Nanny to Mommy

There’s nothing better than presenting your loved one with a gift, watching them open it, and then seeing them break into a beaming smile. But of course, you’ve probably also experienced the opposite: understanding that on some level, you just haven’t quite hit the right mark. This becomes especially obvious when a few months have passed, and it hasn’t yet been taken out of the box. While there will always be times when you don’t get things quite right, there are things you can do that’ll nudge you in the right direction. Below, we take a look at a few tips that’ll put you on the right path towards getting the perfect gift, every time.

It’s always a little bit worrying about having to come up with an original gift idea, and it becomes more panic-inducing the closer to the big day you get. One way to get around this is to make mental notes throughout the year whenever they mention something that they might like to own. They might have just mentioned it in passing, rather than as a hint, but it’s all the same -- you’ll have some valuable information to go off. If your memory is terrible, then write it down somewhere. You could end up with a lift of gifts for years to come.

But what if you’ve got nothing to go off? What then? One smart way is to look at the items that have been curated by the experts. Websites like All The Stuff curate lists for different types of people (men, women, teenagers, and so on). You can browse and see what items take your fancy -- whatever you buy, you’ll have peace of mind that it’s a quality item.

Another way to look for gifts is to thing via themes, rather than specific items. If you’re waiting for an item to pop into your head, then you might be waiting for a little while. Instead, you can get things moving by thinking about the broad themes related to their interest. You can just think about what they like, think about the types of things that people who like those things enjoy, and then see what comes up. You might just find you’re able to stumble upon the perfect gift just by using this kind of idea network.

But what if you’re buying for a loved one that you don’t understand quite as well? It’s difficult for a parent who has no interest in video games to figure out what to buy their video-games obsessed son. One way to get around this is to ask their friends what they think they would like. It’s like getting the inside scoop, without your loved one knowing.

Finally, relax a little. If you put in enough love and thought into the gift buying process, then eventually you’ll end up with something that they enjoy. It really is the thought that counts when it comes to these things!