Gift-giving isn’t everyone’s love language; if you have trouble thinking of what to get someone, consider what they enjoy using, and bequeath them with the highest quality version of that item. It’s the perfect combination of luxury and practicality.
This idea comes from u/hubgat on r/LifeProTips, though they framed it as a recommendation for the person who never knows what to ask for. This is extremely relatable to me, because I find receiving gifts far more stressful than giving them. Most things I want, I get, just like Ariana Grande. For the Grandes in your life who seem to have everything, a nicer version of something they use everyday is an affordable gesture:
LPT: Do family often waste money on gifts that aren’t your taste? Ask for a luxury version of an everyday product you use, such as olive oil.
We do this, and it’s made birthdays so much better! They get to give something that seems fancy (even though the difference between top shelf and supermarket brand can be like $10 max), and we get something we’ll actually love using.
It’s really a perfect concept — most of us are hesitant to buy a $25 olive oil for our own kitchens, or a really nice bottle of booze, or expensive hand soap for our bathrooms. We tend to cut corners around the things that get a lot of use, which means missing out on the really nice stuff. Give someone a break from the discount rack. According to u/hippiestyle, asking for exactly this sort of upgrade worked wonders:
Can confirm! Asked for fancy maple syrup; got really good syrup instead of a shitty candle that smelled like arse.
On the gift-giving side, u/sunsailing has a go-to luxury item for everybody on their list:
Silk pillowcases are my go-to luxury gift to give and receive (you can’t have to many, you’ll never go back to cotton once you’ve tried silk).
I’ve gotten some strange comments when people receive them but they always come back to thank me later.
A lot of people also recommended asking for really nice socks; who wants to spend money on fancy socks? No one, but your feet will thank you every day for wearing them.
If you’re not sure what the right fancy item for someone would be, think about asking close family and friends if they have a wish list anywhere; that’s how u/freshfromthefight and their family figure out what to get:
Hopefully this doesn’t get buried at the bottom, but my family and I have gotten in the habit of making running Amazon lists for things we don’t need, just want for holidays or special occasions.
My mother always wants to get my brothers and I exactly what we want but if we just give her a general term she almost always misses the mark. With an Amazon list we can load it up with way more than we expect her to get and then she gets to pick and choose what she wants to get us out of that stuff, that way we’re still surprised.
I’ve done similar things with Pinterest boards — they allow family and friends to get an idea of my taste. If you know someone is cataloguing their likes publicly, check them out. You might not even need to upgrade — people tend to fantasize about the version they want, even if they’ll never buy it for themselves. What a nice surprise it will be when you do.
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