The Art of Giving the Perfect Gift

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” ― Mother Teresa

Great gift giving is an art because it requires the blending of different elements to achieve the ultimate result, much as the artist blends a palette of colours into the perfect shades for a painting. Instead of colours, the elements needed for a perfect gift palette are:

Knowledge: About the person you are giving to. 

It might seem like an obvious point to make but the more you know about a person’s personality, hobbies, attitudes, like and dislikes, the easier it will be to find a good gift. 

Going one step further and taking the time to understand the world from the receiver’s point of view will make it easier to find a great gift.

Venturing even further still and putting yourself in their shoes, in your imagination, before you begin shopping, might just result in the perfect gift.

Observation: Of the person you are giving to.  

Take notice of how they dress, how they organise their desk at work or how they arrange their possessions at home. Careful observation will tell you whether they like designer or charity shop, minimalist or cluttered, muted or vibrant colours and so much more.

Again, it might seem like stating the obvious, but get this wrong and the gift you spent time and effort buying might disappear forever under a pile of clutter.  Worse still, it might turn up in your local charity shop within a couple of months.

Excitement: For the person you are giving to (not for you!). 

People are creatures of habit and we all like our familiar things around us, but now and then we like to feel our hearts race and we get a thrill when we feel like our horizons are expanding.

Use your gift as a way to take the receiver down a slightly different path to the one they are used to.  Take them slightly out of their comfort zone. Make them feel glad to be alive.

You can do this by adding a little of yourself to the gift. You’re different to them and by adding a little of yourself to the gift you’ll be giving them an insight into you. That’s a greater gift than the item you’re buying them.

Another way to add excitement is to choose something that is slightly different to the possessions they already own. It might have a splash of a more vibrant colour, a more or less elegant style or a more masculine or feminine design. 

Be careful when adding excitement though. Take them too far and you’ll see your gift in the charity shop. Don’t take them far enough and your gift will seem ordinary.

Get this right and the person receiving the gift will see the time and effort you spent on them. They’ll get a sense of how well you know them and they’ll see the value of their relationship with you in making the world a bigger, brighter place. Get this right and they will treasure your gift for many years.

How do you choose the perfect gift? Please leave a comment with your tips.