Types of Presents

The Practical Present

Socks. Underwear. Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toilet paper, your whole survival-in-the-woods pack. I understand that everybody needs this stuff, and this type of gift is usually awesome for men (because they seem to rue the day they have to restock on these items and just opt for not brushing their teeth a few days…) but not so great for women. I’d hate to see my face Christmas morning if I happily ripped open wrapping paper to reveal… ‘Oh, that’s great, thanks! I needed a new toothbrush!”

The Entirely Useless (but fun) Present

Basically anything you can get from the Urban Outfitters home section... hahaha they have such odd stuff (but awesome!)

·      I’ve seen bacon toothpaste (fun but disgusting)

·      there’s bandaids shaped like toast and eggs (adorable, but maybe only for kids), LEGO (honestly that’d be awesome… if I wouldn’t get chastised for leaving a mess on the floor when someone steps on a piece)

·      Christmas decorations (really nice but kind of useless to get them at the END of December)

Super Personal Present

A mixed CD of your favourite new bands and artists, a personalized item… a beloved photo of friends together, or a scrapbook. These usually take much longer to make (because you’re MAKING them not BUYING them duh) but they are much more sentimental and heartfelt. PS you can make any awesome personalized card in Microsoft Word easily. It could even be a DIY knitted scarf, or a pair of embroidered mittens… but the point here is that it may not be the fanciest nor the most expensive gift, but it is meaningful and tailored to the recipient.

Super Extravagant Present

These aren’t even presents. These are like a competition. Who buys everyone a new camera, laptop, smartphone, Bluetooth, every season of CSI Las Vegas on DVD?! This I must know, because I am going to befriend these people and worm my way into their Christmas giving-list. These types of presents come few and far between, but they always leave the recipient feeling very awkward and probably a little angry (you give me a brand new portable DVD player and I got you a laptop case? Guess I’m headed back to the store…) I don’t know if the givers of these types of gifts realize that others will constantly try to one-up them in terms of gift giving. Let’s take that $20 limit seriously…

The Last Minute Present

You know these… they’re chocolates 80% of the time, and gift certificates 20% of the time. Sometimes they aren’t even wrapped in a clever way to conceal what they are, they’re stuffed without any tissue paper in a bag or they’re slipped into an envelope. The problem with these is that they come off as rather impersonal. Understandably there are people out there who LOVE gift certificates and/or chocolate. In which case, good job finding such a fitting gift! Otherwise, it seems a little half-assed. My mom would kick my ass if I got her chocolates.

The Girly Present

Soap. Candles. Perfume. Smelly things, generally. These are nearly universal for women. However, ‘nearly universal’ doesn’t really mean that you should always get them. The problem with these is that people react to scents/smells/flavours completely differently from each other. I love gingerbread scents. The entire rest of my family loathes it. So unless you know exactly the type of flavor/smell your intended recipient enjoys, be wary of how strong your scent choice is (perfume is especially tricky).