Posts Tagged ‘dossier’
What Makes a Great Gift #4: It’s Surprising
Dining in the restaurant from our first date, I excuse myself, claiming that I need to take two cold tablets. Fifteen minutes later and I’m back — dressed in a black tuxedo with two dozen roses and an engagement ring. Now I am down on one knee. She did not see it coming. Great gifts are surprising.
How do you discreetly plan your surprise? First, present gifts in unexpected ways. Use a ribbon to tie the gift around the car steering wheel before he or she leaves for the day. Ask for help folding the laundry; the top towel in the basket hides the present. Have the gift delivered at work (keep it safe for the office, of course). I’ve even done the cliché of giving my wife the practical blender — which she really did want for Christmas — with a Tiffany’s blue box tucked into the blender’s glass container.
Second, you can give gifts spontaneously. Figure out your giftee’s half birthday with the Half-Birthday Calculator and offer a surprise gift. Send flowers just because. Buy her preferred perfume or his favorite cologne, placing it next to the near-empty bottle.
Third, make your gift choice unexpected. If you can, avoid asking what the giftee wants. Pay attention to clues and write down this reconnaissance in a gift dossier. If your giftee does offer direct suggestions, upgrade the gift idea by buying the higher-end version (if appropriate and within your means) or provide an additional gift that could go along with the suggestion.
Tags: choosing gifts, dining, dossier, fragrance, giftology, half-birthday, jewelry, surprise
When brainstorming gift ideas, think about any new, big-ticket items the person has received and consider a gift that goes along with that item.
- Does she have a new patio set? Give a citronella candle holder from Crate & Barrel (a tip of the hat to my sister-in-law for this gift).
- Did he get a new barbecue grill for the patio? Check out a personalized grilling brand iron at SteakBrands.com.
- Is there a new car parked in the garage? For proud college graduates, consider a college-themed license frame, travel mug and a bumper or rear window decal.
- New entertainment center? Order a new DVD movie release from Amazon.com.
So next time your friends and family show or tell you about a new, cherished possession, ask yourself, “What gift would go along with that?” Then add it to your gift dossier as a memory aid.
Tags: candles, choosing gifts, college, dossier, dvds, gift ideas, gift sites, movies
It seems so simple: Listen for gift hints, write them down in a gift dossier, then buy gifts based your observations. But it’s not.
According to recent research, the closer the relationship, the more likely you are to dismiss these gift cues. This gift insight comes from the Journal of Consumer Research in a scholarly article aptly titled “Why It Is So Hard to Predict Our Partner’s Product Preferences: The Effect of Target Familiarity on Prediction Accuracy.”
The study resembled an academic version of the “Newlywed Game.” Committed couples were separately quizzed on preferences. First, which of the following would your partner like? Next, what would you choose? Finally, what would a stranger of the same sex as your partner prefer? Then the researchers tallied and compared the responses from each partner.
The results: When partners shared similar tastes, they guessed better at what their partner would want. However, couples with differing tastes guessed poorly. In fact, these mixed-taste couples chose their partners’ preferences more accurately when responding to what a stranger would want.
For strangers, we tend to drop our biases. But the more we know someone, the more we assume matching tastes. We discount those gift hints and miss clues. We impose what we want when selecting gifts for spouses, boy/girlfriends or family members. When tastes match between giver and receiver, the gift can work. If your preferences clash, the gift is likely to flop.
So keep your ears open for those gift clues. And keep an open mind to accept these hints and give the thoughtful gift.
Tags: choosing gifts, dossier, giftology, guidelines
To spark ideas for a thoughtful gift, start a gift dossier for a loved one. I use the term dossier to evoke a sense of espionage. You are secretly collecting information on someone who will never read the dossier file. After all, you want to keep an element of surprise to your gift giving. Start the dossier in a password-protected Word document. Or you can take the dossier online, using a free service such as Amazon’s Gift Organizer.
A great gift dossier contains:
- A list of interests for brainstorming gift ideas
- Observations of wants and needs and ever-so subtle gift hints
- Links to potential gifts
- A record of past gifts you given (would a variation on a previous gift fit?)
To create a gift dossier, begin your brainstorming and reconnaissance on:
- Tastes: Prefers no frills/down to earth? Or enjoys the finer things?
- Favorite activities and hobbies
- Top authors — the ones worth waiting in line for at a book signing
- Favorite music artists (look for several CDs or Mp3s owned), concerts attended
- Essential movies
- Inconveniences and complaints (could a gift solve the problem?)
- Favorite foods and drinks
- “I’ve always wanted to…”
- Indulgences and splurges
Tags: books, dossier, food, gift systems, indulgences, movies, music
