Gift Guide: Trading Bland For Grand

Vogue Korea Christmas

Buying birthday gifts is never easy. You set out with the incentive of finding a perfect present but often end up with the usual ideas. While many of these aren’t necessarily bad ideas, they do show a lack of imagination. Thankfully, with these simple trades below, that can be a thing of the past.  So, what are you waiting for? Let’s upgrade your gift-giving abilities.

New Skills instead of New Products 
If the recipient has a passion in life, it is a great starting point for the gift you choose. After all, any product that enhances their experiences and enjoyment can be considered a successful present.
They probably have the equipment and devices that they need. So why not help them maximise their productivity by allowing them to develop new skills. Zen Camera is a great read for keen photographers. But there are educational reads in a whole host of areas.  Another option is to get them a gift of educational courses or workshops. Whether it’s for using computer software or playing an instrument, this is a gift that will benefit them for years to come.

Experiences instead of Gifts for the Home
Whether it’s canvas art, ornaments, or anything else doesn’t matter. That decorative item that you think will look great in their home might not suit their tastes. Or even if it does, they may be looking to redecorate in the near future. Either way, those gifts might not bring the desired impact. If you’re buying those items because you want the recipient to have fond memories of you, why not use this as an opportunity to create new ones. From car track days to helicopter tours or theatre tickets, those experiences will last a lifetime.  It also gives them something to look forward to, which is a nice break from opening all of those new products that they’ll receive from others.

Investments instead of Gift Cards
There’s no escaping the fact that some people are just very difficult to buy for. When this is the case, it can be tempting to stick with money or a gift card. While the thought is still there, this can come across as a little uninspired. So, why not opt for an investment instead? Treating them to some Amazon stock gives them the excitement without any risk. If the recipient is lucky, that investment will mature to be worth a lot more than you paid. Even if it doesn’t, it’s going to provide more entertainment than the DVD they’d buy with that music store voucher.

This is a contributed post and may contain affiliate links.

Photo: Vogue Korea

5 comments

Ivana Split said...

Education is the best gift. Personally, I would love to receive an education course. For example, I've just passed by A2 level Italian (literally this afternoon) and I'm happy about that. I'm so glad I finally took that language course. I've been conversing in Italian for a long time and now that I'm learning the grammar the proper way, I can feel much more confident speaking this language. Investing in education is always good. Instead of just buying things, we should start buying gifts that can help people get experiences and skills.

ALLIE NYC said...

Wow I love these out of the box ideas. So clever and will make an impact for sure. And reminds me I have to find the packed up paper work on stocks I bought years and years ago for a tech co bought out by Cisco but the co that did the trade went out of business years ago so they stopped sending statements so I forgot about them.

Allie of ALLIENYC
www.allienyc.com

Debbie P said...

All of the ideas that you brought up in your article I had would never thought of. Very clever. Thanks for the article.

A Very Sweet Blog said...

Rowena, I like that you mention EXPERIENCES. My mind is turning to that instead of things. This is really good.
http://www.averysweetblog.com/

sonia // daring coco said...

I love the idea of gifting experiences instead of things. We have far too much as it is and not enough "time" to go out and do and see

Sxx
daringcoco.com