Gifts

Soon I will complete another lap around the sun, and I find myself in the fortunate position of having many wonderful people who wish to celebrate with me! Some wish to show their love with gifts, but often it can be challenging to figure out what to give. My hope with this post is to share my thoughts on gifting, some broad ideas of gifts I think are great, and some specific examples for anyone who prefers to know exactly what to get.

My view is that gifts should always be optional. I don’t ask or expect anyone to give me gifts, and I dislike when they are expected from me in other contexts. I think expectation robs them of their meaning as a gesture of love.

Sometimes I have a great idea for a gift for someone, and it brings me a lot of joy to give someone a gift they love. Not everyone is the same way, though. If you find buying gifts stressful and unpleasant, please don’t!

For those who want to give me a gift, I’ve identified some themes among gifts that I tend to like:

• They facilitate having quality time with the people in my life
• They bring joy, inspiration, and/or beauty into my life
• They are something I didn’t know existed or are hard to procure
• They are useful
• They are something I can see often that will remind me of the gift giver
• They are made by you

It’s possible for a gift to touch on multiple themes and even to cost nothing. As one example, a friend helped me with some gardening. We got to spend some quality time together making my home more beautiful, and the plants double as a reminder of our friendship every time I see them.

If you really want to give me a gift, but none of those themes are leading you to a specific gift, or you are the type of person who prefers to pick something from a wishlist, I have one below. I apologize for the limited options at lower price points. Typically if I know I want something and it’s inexpensive, I will just buy it for myself and it doesn’t have the chance to end up on such a list.