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🎁 Gift-giving’s most taboo question

🎁 Gift-giving’s most taboo question

Patrick Kucharson
November 15, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

This is Better Gift Coach, where we teach you win-win gift-giving strategies.FYI - Better Gift Coach was featured in the New York Times over the weekend! Check out our advice on some of the most common holiday gift-giving FAQ’s.

Kinda how it happened...

Estimated read time: 1 minute & 59 seconds

📊GIFT SCALE:

🎁THE GIFT:

The “wish list" Gift

Every holiday season, my mom gives everyone in my family a really awesome, free “gift”. My parents have 4 grown children who each have their own families. Every November, our mom proactively reaches out to each family and asks them to provide her a holiday wish list for everyone living in their household. Once she has a family’s wish list, she shares or “gifts” them with the other families. From the gift-giver’s perspective, having this list saves time and relieves the stress involved in finding the right gifts. From the gift-recipient’s perspective, getting things they actually want limits awkwardness of bad gifts and time spent on returns/exchanges.

Steph from Ohio

Content tags: less than $20, group, experience, tradition, best practices

🌮WHY THIS GIFT IS GREAT:

Gift recipients get what they want
Saves all parties time, stress, and awkwardness
Providing a wish list is less uncomfortable when you’re asked for one and everyone is providing one

📂 If this gift idea is save-worthy, create a “Gift Ideas” inbox folder & file it away for future use ~or~ find it again in our library.

YOUR VERSION OF THIS GIFT

💡TIPS FOR YOUR GIFT:

Asking “what gift do you want?” is a winning strategy
Give experiences to those who say "I don't need anything"
If someone isn’t in the role of soliciting gift wish lists, be a hero by assuming that role
Not comfortable asking someone what they want? Ask their family/friends to find out for you
According to this study, gift recipients are more appreciative of gifts they request versus unrequested/surprise ones
To avoid duplicate gifts to the same person, consider a shared spreadsheet (like this free template we made just for you!) or designate someone to keep track

🤔GIFT BRAINSTORMING PROMPTS:

Stumped on a gift for someone? Have you asked them what they want yet? ____
Are you in a position to easily get a gift wish list from someone and share that with their friends/family? ____

▶️FORWARD THIS GIFT IDEA TO:

Grandparents
Someone with a large extended family

And introduce them to your favorite 1-minute a week shortcut to always having awesome gift ideas well in advance. They can read past editions and subscribe here.

🤓GIFT GIVING BY THE NUMBERS:

Following the 2021 holiday season, 33% of US adults expected to return a gift. (source)

😆GIF/MEME:

imgflip.com

All the best,Patrick KucharsonBetter Gift Coach™

P.S. You shouldn't need more convincing on why you should just ask someone what they want...but here you go.

The New York Times

Want more? Here's a few of our past popular posts:🎁 Snap this pic before it’s too late🎁 Holiday tipping I’m not skipping🎁 One gift, a calendar of exciting moments

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