Giving the perfect gift has to have a good amount of “yes and.” Someone loves artisan salts and spices? Put them in one-of-a-kind containers. Does someone love vodka? Instead of just getting a bottle, add fancy glasses and maybe some coasters. Adding a little extra for a gift makes the gift receiver feel like you really thought long and hard for them. However, this post isn’t about how to give gifts. This post is about finding cheap, sustainable solutions for the perfect gift.
Gift-giving can be overwhelming because it makes us feel like we’ll either spend too much or draw blanks on what we should get. We get resentful and annoyed that we must get stressed to give someone joy. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Gift-giving is about patience, and complicated ideas can easily be simplified. Things don’t have to be complex, and your gift receiver doesn’t need the most expensive item but a well-thought-out thing.
Here are some easy things to remember:
1. Everything you will want you can find at a thrift store- Thrift stores have everything, and magically also has stuff you’ll never find again. If thrifting a main gift seems overwhelming, use it as an add-on solution. I had a friend that was turning 40, and I knew I wanted to give him excellent alcohol, but I thought giving him nice drinking glasses, and coasters would really make that gift pop. Alcohol is an easy gift, but coasters and glasses are a little extra. At a thrift store, I found two vintage-looking (or maybe actual vintage) glasses and vintage coasters that would be great for patio drinking. The only thing I would really need is to find a nice box to keep it together. Utilizing rosemary or oregano cut from my backyard as a topper would give the whole gift a classy touch. I have bought cool vintage-looking hats for friends, and I have also found unique books and art. Buying a gift from the thrift store lets your gift receiver know that you spent a long time searching for something special for him/her/them.
2. Simplify the gift- Gifts don’t have to be essential in a person’s life. Still, they should reflect on one aspect of that person’s personality. Does your gift receiver like food? Get them some artisan spices. Do they not like to cook but love to experience food? Get them a reservation at a fantastic restaurant. While we are all complicated beings, we are also simple. Ultimately, some of our primary interests (reading, drinking, fashion, etc.) allow us to appreciate the easiest gifts (books or rare books, excellent alcohol or other ways to drink alcohol, clothes, etc.) When you are gifting something to someone, ask yourself what you have seen the person you’re buying a gift for doing. Have you seen them drink or offer alcohol to you when you come to visit? Pay it back by getting them some unique drinking glasses or coasters.
3. It really is the thought that counts- Sometimes, the cheapest gifts I have ever given were the most appreciated, but only because I thought long and hard about them. For couples, I love giving gifts that become more like couple’s gifts than gifts only one partner would like. For example, I gave a couple a nice picnic set, hoping they would spend time together and use the collection. They loved it, and it cost me less than $20. Expensive commodities are useless. Real people who love you and care about you would be thankful you thought about them.
4. Give the gift of grown food- A food basket is the easiest and most appreciated if you’re fully drawing a blank on what to get. People eat, and regardless of whether it’s fruit, alcohol, or dessert, someone will love it.
-Don’t order anything from Edible Arrangements. Regardless of what they make, that food is awful, and you’ll send a message that you hate them. Have you ever had their fruit baskets? They have no flavor, and their cookie baskets taste like cardboard. Edible Arrangements are a great way to say you hate the person you’re buying a gift for.
-Thrift a basket and work a theme. A wine with some cheeses and crackers makes a fantastic grouping, as well as a fruit basket, dessert or baked goods collection, etc. Choose a meal, mood, or flavor and go with that. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Instead, it can be a collection of things found at the market put together in a beautiful arrangement.
Gifts can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be. Giving yourself patience and understanding that gifting can be easy if you simplify the person, you can find it accessible and sustainable. Your gift receiver would be thankful, and your wallet and the environment would thank you more.
