Guide to Gift Giving

Grace: I hate to admit this, but I am absolutely addicted to coffee.  I like to think that it’s not my fault because my dad is the same way, so it clearly must be genetic and therefore out of my control.  Last Christmas, my aunt gave me and my dad a monthly coffee sampler where we received 2 bags of coffee every month, and I have to admit that it was the perfect gift for coffee-lovers.

It was so much fun to receive new and exotic flavors every month, and it was probably one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.  Many of my friends also love coffee and would really enjoy this gift, but since it’s a bit pricey, I would probably settle for making my own little coffee gift basket complete with either a coffee thermos or even a french press (one can only have so many mugs and thermoses).

Dan: Like Grace, addiction does not quite describe my need of caffeine and coffee.  When I am at school I am always swamped with things to do either for my economics team or class.  I end up finding that a good amount of the time I do not have any relaxation time on a day to day basis.  With all of this, I usually never get enough sleep on a weekly basis and crash Friday and Saturday nights anywhere between 12 and 14 hours!  I need coffee to be alert in class or to be conscious enough to do my work.  A coffee sampler would not just be a great gift, but a magnificent gift for people like me.

Dan: This morning as I got into the shower to get ready for my day I managed to knock everything over onto the floor.  Our showers have a tiny ledge on the side and a bar to hold on to but besides that there is no where to put shampoo and soap.  This sparked a great gift idea for myself and for all of you too.  There is a wide array of shower caddies and other types of storage available in the market.  My favorite, due to its positioning in the shower and its availability, is a shower shelving unit that goes right under the shower head.  This way all the shampoos and soaps are right in front of you and out of the way of everything else.

A shower storage unit is a really creative and necessary gift.  Especially if you know someone who is a college student or has a small shower with no where to put their belongings.  If you know someone who is without all the amenidities of home and is trying to make due in a really small shower…then go ahead and invest in a shower storage unit.  It is a really smart gift idea with a purpose and will not be put to waste.

Grace: It’s rather ironic that you came up with this gift idea today, Dan, because on my way to the shower this morning, my shower caddie completely fell apart!  I completely agree that a shower storage unit would make for a great gift for anyone.  It’s a simple, useful thing that most people would never think to buy themselves but would love to have.  If you want to personalize the gift even more, I would recommend even giving a set of nice soaps or some other useful shower paraphernalia to fill out the gift.

Dan: Do you like to host parties and get-togethers with friends?  I love to invite people over but sometimes there aren’t enough activities to do before everyone starts getting bored.  A great gift idea that will keep the party alive is a game called Scene It.  The game allows people to play in group competitions circulating around pop culture and movies.  An example of one competition in the game is as follows: the game will display a famous quote on the screen and the first group to come up with the name of the movie or character wins those points.

If you are looking for a game, this is the one.  Board games = bored games and do not offer the type of excitement and constant suspense that Scene It does.  If you know someone who loves to throw parties and have people come over, then I highly recommend this game as an entertaining gift that will keep on entertaining.

Grace: Dan, I completely agree with you on this gift!  I love hanging out with my friends and playing silly games, like Scene It.  Board games are great to play with your family, but they’re difficult to play at parties and with people you’ve never met before.  I would highly recommend buying someone an exciting game as a gift!

Grace: For me, the most difficult part of having to live away from my family isn’t just that I miss them, but I also really miss home-cooked meals!  College food was exciting for about a week my freshman year, and it went downhill after that.  Even just being able to cook at school would be nice, but I don’t have any utensils!

A great multipurpose gift is this Crate and Barrel Kitchen Crock that has all kinds of useful utensils.  I can’t even begin to tell you how annoying it is to have to bake using plastic spoons and my rice cooker; it works, but life would be so much easier if I just had all the utensils to begin with.  This set is not only useful in the college world, but it’s also great for once the recepient leaves school because they won’t have to worry about buying kitchen supplies.  Not to mention, this gift is also great for new homeowners or newlyweds.  There is an endless number of people this gift would be perfect for!

Dan: This is a really great gift idea Grace!  I am somewhat in the same predicament since my roommates and I are missing a few crucial cooking/eating utensils.  Most of our forks, spoons, and knives are hand-downs from our grandparents and don’t even cut because they have not been sharpened in such a long time.  Save your college student despair and furnish them with this great gift.  This gift is really perfect for anyone who is in need of some kitchen utensils.

Grace: Even though I’m a math major, I decided this semester that I needed to take something completely different, so I signed up for a painting class.  I used to paint when I was much younger, but I forgot how much fun and how relaxing painting could be.  A great gift idea for someone would be a painting kit.

I remember getting my first watercolor kit when I was still in elementary school and it was such a fun and creative gift!  I used to paint with it all the time and I even used it in high school for school projects.  The nice thing about watercolor is that they aren’t particularly difficult to clean.  A little bit of paint goes a long way with these, so even though I received my set as a gift when I was younger, I still had plenty of paint years later.

For someone who is older, I would recommend an oil paint kit as a unique gift.  I love painting with oils because you can go over them and change your painting if you don’t like it, unlike painting with watercolors.  However, the paints themselves and the paint thinner or turpentine used are all toxic, so this isn’t something I would recommend giving to a young child.  Not to mention, oils stain clothes and skin.

Dan: Unfortunately, I have never been artistically gifted and cannot draw or paint beyond the skill of an elementary school child.  On the other hand, my older sister was/is very into painting and drawing; her artwork is scattered all over our house.  She received a painting kit from parents years ago and she still uses it to this day.  If you really want to express yourself through paint I recommend getting a quality painting kit.  If you know someone artistic or someone who wants to start painting this is a wonderful gift!

Dan: Now that I have my own room at school in my apartment, the way my room smells is because of the way I treat it!  I no longer have a roommate sleeping in the same room as me that I can blame for the “guy” smell.  Therefore, when I went out shopping for things that I needed for the upcoming school year and went out on a limb and bought a Febreze candle.  So far it looks great and smells refreshing as well.

I have always hated super scented candles and air fresheners that constantly release oils into the air.  So if you are not keen on the idea of letting smelly oils evaporate all over your belongings then getting the Febreze candle is a really great gift idea.  Some people think that scented candles are an unoriginal gift idea.  Not so fast!  A lot of people, like myself, need scented candles, and even if you don’t need one, they are very relaxing and can help someone unwind at the end of the day.  You can also have fun buying scented candles.  What is that person’s favorite thing and can that be associated with a candle?

Grace: I love getting scented candles as gifts!  Even if they’re never lit, they add a nice decorative touch to any room.  If you’re willing to spend a little more money on candles, they also have candles that are carved into interesting shapes (such as floating candles carved into flowers) or ones that have other decorative designs within the wax.  Also, if you really want to personalize your gift and have artistic talent, you can even make your own candle holder!  However, I would suggest exercising caution if you’re planning on giving a candle as a gift to a college student because some colleges don’t allow candles in dorms.  The last thing your friend needs is a fine.

Grace: The thing that stresses me out the most about buying gifts is trying to find something unique that is also something the recipient will like.  I have a lot of eclectic friends who are difficult to shop for, and I don’t want to give them something everyone has but it’s so hard to find something they’d like!

I found this great site that lets you custom design all sorts of things from mousepads to shoes.  I, personally, love the idea of custom designing shoes, and I feel they would make a unique and creative gift.  If you feel you know the recepient well enough, you could design your own creation for them or you could let them design it themself and pay for it.  The site seems to be easy to use, and you can either start from scratch or you can start from a template.  I was worried that it would be difficult to design shoes, but it actually wasn’t too bad!  Also, on the site you can buy other people’s creations as well as sell your own in case you find that designing your own pair of shoes is too difficult and would rather buy someone else’s creation.  Unfortunately, they only seem to have women’s and kid’s shoes, but they do have all sorts of other products that can be designed for men too.

Dan: I think this is a great gift idea because how many times have you gone to the shoe store and you find absolutely nothing you want to buy?  I recently had get a new pair of sneakers because my soles were falling off my old ones and I had to settle for something that was all right but just not my style.  I think what makes this gift so great is the creative element involved in it.

Dan: My favorite sport to watch besides football is surprisingly tennis.  Having grown up playing the sport I respect the skill and talent necessary to be decent, not even the best in the world.  Tonight is the finals for the U.S. Open between Andy Murray and Roger Federer and I cannot wait to watch it.  It might just beat out Monday night football!  Tennis is not a sport that you have to be the best at to have fun.  Throwing all the competition aside it can be fun just to play off of a wall by yourself or by hitting a few balls with a friend.  Most cities and towns have free pubic courses that you can use, so do not think that tennis is an exclusive sport like golf is.

A great gift idea is a tennis racquet.  There is a wide variety of different types of racquets based on the composites and alloys that they are made of, the diameter of the racquet, the type of grip, and of course, how it looks.  The best three brands of tennis racquets are Prince, Wilson, and Head.  I grew up on Prince, had a Head in high school, and am enjoying my Wilson racquet now.  I prefer lighter ones now, but heavier racquets are good for players who want to have greater forehands and backhands with less velocity on their swing.  With a few easy lessons, or just by yourself, you can pick up tennis.  It is tricky at first but is not something that requires paid instruction.  So I recommend getting out of the house and to start playing tennis because it really is a life long sport.

Grace: Tennis is just one of those sports that no matter what age or what skill level you are, it’s always fun to play.  I completely agree with Dan on this gift idea; a tennis racquet is a very useful thing to have just in case.  I’m not kidding when I say you don’t have to be good to play tennis; I took tennis lessons forever, but I always have the most fun when I play with my friends who have little experience.  Just remember that a young child will out-grow theirs in a few years, so I wouldn’t recommend buying the most expensive one for just a casual player who is still growing.

Dan: I had an umbrella but I lost it over a year ago.  Today it was raining and I was sitting in class feeling like I just took a swim in the ocean.  If anyone has been in class soaking wet before because they had to walk in the rain, than you know how I feel.  I have a raincoat but it just does not quite do the job like a trusty umbrella would.  A great gift someone could give to me…cough cough…just kidding…would be an umbrella.

Some people may be thinking that an umbrella would not make a great gift.  However, if you know someone that really needs one or has one that does not work very well an umbrella would be a great gift idea.  Not all umbrellas are made equally and the quality range is quite drastic.  Many umbrellas under the $40 limit can be quite flimsy and have too small a diameter.  Therefore, spending a good amount of money on an umbrella is definitely worth the effort.  Not only will you or someone else be drier in the end, but that umbrella will not have to be replaced anytime soon.

Grace: I absolutely hate getting rained on, so having an umbrella is an absolute necessity for me.  There are a lot of really cute umbrellas these days to choose from too.  I definitely agree with Dan on spending a little bit of money on an umbrella because I have had multiple cheap umbrellas that either fall apart, or during heavy rains, the umbrella fails completely and the water drips through.  I really enjoy this gift idea!

Grace: I’ve always found that shopping for gifts for my mother is incredibly difficult.  She’s a very independent woman who knows exactly what she likes and doesn’t like, so she’d rather receive no gift at all than a gift that she can’t use.  However, I always feel silly if I don’t get her something, so instead of buying her a physical gift I’ve found that it’s easier to buy her gift passes and give her time off from the rest of us instead.

My mother loves to have days off to herself, so giving her time off from the rest of the family is really the best gift she could ask for.  For her, a spa gift certificate is the perfect gift; she would love a day of complete relaxation by herself.  I’m sure the rest of my family stresses her out, so it’s nice for her to have a day to reset so that she can handle all our antics full-force the next day.

For someone who is perhaps more adventurous but still wants a day off, a great outdoor gift would be an adventure pass.  With over 80 activities to choose from, something like this is sure to hit the mark.  Either way, sometimes just giving someone the day off is really the best gift.

Dan: There is definitely no better gift than a day of peace.  Today, we all live in a more stressful environment no matter what stage of our lives we are in.  Anything from work to school and family can cause a great amount of stress and frustration in one’s life.  New research has shed light on how tolling stress can be to your physical and mental health.  People who live stressful lives typically have shorter life spans and stress can even be labeled as a auto-immune disease trigger.  Reducing stress and staying relaxed is extremely important.  That is why this gift is not just a great idea, but really important.