A guide to gifting

One simple trick for finding great gifts 🎁

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If, like me, you also received 1 million emails last weekend, I appreciate you finding the courage to come back to your inbox in time to read this one. If some of those emails helped you finish your shopping, I’m jealous, and if all the maelstrom of sales did was raise your blood pressure without crossing anything off your list, welcome to the club.

I felt the urge to grab something, anything, but I didn’t have a real game plan, and I’ve found that, without some forethought, stress over quality veers into making up for it with quantity. And that’s not great for either party. Gift giving should be fun. It’s an opportunity to show how well you know someone and how much you pay attention.

The best ones are a callback to a detail most would find insignificant. Something said in passing, something few people know they’re interested in, something only you know they need. And if you can get that half off, then you absolutely should, but sometimes the lightbulb moment takes a little more time.

If you feel like you missed out on getting a deal on a thoughtful gift, the good news is that the best ones aren’t expensive. They make the recipient feel seen and cared for. They say I noticed this or I thought of you when...

There’s a difference between a gift that no one could say no to, and a gift that only one person will appreciate, and the latter is paid for in attention.