh, and in case you are wondering, she’s no longer my girlfriend… she’s my wife. Talk about the experience of a lifetime.)
A cordless vacuum cleaner – What I wanted to do was to make my wife’s life easier, so rather than replacing one appliance with another, I could have offered to do the cleaning for her (or at least hired a house cleaning service).
If you really love someone, and you really want to give them a gift that they’ll appreciate, then take the time to get to know what really matters to them. Is it a tangible gift that they can use and enjoy, or spending time with the people they care about most? Maybe they appreciate encouraging words, or an act of service, or simply holding your hand. Some of the greatest gifts you can give come without a pricetag; for those that do, make every penny count. 🙂