It’s official! We are in Christmas countdown now. For most people, Christmas trees are up, gifts are purchased and holiday plans have been finalized. But for some people, there is a monkey wrench. One little kink that makes life a little… challenging. Mine? My hardest person to shop for and to gift, my husband.
Sheepish confession
While I am a gift expert, my husband is my kryptonite. He is impossible and a worthy foe. We have been together 12 years, and he STILL keeps me on my gifty toes! My biggest issue with him? He buys what he wants, when he wants it. Most times I don’t get a heads up and when I do, he often forgets and buys it. LOL. So how do I deal? I improvise! I am a gift BOSS!
Get creative
Make an investment. One year, (our first year married) I knew my husband was eyeing the the Xbox. This was its first year year #expensive and I was working a less than stellar job, but I put it on layaway. This was a huge financial investment for me, but I knew he wouldn’t just jump on this without telling me because we had a budget agreement. We always discussed big purchases together. Buying this Xbox meant he had a present now, but follow up gifts as well. Every gift occasion, I bought a game if I didn’t have any other gift options for him. Think of larger gifts that allow for a tagalong gift. This provides some gift security.
Back to basics
Stop overthinking gift giving. Go back to what you know. What do they like? What do you have in common? I love giving gifts outside the box, but sometimes, it’s okay to go dig in the box for inspiration. Often, we need to get inspired rather than reinventing gifts. Go easy on yourself.
When it fails…
Even if you don’t give the right gift, the best gift, the “make your jaw drop” gift, It’s okay. I “failed” the gift game a few times before I found my gift groove with my husband. You know what he loved, my effort. He saw how hard I tried to make him happy. He was genuinely touched that I spent so much time thinking of him. It’s never failure, because they love your effort and you learn how best to gift them along the way. Put the fun back in gifting, even if you’re shopping for your gift kryptonite.
Leave a Reply