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According to David Robson, the author of ‘The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life,’ December can “often feel like a never-ending ordeal, as we try to find the perfect gifts for our nearest and dearest.”
He writes in a piece in The Guardian that, “No matter how well we know someone, we struggle to discern their hidden wishes and desires. Each decision can feel like a test of our relationship. This is a natural consequence of the brain’s workings. Humans may be unique in our advanced ability to consider others’ viewpoints, but perspective-taking is enormously taxing for our little grey cells.”
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Coming up with gift ideas by trying to understand what people want is mentally taxing, according to Julian Givi, a professor at West Virginia University. As such, your choices can miss the mark completely.
Some of the main things to consider when getting someone a gift are the following:
- Think beyond the moment of actually exchanging the gift. Go for long-term enjoyment rather than short-term pleasure;
- People tend to want the presents they actually requested rather than being surprised;
- Exciting experiences stick with you longer, so it’s better to focus on them than material goods;
- The cost of the gift often isn’t important;
- You should set your ego aside and focus on bringing the other person joy. If you stumble across a genuinely good, unique item, don’t be selfish and keep it for yourself to feel special;
- Opt for something that’s more sentimental and emotional than expensive or practical.
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Meanwhile, empathy is a wonderful skill to have in your arsenal here. CNN urges you to put yourself in the gift receiver’s shoes. Think about what they’d buy for themselves.
“That might seem obvious, but it happens far less than we’d like. People tend to use gifts as jokes, encouragements to change one’s ways, or to signal something about themselves rather than providing utility (or happiness) to the receiver. The best way to get it right is to simply ask the upfront question, ‘What would you like?’”
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Some people seem like they’re naturally good at coming up with ideas for gifts. Others (hi!) struggle with gift-giving to a ridiculous extent. All in all, gift-giving is like any other skill. The more you practice it, the better you’ll get. It also offers you space to sharpen your creativity and truly strengthen the relationships you care about the most.
That being said, let’s not be naive. Coming up with unique, authentically thoughtful, personal gifts is hard. It’s also exhausting and time-consuming if you have a lot of cool people in your social life. Not to mention that all of those expenses add up, even if you’re very thrifty and have a penchant for being economical.
In short, you want to be in a situation where you genuinely enjoy getting, crafting, and giving people gifts. Not like you’re doing things simply out of a sense of duty, like a burned-out Santa’s little helper in the North Pole. If you find no joy in gift-giving, take a break, step back, scale back, and focus on the most important thing: helping other people feel seen and understood.
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We were very curious to find out about the inspiration behind @howdoewedo's awesome viral post. She was happy to share the story with Bored Panda.
"This one's quite personal to me and comes from my own experience. Before I moved away for college, my mum wrote me a little recipe notebook with all my favorite dishes," she told us via email.
"I ended up sharing it online and was so touched to see how many people had similar stories or just loved reading through the comments. It really made me feel warm inside, and I think a lot of people felt the same way," @howdoewedo said.
"It’s one of those everyday moments that feels so real and relatable, and I’m glad others connected with it too."
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Bored Panda also asked the content creator about what lies at the core of a truly great gift.
"I think people often focus too much on the price of a gift when really it’s the thought that counts," she told us.
"The intention behind a gift (something personal or thoughtful) always means more than the price tag. It doesn’t have to be functional or expensive, just something that shows you really thought about the person," @howdoewedo said.
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Digital content creator @howdoewedo’s post got a jaw-dropping 501.5k likes, 13.4 comments, and 10.8k reshares on TikTok at the time of writing. The post also garnered a whopping 6.5 million views (and counting!). The creator has collected around 7.6 million likes across all of her posts, clips, and videos on the platform so far.
If you enjoy this type of content, be sure to check out @howdoewedo's TikTok account. Meanwhile, if you enjoy travel, take a peek at her YouTube channel, too!
Which of these gift ideas genuinely surprised you the most, in the best possible way? What is the very best present you’ve ever received, dear Pandas? On the flip side, what’s the most thoughtful and creative gift that you think you’ve ever given someone else? What’s your secret to truly great gift-giving?
Honestly, we really want to know what you have to say on this topic. Feel free to share your thoughts and advice in the comments at the bottom of this post!
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