Looking for THE Gift Guaranteed to Please Even the Hard-To-Shop-For People on Your List?

’Tis the season for scouring ads, walking the isles of stores big and small, and spending way too much time on Amazon. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have come and gone and I still have a few hard-to-buy-for people on my list.  Sound familiar?  Who can relate?

I LOVE to shop and I love to buy gifts, but there comes a point when I have exhausted my wits and creativity and I’m forced to accept that I’ve got nothing . . . no good ideas for those left on my list. At this point, I realize I have very few and only take-all-the-joy-out-of-gift-giving options left to choose from.

The first, and typically my go-to, option is to beg them for more ideas (and by beg I mean harass - text, call, Facebook, email). But let’s face it, the hard-to-buy-for people are difficult for a reason. They don’t really need anything because they buy what they want when they want it (they belong on the naughty list), the things they do want are too expensive and outside my budget, or they want things that’s aren’t available right now (i.e. clothes for the spring break :/ ).

That brings us to the next option: buying something, ANYTHING. Who cares if they’ll like it? This is, of course, the fastest way to resolve the issue: cross them off my list and move on. But <Sigh> I just can’t. I can’t buy something just for the sake of having something to give. It’s not that I’m frugal, although it sometimes looks like that because I’ve been known to not give a gift at all rather than to just buy “filler.”  The reason this is hard for me is because honestly, I don’t like getting gifts I don’t want. They take up so much energy. Can I return it? If so, where to and when will I have the time? Can I regift it? If so, where am I going to store it? Do you see what I mean?  This is why I just can’t do it!

In full disclosure, these very challenging loved ones did offer up a few suggestions including the always popular . . . cash; the runner up to money . . . gift cards; and my favorite (no, really, it is, now that my kids are all grown up) . . . time – happy time together. For Pete’s sake, these are not helpful ideas! Cash and gift cards - BORING. Where’s the thought (if it’s the thought that counts) in that? As for time together . . . how am I supposed to wrap that up? I can’t put that under the tree or in a stocking! Am I alone in this? Honestly, is the only other option, to give them what they want, even if it’s cash, gift cards, time, love, or memories? Seriously, where’s the fun in that?!

Ok, stay with me here. Don’t stop reading now.

Before we continue down the path of solving the problem of what to give the “hard-to-shop-fors” on our list, I want to quickly divert for just a moment and share another Christmas shopping story with you.

Several years ago, my kids were little; one was in first grade and the other was in second. This was a stage of life that required precise scheduling and planning in order to accomplish even the basic day-to-day tasks. There were many things that needed to be accomplished each night during those precious few hours between the end of the workday and bedtime - dinner, spelling word practice, math worksheets, baths, reading time, grocery shopping- you get the gist. Now, add to that the extras of the holiday season such as shopping for holiday outfits, taking the family Christmas card photo, wrapping gifts, baking cooking, and decorating the tree, to name just a few. On this particular night, the plan was to finish our Christmas shopping and the littles were coming with. As we were driving past a neighborhood church, in front stood a few shepherds along with a donkey and a goat. They were waving as cars passed, encouraging people to come to their live nativity scene and reenactment of story of Jesus’ birth that was about to start. The kids were quick to ask what was going on and followed up with, “Can we go, Mommy, please?” But the schedule was set and the plan for the evening was already in motion. “We are going to the mall shopping,” I explained. Unfortunately, “There just isn’t time. I’m sorry,” I empathized, and we continued on our way. It wasn’t until later that night when I was recapping the highs and lows of the day for my husband that I truly realized the irony. Had I actually told my children that we did not have time to learn about the birth of Jesus Christ because we had Christmas shopping to do?  I did <shoulder slump>.

The moral of the story is clear . . . stay away from the neighborhood church during peak Christmas shopping season.  I’m joking (mostly)!!

That night it became crystal clear to me, more than ever before, that I didn’t want Christmas shopping and the WORK of Christmas to be the LARGEST part of the holiday season. Do I hear an “Amen.” I am not campaigning for no presents. As I said, I love shopping. Presents are still a significant part of our traditions and celebration. But what I needed to figure out was how to deal with the most time-consuming people on my gift-giving list.

 It is clear to me that I want to spend less time aimlessly wandering the stores and searching gift guides looking for that something they might want but just don’t know it yet. My commitment is steadfast; I want my loved ones to have what they want and enjoy what they get. So why, then, am I so opposed to giving cash, gifts cards or inanimate items such as time?  I’ll tell you why…because it’s NOT FUN TO GIVE! I take to heart the idea that “it’s the thought that counts.”  Therefore, if I select a gift, that required little or no thought, then it must not be a great gift.

’Twas this very dilemma that sparked the creation of my Gifts of Gab line. I realized this was more about me than the person I was buying the gift for. They weren’t being difficult, I was. They told me what they wanted, which meant I needed to find ways to give the most common and expected gifts (gifts from a registry that says ‘click here to buy’) in a fun and/or thoughtful way. It could be a win-win! They would get what they asked for and wanted, I could check them off my list and move on to enjoy the season in other ways, and my thoughts and creative energy could be diverted to the packaging and presentation of the gift. Say it with me, “Hallelujah!”

And that, my friends, is how Gifts of Gab was conceived one Christmas season.

The moral of the story . . . It doesn’t matter what’s inside, with Gifts of Gab, they will be talking about the present even before it’s opened.

To learn more about and explore all of our unique and creative line of gift-giving accessories, and the variety of fun and original ways to give even the most common items, please visit our www.giftsofgab.shop.